


Reincarnation of A Worthless Man

by ForestDweller1



Category: Original Work
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Character Death, Depression, Drowning, F/M, Harems, Male Protagonist, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Original Character Death(s), POV Multiple, References to Depression, Reincarnation, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Underage Masturbation, Wish Fulfillment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:21:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 167
Words: 550,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForestDweller1/pseuds/ForestDweller1
Summary: There was once a boy who's well-loved and popular with his peers. His smile could melt an adult's heart and his easygoing and sweet nature attracted a lot of girls who became his admirers. Not anymore though. He is now as ugly as sin. And suicidal. Hey, at least he dies like a hero, saving a little girl from drowning. What's this? He's now a baby?
Comments: 116
Kudos: 90





	1. How It All Began (Start of Childhood Arc)

Before I realized it, I was stuck inside a baby’s body.

I thought I had died. I should’ve died. I remembered how painful it was, for water to enter my lungs. It lasted for a good few horrifying minutes until I finally lost my consciousness. It was like a really, really bad asthma attack, and I was certainly familiar with those, having it for most of my life.

But then, when I woke up, I was already a baby.

At first, I thought I was in Hell, and my new state is my personal torture. To be stuck in a baby’s body forever, unable to do anything.

But then, when my mother picked me up and kissed me warmly in the cheeks, I knew that this place couldn’t be Hell. Not even Purgatory.

In fact, it felt closer to Heaven for me.

I was reborn to a well-off family. We live in a small mansion in the countryside, far away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life that I was used to. The air was fresh and the scenery was green.

It was truly my kind of a dream house.

Unfortunately, you can’t really live in a house like this in Japan. Unless you’re some rich guy who can afford not to slave away in our big cities.

My brother and sister certainly could, I imagine, but knowing their personality, they wouldn’t be interested in such a leisurely, and dare I say it, lazy life. They love the hustle and bustle of the modern era, where you only got a few hours of sleep and no rest even on weekends and holidays.

I was jealous of that drive they had.

If only I was more like them, I would’ve become a better person perhaps.

Or at the very least, I would hate myself less.

But on the other hand, my lazy side detested them for it, thinking they, and many others like them, are just perpetuating the brutal work culture that us Japanese are famous for abroad.

Yeah, I still read the news. Sometimes.

Anyways, back to my new life, I enjoyed my new life as a baby, despite the humiliating fact that I couldn’t control my bladder and bowels whatsoever. I just have to cry to get my parents’ attention when that happened, so they would hurry to change my diaper.

And, as much as it shames me to admit this, I enjoy being coddled by them that way. I have no worries whatsoever. It was an easy life, full of love that my parents showered onto me.

The moment I could crawl however, I started exploring around, just so I can get a better understanding on the kind of house I’m currently living in.

When I scraped my knee from it, it was where I learned that this was a world where magic existed, as my mother healed the wound instantly with what I assumed to be a healing spell.

And in that moment, my eyes were opened.

The vaguely European-like features and looks that my parents had and their medieval-looking clothes, and the fact that there was no electricity whatsoever, and now the discovery of magic actually existing.

I was in a medieval fantasy world!

I couldn’t believe it at first, but as I picked up more and more conversations between my parents (I can start to understand them at this point), it was completely proven to be true.

There was no doubt now.

I was in another world entirely.

\-----

Born to a family of three, I was the middle child with one older brother and one little sister. 

At first, I was just like them, a bright child with a bright future. At elementary school, not to brag or anything, I was quite famous for being the smartest, and the cutest kid in class. I was always smiling; always cheerful. I had many friends, and even many more secret admirers. It was a blessed, happy life.

It all changed when I was in Junior high.

Like the naive idiot I was, I came to the defense of a girl being harassed by a group of bullies. Back then, I was all over the idea of being a defender of justice, protector of the weak and shield of the innocent.

Only to end up being beaten up so bad that I had to be hospitalized afterwards. 

I didn't do it the cool way either. I stopped fighting the moment I fell to the ground. I begged them to stop with tears in my eyes, completely overwhelmed by the pain I received by them kicking me repeatedly in the stomach. And when I lost my consciousness, I soiled myself, with the girl I was supposed to save watching all of it.

My family, naturally, tried to sue the school, but thanks to the parents of the bully group’s leader being a significant donor of the private school, not to mention his links with both the government and the Yakuza, the suit didn’t go anywhere. The bullies only got a simple probation, and they continued to terrorize the school afterwards.

For me, however, it traumatized me completely. 

I refused to go to school for an entire year afterwards. My fear of the bullies was so much that I couldn’t even step outside the house without a panic attack. My family tried a number of therapists, but none of them could really cure the fear that had rooted deeply into my heart.

I suppose for my naive little self, it was the very first time he was faced with the harsh reality of the world.

When I went back to school, on a new one, naturally, my grades dropped significantly. I stopped smiling, and I became a recluse. I started avoiding real life altogether, submerging myself in fictional worlds instead through books, anime, and video games. Those three were my only escape in my one year of absence. My favorites were always stories where the hero prevailed over evil, over the injustices they faced, no doubt influenced by my condition.

At high school, my addiction only continued, leading to me failing my entrance exam to Tokyo University, even though all my other siblings managed to do so.

I acted like it didn’t matter. “College isn’t everything after all,” I argued to myself. “What’s actually important is what comes after.”

And indeed, I was right.

My older brother became a successful young CEO while my little sister became a forefront scientist at CERN, researching quantum mechanics and all that fancy science stuff.

As for me, I only got an office job so ordinary that it wasn’t even worth noting.

I couldn’t escape the truth anymore.

I had become a failure.

Depression took in, and I started eating and sleeping unhealthily, ruining what good looks I used to have before. I became fat, and perverted as well, as I masturbated daily to pictures of anime girls I found on the internet. My hormones didn't get a normal release with a girlfriend or even a wife, like my brother. He was already married, and with a hot wife too. Just another list of reasons to be jealous of him.

At this time, I still was an avid reader of hero fantasy, particularly of the isekai genre. I especially loved the wish-fulfillment aspect of them. Took me away from my crappy life, even if for just a moment.

However, I always took issue whenever the hero did something I would never do myself. Like being a pervert to the girls, or being a jerk for no reason.

_If I were reincarnated to a fantasy world like them, I would never do what they're doing!_

Yeah, I still kept my white knight tendencies, even after all these years.

And then, I was fired from my job. 

They were downsizing, and I was one of the employees they deemed useless.

It broke me. I worked there for ten years, having to bear being pushed around by my co-workers and having my work's credit being stolen.

I was afraid. Afraid that what happened at my youth would happen all over again if I spoke up.

In the rain, I walked.

I walked and I walked and I walked, not really knowing where my feet were taking me.

And then, I saw her. A girl carried away by the river's heavy current.

I looked around. There was no one else nearby.

It had to be me.

_...Ah screw it, my life is not worth living anyways!_

I jumped. And with whatever strength I had, I caught up to her and carried her to the side.

I couldn't even swim.

When I was done however, I failed to get my own self to the shore, as my legs suddenly went into a terrible cramp.

_...So this is it, huh?_

_Well, at least I actually got to be a hero this time around._

And so I drowned.

All with a smile on my face.

Never would I imagine that I would reincarnate myself. All like in those stories I loved to read.

\----

I quickly learned how to read. I must know more about this world and the quickest way to do so that wouldn’t freak out my parents, would be to learn it through books.

Unfortunately, our house only has a couple of them. It seemed our family isn’t interested in having grand libraries like your typical rich folks usually are.

Nevertheless, I quickly managed to pick up on the words and grammar of this world. To my surprise, they weren’t that far off from the English language back at my world.

Thank God I actually learned English (even though I only did so because I wanted to understand the English side of the Internet).

Thanks to that, I now knew the general layout of this world and the various countries that existed in it.

Oh, and I also got my hand on a magic book.

A real, honest-to-goodness, magic book.

Naturally, I immediately tried the spells in it, starting from those that looked the easiest.

The book said that you were supposed to chant a certain set of words to cast a spell. However, I immediately learned that you still can do it, even without the chant!

And I learned it all through pure accident!

My reading capability was still limited, so I couldn’t quite understand the words I was supposed to chant. I tried to chant anyway, making up the words instead.

And it worked! I formed a small ball of wind from the palm of my hand!

I couldn’t believe it! So I decided to experiment. I changed the words around again.

And yet, it still worked! The same phenomenon and sensation still happened! I still feel this warmth travelling to my palm and bam, I got a ball of circling wind!

Only for it to disappear immediately the moment I rejoiced.

Hmm, concentration, I suppose. I need to maintain it in order for the spell to stay.

I then tried casting it without any chanting whatsoever. Just raw and pure concentration as I imagined the same sensation and the same ball of wind appearing on my palm.

And it worked! It actually worked!

I read the book further, but it didn’t say anything about casting spells without chanting.

Then, could it be that I’m special in the matter?

Could it be that I’m actually a magic genius?

Ehe… ehehehehehehe!

And so with that bigheadedness and arrogance, I started gleefully trying out magic as much as I can.

Only to pass out after the sixth spell, even wetting myself in the process.

I forgot. You did need mana to cast magic after all.

If you pushed yourself too much, this would be the result.

\----

When I woke up, I was already back in my room, laying down on my bed.

My clothes were clean and dry, which meant Mother must have changed them.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.”

I looked to the side, and there, I saw my older sister staring at me.

Her name was Marina, and she was around 5 years older than me, making her six right now. She had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and she had green eyes, just like Mother.

Even so, she wasn’t like other kids her age. She always acted, for a lack of a better term, mature.

It was hard not to see her as my older sister, even though technically, if we counted my previous life, I was far older than her.

“You… you’ve been sneaking into Papa’s study, haven’t you? Learning magic on your own?”

There it was. She gave me that look again. The look that made me immediately feel guilty.

She would make an excellent mother. Wouldn’t have to yell to scold her kids. Even the father would be scolded by her with ease, I imagined.

“That’s not good, you know. You need a teacher to teach you magic. Magic is dangerous to try on your own.”

“How about I become your teacher?”

And so, from that day on, I learned magic under her.

\----

To my surprise, she was actually somewhat of a good teacher.

No, not somewhat, she was actually, genuinely, 100% good at it.

She could already cast all the basic level magic with ease. And not just that, she even demonstrated several intermediate-level ones to me! And she was just six years old! 

I learned that she was actually considered a magic prodigy by my parents later on. They even already gave her her own wand. And it was a fancy, regal looking wand at that. Not anything like the magical girl wands you would expect girls her age to hold.

I could tell how proud she was of that wand. She always took care of it, carrying it in her dress’ pocket anywhere she went.

I actually tried to get a hold of it one day, but before I could, she already snatched it back.

I got a lecture from her afterwards, about how I shouldn’t be taking people’s magic wands because it could be dangerous. “Your magic power is enchanted significantly with a wand in your hand. You’re going to hurt yourself if you cast anything while holding it!” She told me in her usual naggy, bossy tone.

Really, she was the perfect picture of the overly serious and responsible older sister character.

\----

**Marina**

When I first heard the news from Mother that she was pregnant, I was ecstatic.

Finally, I was going to get a sibling!

But then, I realized that they could be a boy! And I hated boys!

They kept teasing me, pulling my hair and even lifting my dress! And they laughed at the bear panties I was wearing!

"Mom, I don't want a baby brother! I want only a baby sister!" I told her.

"Oh dearie…" She just smiled at me. "I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl. But I do know that you would have to be a good big sister to them, alright?"

"I don't wanna do it if it's a boy though… Boys are icky and gross!"

"Ah, I see the boys in the village is giving you a hard time again." As usual, Mother just saw right through me. "That's the more reason why you should take care of your baby brother well. Raise him up to be a gentleman, then you'll have an adorable little brother you can always play with."

I didn't believe her at first. Those nine months felt terribly long, as I anxiously waited for the baby to be born.

When the delivery day happened, I waited nervously outside the bedroom, pacing back and forth as I bit my thumb.

Father was the first to enter once the healer told him to. After several minutes, the healer told me to enter as well.

"It's a male, Marina. Congratulations. You now have your own little brother." Father patted me on the back.

My smile disappeared into a frown. 

_It really is a boy after all…_

But then, the moment I saw him—

My heart melted on the spot.

"Aaw, he's so cute! Can I hold him, Mother?"

“Of course, dear. Just be careful, alright?”

That day, I swore to be the best big sister that I could be.

_I would raise him right! He wouldn’t be like those village hooligans!_

\----

Four years had passed since I started learning magic with Marina. I was now five years old, making her ten.

I had grown a lot since then, both in height and in my ability with magic.

I had reached the level Marina showed me when we first started. I could now cast all basic level magic with ease and some intermediate level ones.

She, on the other hand, had surpassed herself even more. She had mastered all intermediate level magic and she was now dabbling in advanced level ones.

Our father and mother both agreed to send her to a magic school, so that her talent could be cultivated further.

She would go next year, at eleven. It was a boarding school, located far away than the boonies we were in right now.

I would only be able to see her once a year, in the summer holidays.

I knew I should be happy for her, but I still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of loneliness in my chest.

In these four years, I had become quite attached to her, it seemed.

“Sis, why don’t we skip the magic lessons today? Let’s go to the village!” I suggested to her.

She raised her eyebrows. “Hmm? That’s unusual. Usually you are so diligent. And suddenly you want to skip your studies?”

“I-I just thought we could use a break, that’s all.” I lied.

The truth was, I suddenly felt I wanted more time with her. Time that wasn’t just spent on her teaching me magic.

I wanted to make memories with her.

Naturally, I couldn’t just say to her face. I was nothing like my old kid self, who was always forward with everything.

Now, shyness was a significant part of me. What if she mocked me if I told her the truth? She certainly could tease me for being a crybaby!

I didn’t want that. I wanted her to think of me as dependable. Or even cool, if a five year old could ever be that.

“Well, I suppose we can do that,” she replied with a smile. “We’ll have to ask Father first though.”


	2. Separation

We ended up finding Father first, as he was swinging his sword around in the courtyard as usual.

He was the perfect picture of a warrior. He had so many rippling muscles and abs on his body that I would be surprised if he still had any fat on it.

He was an ex-adventurer, just like my mother. In fact, they were in the same party before they retired.

I knew this straight from Mother herself. She loved telling tales of their adventures to me and Marina, especially as bedtime stories.

I could just imagine it. Him, a warrior, and my mother, who was apparently a cleric, getting along as they braved dangers together. Until eventually, they fell for each other.

_No doubt he's the one to initiate. I heard you two having fun upstairs, you know. You're lucky I have an adult mind or else I might actually get traumatized from it!_

They would have their fun almost every single night. And most of the time, I would hear him teasing her, saying stuff like "What, that's it? I can still keep going, you know~" and she would reply with stuff like "Ahnnnn, dearie, you really are such a perv, you know~" before letting out more lurid and lewd moans.

I now wondered why I wasn't born earlier. Maybe Mother had some birth control medicine made by some alchemists? I doubted condoms already existed in this world. 

At first, I was absolutely annoyed by them. Jealousy welled up inside of me; me who had been a virgin his whole life; me who had never even dated a girl before.

_Damn riajuu, get another room, would you? Or do it outside, I don't care! I can hear all your moaning and growing from down here!_

_I swear I will not be this annoying when I have my own wife! Whenever that would be!_

Grumpily, I could only try to block the sounds as I went to sleep.

_Sis is lucky. Her room is further away so she shouldn't be hearing this._

But eventually, I had to admit it.

That this… was far better than the dead bedroom my old parents had.

I could practically _feel_ the love between them, every time I saw them together. Father would always steal glances towards Mother, with Mother doing the same afterwards. The soft looks they had when they looked at each other, and the laugh and smiles they often shared--

It was truly heartwarming.

And, as their son, that warmth was shared to me as well.

_Those two really are a match in heaven…_

_...Dammit, I’m so jealous of them! I want a lovey-dovey husband and wife relationship like them too! Alan, you lucky bastard!_

Alan was, of course, Father's name. Alan Greenwood, to be exact.

Mother's name, on the other hand, was Renee. Renee Greenwood. Just like in the previous world, wives tend to take the surname of their husbands when they got married.

And that made my sister Marina Greenwood and myself Hugo Greenwood.

Not bad. Greenwood was a respectable surname to have. Could be cooler though, like Pendragon. Now that's a cool surname.

I asked Mother once what Father’s job was, now that he had retired.

"Well, your father is a knight, my dear. He protects this region from any bad guys that threaten it."

"Like bandits and monsters?"

"Yes, exactly! You're a smart one, aren't you, Hugo?"

She smiled and patted my head.

This region was known as as the Sheffield Region. Located in the outskirts of the Marchen Kingdom, it was practically the booniest you could ever imagine a place to be (that still had civilization, at the very least). It only had farming as a viable career option if you wanted to stay. Else, you had to go to the capital.

Being a village guard wasn’t really considered a career. The lord in charge of the region didn’t bother forming official militias consisting of the locals. He only paid salaries to his knights, which Alan was one.

I would accuse him of being a miser, like your typical noble lords in fantasy stories, but I really didn’t know his finances. The geography book that told me all this also said that this region was quite rich though, as it provided for the rest of the kingdom, so who knew?

"Dad, can I and Marina go play in the village?" I took the initiative.

"Hmm?" He immediately paused his exercise as he noticed our presence. "The village? Now that's rare. You two are always cooped up here, training your magic like the prodigies you are."

"Hugo says he's bored of my lessons," Marina chimed in with a huff.

"Really? Then why don't you have some swordplay lessons from your Dad instead?" He gave a hopeful grin.

I always knew that Father wanted me to be a swordsman like him. When he first discovered that I had a talent for magic, just like my sister, he shouted, "Gods, it's not fair! Why must he be a mage as well?!" to Mother.

She just giggled in return. She seemed to be pleased that both of her children were magically inclined, just like her.

He had dreamed of having a son or a daughter (Many powerful warriors he met were of the female persuasion so he wasn't picky) to be his successor. Unfortunately for him, both me and my sister were just not interested.

Well, in the case of Marina, she was simply not good at it. She tried for a while before deciding to give up entirely, focusing on magic instead, which she simply found much more fun to train and play with.

As for me, well, I had never even tried.

“Sorry, Dad, I’m not interested in becoming a musclehead like you.”

Ouch, I could see that my words struck him pretty hard.

“B-but girls like men with muscles!” He quickly retorted. “That’s how I won over your mother!”

Now that I thought about it, Mother never talked about how she had fallen for him in her adventuring tales.

Well, I imagined it would be really awkward to tell that to your son and daughter. I could totally understand why she wouldn’t. Hell, I probably wouldn’t either when I had my own children, unless they really, really asked for it.

Well, he was indeed good looking. And the ladies certainly loved some muscles and abs in their men.

Too much muscles for my taste though. I preferred a lean and slender build myself, but still with the firmness that girls liked.

“Hugo, it’s not nice to tease Father like that, you know.” Marina suddenly nudged me with her elbow.

Well, she’s a sharp one. She already knew how clever I could be at times, even though I was just a five year old kid.

“Alright, alright, you two can go.” Father finally surrendered. “Just be careful alright. Follow the road. And be back before the sun sets.”

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ll take care of Hugo. You can trust me on that,” Marina quickly replied, grabbing my right hand with her left.

He looked at her for a moment, then back to me, and then back to her again.

“Uh, I was going to ask Hugo to take care of you instead actually." He scratched the back of his head.

"What? I'm his big sister! I'm the one that should protect him!" Marina flared.

Wow, Sis, you actually managed to make him flinch.

Now I wondered if Mother could do ten times that when she got angry.

"I know… I know… but boys… they like protecting girls, you know… Hugo here must be happy to be the one protecting his sister for once. Right, Hugo?" He patted me on the shoulder while giving me a nervous smile.

_Dad, please don't drag me into this._

But he was right. For once, I hoped I could be the cool brother that my sister could look up to.

Could I admit that with a straight face though?

"F-Father is right. I… I would really like to protect you, Sis…"

I mumbled all that while averting my gaze, a blush creeping into my face.

Pathetic, wasn't it?

Marina, however, reacted in a way that I did not expect.

She blushed and averted her gaze as well.

_C-cute!_

"W-well, I certainly don't mind… j-just for a day, alright?" She relented.

Just for a day, huh?

Then let's show her the coolest little brother that I could be!

With a confident smile, I firmly took her hand.

First step, I needed to stop being so shy.

\----

The village was not far from our house. Just fifteen minutes of walk actually. We only needed to traverse downhill on the dirt road between the farms to get to the village proper.

On the way, we were always greeted kindly by the farmers whom we passed by. It seemed my father was beloved and well-liked by them, making us beloved and well-liked as well.

Ah, nepotism. Still existing even in a fantasy world.

Naturally, I tried to greet them back one by one. But I was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of people doing it, so much so that my right hand was starting to hurt from all the waving I was doing.

I could tell that Marina was feeling the same however. But ever the honor student, and probably because she wanted to be a good role model to her little brother, she couldn't stop.

Poor Sis. I knew exactly how you felt.

Perhaps we were more similar than I originally thought.

"Hey, Marina!"

Once at the village entrance, a plus-sized boy suddenly ran towards our direction with a big grin on his face.

He wasn’t fat by any means. He was just that—big. He was taller, and wider, than Marina, and he was like a giant to me.

“Brandon.”

Just from the way Marina said it, and the sudden frown on her face, I could tell that she did not like this person in the slightest.

“Hey, what’s with the frown? You’re cuter if you’re smiling, you know!”

_D-did he… did he just try to hit on my sister?_

“Brandon, I’m not in the mood to deal with you right now,” she replied, her tone still filled with hostility.. “As you can see, I bring my little brother today. And we’re going to play together. Just the two of us.”

“Aw, come on, can’t I join too? Pretty please?”

And from his tone, I knew he wasn’t really taking any of this seriously.

Just from these few seconds in his presence, I already hated him as much as my big sister.

“Hugo, let’s just ignore him, shall we?”

Marina grabbed my hand and pretty much dragged me away from this Brandon guy.

Only for him to just take my sister’s other hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“That’s cold. Real cold. As the daughter of our guardian knight, shouldn’t you be more… you know, accommodating to the common folk? Like me!”

...Yep, he was just like them.

Those jocks that had tormented me in junior high. They too would flirt with girls nonchalantly.

And if they didn’t get the attention they wanted from them, they would often turn to force, like what he was doing right now.

“...You’re hurting me. Please release my hand at once.”

“Then agree to play with me first! Just leave this little chump on his own!” He looked towards me. “The village’s safe! He won’t come to any harm!”

“Release my hand, Brandon.”

“You know, your wrist is really soft. Guess it’s true what they say with noblefolks like you.”

And then, I saw him tightening his grip on Marina’s wrist, earning a pained whimper from her.

I snapped.

Without a chant, I conjured a ball of wind and fired it right towards his abdomen.

“Gwaaahhh!”

He was sent flying a few meters away from the force of the impact, releasing her grip on my sister’s arm.

He landed right on the muddied section of the dirt road face first. It was raining quite heavily last night after all.

“Hugo!”

Her stern voice immediately brought me back to reality.

I had attacked him. I had just attacked a defenseless kid with my magic.

I immediately expected a lecture from her, about how I shouldn’t be doing that and how she could solve the matter without violence.

“Thank you.”

Instead, what I got was a word of gratitude.

\------

**Marina**

I **did not** expect what just happened.

Hugo, on his own, just attacked Brandon with his wind spell.

The expression on his face… it was that of pure anger.

I couldn't help but be slightly terrified by it.

I was going to lecture him on how we shouldn't have done that as it would certainly cause more trouble in the future, but I stopped myself.

He… was doing this to protect me.

That anger he showed, it was genuine. All of it from Brandon grabbing my wrist.

If I lectured him now, I would be doing his bravery a terrible disservice.

"You really love your sister that much, Hugo? I can take a mere wrist grab just fine, you know." I couldn't help but tease him.

"W-well, I promised to protect you after all."

Aaw, he's blushing! How cute!

I couldn't resist! I had to hug him!

"Here." I wrapped my arms around his head, gently burying his face on my chest. "Your reward."

I could sense him struggling to free himself! He's really one shy boy, wasn't he?

"You know, you were really cool back there." I said as I released him, though I still had my hands on his shoulders. "If I hadn't been your big sis, I might have actually fallen in love with you on the spot."

I noticed him smiling when I called him cool, only to turn crimson once more when I teased him again.

"Hee hee, you really need to stop blushing so much, you know." I rubbed his head. "Girls like strong and confident boys, not shy ones."

"R-really, Sis?" He replied.

And now he suddenly looked like a sad forlorn puppy.

"W-well, some shyness is perfectly fine as well! Girls can like shy boys! They trigger their maternal instincts, you know!" I quickly corrected myself.

He sighed. "I knew I could never be cool…"

_Oh Hugo…_

_You really are obsessed with being cool, huh?_

_I wonder where you got that from. Father?_

"Oh, don't be silly, Hugo. You are a perfectly cool little boy! Cool and shy aren't necessarily opposites, you know!"

And just like that, his smile returned once again.

* * *

**Hugo**

We spent the rest of the day frolicking around the village, buying food from the local grocery, watching the blacksmith do his work, and playing with the other kids that lived in the village.

To my relief, that big guy didn't bother us again. Maybe he was licking his wounds. No doubt he felt absolutely humiliated by his defeat, especially since it was done by me, a mere five year old.

How old was he anyways? Around Marina’s age? Maybe a little bit older? Maybe around 12 or so.

Well, whatever. I didn’t want to see his ugly mug ever again, especially near my sister.

Before we knew it, the sun was already going down.

It was time to go home.

“Wait, Hugo.”

As we walked back however, Marina suddenly stopped me in my tracks.

“I have something to talk about.”

Her face was all serious, but there was a melancholic smile adorning it as well.

_Oh no, I think… I think I might know what she’s going to talk about._

She took me off the road, to one of the grassy plains. Then, she sat down, motioning me to sit down as well beside her.

In front of us was the setting sun, beautiful in all its crimson glory.

“You took me here today because I’m going to leave soon, weren't you?” she said with a smirk.

Bingo. She read me like a book.

“Y-yeah…” I admitted, averting my face away from her, finding it reddening yet again.

“I see… Then, are you satisfied?”

“Eh?” I turned my head to face her.

“Are you already satisfied, with what we did today?” She asked me again, all with a gentle smile on her face.

I paused. I looked away from her once again, choosing to stare at my boots instead.

“I-I do… I think...” I answered. “Y-you got to see my cool side after all!” I blurted out, giving her a fake smile.

If I were to be honest, I wasn’t.

I wasn’t satisfied at all.

I still wanted to be with her for longer.

I knew it’s pathetic, for an old man in a child’s body to be feeling that way.

But, after being so close to her for these four years, feeling her warmth every single day, that was what I felt.

Of course, I couldn’t tell her that. It would only pain her more.

I knew her. This separation must hurt for her as well.

And besides….

It would be uncool for me to do so.

I wanted to be a strong little brother that she could leave behind without worry.

Unlike my old, weak self.

However, before I knew it...

I was already in her embrace yet again.

“You’re lying, aren’t you, Hugo?” She whispered as she rubbed my back. “You can’t hide anything from your big sister, you know.”

I exploded into an awful, terribly uncool sobbing mess.

\----

The very next week, it was time for Marina to leave.

Father would be going with her while me and Mother stayed in our house.

I spoke my goodbyes to her without a single tear.

It seemed I had given all my tears away that dusk, under the setting sun.

We promised to exchange letters, of course. But it could not really replace the closeness we always had.

I just had to bear it. I just had to bear it until next year, where she would come home on her holidays.

And when she did, she would find me more grown-up than she could possibly imagine.


	3. Demon Child

"Dad, I want to learn swordfighting after all. Can you teach me please?"

I made the request next month, after Father returned from accompanying Marina to her school. The next day, to be exact, as he was doing his usual training in the courtyard.

I had been thinking about it a lot. And I decided.

I wanted to be able to swing around a sword after all.

He immediately dropped his sword and came over to me, looking like he just won the lottery.

“Whoa whoa whoa, did I hear that right, Hugo? Did you just say that you want to learn swordfighting?” he replied, a big, silly grin on his face.

“Yes, Dad.” I sighed. I really didn’t like that grin. It made me feel like I was walking into something I would regret. “So would you please teach me?”

“Of course I will! Don’t you worry about a single thing!” He laughed, patting me on the shoulder harder than I would like. “I’ll make you the best swordsman in the land! I promise you that!”

I seriously doubted that.

“But if I might ask, what’s with the sudden interest? I mean, all this time, it seems you always prefer magic over swordfighting.” He scratched the back of his head.

“I… just wanted to do it, that’s all…”

I couldn’t admit that I was doing it just so I could become cooler in the eyes of Marina.

Nuh uh. Too embarrassing.

_When she comes back, it would be nice to have some muscles on my body, even if it’s just a little…_

"Ah, you want to impress your sister, don't you?" His grin got bigger.

...Goddamnit, was I that easy to read?

"Y-yeah…" I sheepishly admitted.

I could already feel my face warming up.

"Don't worry, my boy." He put his big hand on my shoulder again. "Once next summer comes, I'll make sure that you'll have some muscles in that skinny body of yours!"

And so my days of sword training began.

\----

And I immediately regretted it.

_Haah… haaah… haah… haah… W-what is this?_

_This isn't sword training! This is physical fitness training!_

He told me to run around the courtyard five laps before doing push-ups and sit-ups, twenty each! To a five year old boy!

"Don't give up, Hugo! You need to build some muscle first before you could even go anywhere near a sword!" He shouted so passionately towards me, who was laying down on the dirt, out of breath.

_T-this must count as child abuse!_

"D-dad! I just want to learn how to use a sword! I don't want to be a musclehead like you!"

"Silence!" He shouted back. "You're not my son if you can't handle this much!"

I knew he didn't really mean it. He was just pretending, acting it up for dramatic purpose.

But didn't he think he was going a little bit too hard at it? That he was enjoying it a little bit too much?

I could see Mother sitting on the veranda, shaking her head and sighing. However, she didn't say anything. She didn't tell Father to stop or to be easier on me.

Instead, she looked straight at me with a firm look.

I knew that look. She was telling me that it was up to me to give up or not.

She might look gentle, but she wasn't one to spoil her kids, it seemed.

In the end, I persevered. Not because I wanted those muscles that badly (though they certainly would be nice), but just because I had made an oath to myself ever since I was reincarnated into this world.

_I would not waste my life a second time._

Unlike my old self, I wouldn’t give up immediately. Just because it’s hard or just because I didn’t like it would never be a valid reason for me to abandon my efforts on something.

I loved learning magic but I hated physical exercise like this. And yet, I still had to do the latter, even if I didn’t enjoy it, or that I had no talent for it.

My goal was to learn at least basic-level swordsmanship. So that I could defend myself a little without using magic.

That, and to show it off to Marina once she returned home next year. No doubt she would already be even better at magic than before.

And speaking of magic, with Marina leaving, I seemed to have hit a plateau on my magic learning. Now that I was trying out Advanced-level spells, the explanation written by the books was getting too hard for me to understand properly.

Without her to explain them to me nice and easy, I couldn’t progress in my studies.

Mother couldn’t help, as she only knew how to do healing spells. And I seemed to have zero talent in that department.

It was a normal thing, Marina once explained. No mages were able to cast every spell in existence. Most of them would only specialize in a handful of branches and/or subjects.

Even so, Marina could cast every type of spell that she found in the books.

She must really be a genius at magic.

To not lose to her, I thought I should pick up some swordsmanship on the side. It would be ideal if I could be something like a mageknight; a warrior that could unite both swordsmanship and magic in one harmonious combination, resulting in a strength that surpassed the two on their own.

Well, it was just my aspiration. I didn’t know if I could really reach that level or not.

But I certainly would try.

Not trying would just lead me back to the hole of despair I used to be in.

\-----

It continued like so for a month, until I could do all of the routine Father demanded.

Every day after an exhausting practice, Mother would heal my aches and bruises with her magic.

It was really convenient. I didn’t have to sleep with muscle pain as a result.

It also meant that I could really push myself to the limit.

Maybe that’s why Father was being so stern with me in our practice. He knew he could get away with it because Mother was around.

"Alright, Hugo." He threw a wooden sword on the ground in front of me. "Pick that up. It's time we start the _real_ lesson."

\----

As I expected, Father's style of swordsmanship was basically just attack, attack, and attack until the opponent dropped dead.

He was a musclehead after all. He wouldn't bother with complicated maneuvers and all that fancy stuff. He would just slash his opponents over and over with his big sword.

At least, that was the impression I was getting from his confused explanations.

_Urgh, I miss Marina's teachings even more now…_

He seemed to be the guy that learned how to fight out of pure instinct. He couldn't really teach his skill to others.

Well, even so, I managed to learn the basics nonetheless. How to hold your sword, where to place your feet, how you should attack and defend, and so on. So I was still getting something out of it.

Not to mention all the cool displays he was giving, like cutting rocks and felling trees with one single slice of his sword.

This was a fantasy world after all, so superpowered swordplay should be normal.

Without that, guns would just make swords and other melee weapons completely obsolete in both normal combat and warfare.

...Wait, did this world even have guns already? I couldn’t remember any kinds of firearms being described in my books.

Another month went by, when suddenly Father announced something that took me by surprise.

“Sorry Hugo, but I think you should stop learning swordsmanship from me if I were to be perfectly honest.” He sighed deeply, a look of resignation written all over his face.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Father? Am I just that bad at it?” I tilted my head in confusion. 

He didn’t seem to be the kind of guy who would just give up that easily. After all the “Never give up!” speeches he gave me in these last two months, now he’s suddenly giving up? That’s quite hypocritical, was it not, Father?

“No, not at all.” He sighed. “It’s just that… you don’t really have the talent to use my style of swordsmanship.”

My expression immediately turned sour.

I knew it. I had no talent after all.

“A-ah, don’t get me wrong!” he quickly corrected himself. “From the way you move yourself, you’re more of the agility type than the strength type. Many rapid small blows over slow, large ones. And I… can’t really teach that.” He scratched the back of his head.

I looked up with a thoughtful look on my face. Of course there would be different swordfighting styles in this world. I imagined that an agility-type swordfighter would use something lighter than Father’s greatsword, like a katana or a rapier. Maybe even a shortsword.

He took another sigh. “If this was the capital, I could easily enroll you to an agility-type dojo. But out here, there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

_Huh, so there are dojos in this world._

“It’s okay, Father.” I smiled at him. “For now, I can learn your style. I’ll just learn the other style later, when I’m older.”

“When you’re older?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah. I’m going to become an adventurer after all.” I answered readily with a grin.

Right. I was not planning to stay here forever.

Once I was older, and Marina finished her school, I wanted to form a party with her and travel the world.

If she wanted to, of course.

For a moment, Father seemed to be stunned by my answer. But then, he quickly smiled and gave me a good pat on the head.

“Following on your Father’s footsteps, eh? Good! Good! If I were to be honest, I wouldn’t want my son to be a boring merchant, or God help, a mere farmer.”

_Dad, that’s kinda cruel to the farmers, don’t you think? Without them, we can’t eat after all._

_Well, I wouldn’t want to waste my second life being a farmer either._

Such was the order of this world, it seemed. Farmers were pretty much in the bottom rung of society, along with other crude peasant occupations. Merchants were usually in the middle-class while nobility was on the upper crust.

As for adventurers, well, it depended on who you asked, really. From the books I had read, there were those that extolled the virtue of adventuring while there were other books that pretty much thought of them as mere brutes and outlaws, little more than bandits. The former was usually adventuring books, while the latter was pro-nobility “heroic chivalry” books with nobles as their protagonists.

Hmm, now that I think about it, with that many fictional books around, this world must already have the printing press.

I couldn't believe I just connected the dots now. You could just see from the smooth, non-handwritten texts on said books.

So it was not that medieval after all.

“Yeah, I don’t want to stay here forever, Dad,” I replied back. “Sorry to disappoint you.” I gave a little cheeky grin.

“Haha, I always knew my son would have his father’s adventuring blood in him!” He now had moved on to slapping me on the back. “Now you just need to ask your sister! You want to go on adventures with her, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

I looked away. I couldn’t believe that I started blushing, just from a simple question like that!

“Alright then! We’ll continue the training!” He declared. “It might be good to learn a Strength-style, even if you’re not going to use it as your main style. You can surprise your opponent by suddenly switching to a different style mid-combo! And you can better learn the weaknesses of a strength-style swordsman, if you’re ever up against one!”

And so our training continued, at least for now.

\----

I didn’t spend all my time just training with Father however. He knew the importance of kids having time to play and fool around, so he would always set aside time for me to do whatever I wanted, including going to the village and playing with the kids there.

I really didn’t know if I wanted to do the latter, after having quite the bad experience with my last trip there, when Marina was still around, but I certainly could use the change of pace. Being all cooped up inside didn’t feel healthy for me.

And so I would walk around the village, looking at the fields of wheat and potatoes that the farmers were no doubt growing earnestly. I would be greeted by them, and even offered to stay a while and have some food with them, if it were lunch time. They were truly honest people, I thought, and it was heartwarming to see them being so friendly to me. I just hoped that they weren’t doing it just because I was the son of the knight that was protecting them.

As for the village, that bully immediately turned pale the moment he saw me, before evading me entirely. I couldn’t help but smirk in response. It certainly felt good being feared by the bully like this, after what happened to me in my old life! And imagine, being scared of a boy 5 years younger than you! A mere 5 years old!

In a fantasy world like this, where things weren’t as “civilized” as my old world, perhaps overwhelming force would be the best solution to a lot of your problems.

There was another incident however that humiliated him even more.

I was visiting the village that day, on one of my day offs, where I found him and what I assumed to be his underlings hounding over a girl.

She had a long, black hair that was parted in the middle. She was thin, thinner than what I would expect to be healthy for a girl of her age, which seemed to be around the same as mine, maybe a little bit older. She was also short, shorter than me by one or two inches, and had a larger than average forehead. Judging by her look, which suggested some level of malnutrition, and her dull and simplistic black dress, she was definitely not from a well-off family.

To my surprise however, instead of being all scared like I had expected her to be, what with the three boys being bigger than her, she instead was glaring at them like an angry tiger.

A starving, **really angry** tiger.

"You little brat! Do you even know who you're talking to, huh? I'm the village chief's son, you know! You outsider should give me some respect!"

Outsider? So she's new here? That explained why I never saw her around.

"You will never be deserving of respect! You are nothing but a cruel bully who oppresses others!" She pointed back at him, her whole arm shaking with rage.

Wow, she really was one fiery girl. Usually you would expect her to have a bright red hair if she's this kind of a character.

Ha, and the three stooges actually flinched from that!

"You little!"

The bully--I couldn't really be bothered to remember his name--moved forward in an attempt to grab her long hair, no doubt to give it a good long pull.

Only for her to grab him on the shirt, before punching him straight on the gut.

"Guwaaahhh!"

With just that one punch, the bully knelt over, holding his stomach as if he was experiencing excruciating pain.

_Holy fucking shit what was that?_

"D-demon! S-she's a demon!"

"S-she can't be human!"

The two underlings, seeing what she just did, immediately ran away. The bully immediately followed, tears trailing down his fat cheeks.

And then, she grinned triumphantly, folding her arms under her completely flat chest.

_W-who is this kid? How did she just beat up a boy nearly twice her size like it was nothing? She had no muscles in her body, and she had barely any meat either!_

_C-could it be? That she really is not a human? I don't see anything fantastical at her! No horns, no long ears, nothing!_

"Hm? Hey, what are you looking at?" She glared at me once she noticed my presence.

Eeek, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!

“N-nothing! J-just passing by, that’s all!” I nervously replied.

She eyed me suspiciously.

“T-that was impressive, by the way! What you did there!” I continued with a somewhat forced smile. “How did you do that? Knocking him out in one blow like that! You didn’t seem like you’d be capable of doing something like that, judging by how you look.”

I was just about to call her scrawny. Bad idea.

Her expression suddenly softened to my surprise, and— Wait, was that a look of sadness on her face?

“I-I don’t really know,” She answered, her hands shaking as she curled them into fists. “I was born this way, you see…”

And then, she ran away.

With how fast she was, even if I wanted to catch her, I wouldn’t be able to.

It was the very first time I met her.

And it would not be the last.

\----

I was now six years old.

I still continued my sword training with Father. And I had to say, I seemed to be getting better at it. I was now sparring with him as my training. Although I obviously could never win, I actually was starting to dodge and parry his blows.

Well, I wasn't in any delusion that he was going all-out with me. No doubt he would be able to beat me in a split second if he was truly serious.

I met the strange girl a couple more times on my visits to the village. I now knew her name. Sherry. Not her last name though. And she was working as a helper in one of the village farms, milking cows, cleaning weeds, and even splitting firewood. She seemed to be worked hard by the owner of the farm, an old, bitter grandma who was too weak to work her plot of land by herself.

And, from the teasing she got from the other kids, she seemed to be an orphan. The old lady had brought her from the nearest city to work on her farm.

_No doubt as cheap labour of course. God, she's still as skinny as ever. I can't help but be worried about her._

_Maybe I should ask Father if there's something we can do about her._

My thoughts about her were soon put in the backburner however.

Marina was coming home after all.


	4. Feelings of A Big Sister

"Sis!" I ran over to her and gave her a big, warm hug. "Welcome home!"

When Marina got off her carriage, I did not hesitate. I immediately embraced her with all my strength.

Hey, I was still six years old after all, so this kind of thing was totally okay.

And besides, I really, genuinely missed her so very much.

"I see you've gotten taller, Hugo!" She put her hands on my shoulders, beaming brightly.

Ah, how I missed her smile.

"Ehehe, of course I have, Sis! I ate and slept well and oh, I also had taken up training with Father on swordsmanship!" I couldn't help but brag.

"Hee hee, no wonder you also look a little more manly than the last time we met. Look! You got a little bit of muscle here!" She grabbed my right bicep.

"Aw, stop it, Sis!" I smiled proudly. "You too have grown up, you know! You're also taller and you also look more womanly as well!"

"Oh?" Her smile suddenly turned to a smirk. "And what do you exactly mean by that?"

"I mean, your boobs are big--"

I slammed my hands to my mouth, quickly stopping myself.

Oh crap, why in the world would you say that, you dumb idiot?

But it was true. Just from one year of schooling, she already looked far more mature than she was before. I couldn’t really quite put a finger on what caused the change. She was indeed taller. And her boobs really got bigger.

To a guy like me, I couldn’t **not** notice that.

But then, to my surprise, instead of being angry at my perverted comments, she began to uncontrollably giggle, covering her mouth with her hand in the process.

And that giggle quickly turned into a full blown laugh.

"O-oh Hugo, you really haven't changed, have you?" She wiped off her tears. "Come here you!" She embraced me this time, burying my face in her bosom in the process.

_I-I’m happy, Sis, but I’m also kinda suffocating as well!_

\----

Marina had gone home on her own to Father’s chagrin, who originally intended that he should go fetch her. However, she insisted, saying that there was no need for him to waste our family’s money just to do that. She could return home just fine by herself.

Since she was just an eleven year old girl, I couldn’t help but be impressed by her guts. The school was really far away from our home after all.

In fact, it was in a different country altogether.

The Magic Academy of Mira. It was located, where else, in Mira, or, to be more exact, the Magocracy of Mira. Instead of being ruled by a king like our kingdom, it was instead ruled by a council of wizards and witches.

Even so, they still ended up being quite similar to our nobility system, as the ruling class was just the same families of mages that (apparently) traced their lineage back straight to the legendary mage who accompanied the legendary Hero in his quest to defeat the Demon King far back in the past.

Yeah, her name was Mira. The country was christened after her.

It took around two weeks on a carriage ride from here to there. In modern terms, it might seem slow, but in a medieval world like this, where transportation was vastly more limited, it was already very fast.

We were lucky that we were on the borders of the Marchen Kingdom that were linked straight to the Magocracy. If we had been situated on the capital, or God forbid, on the border on the other side, it would take her much, much longer to go to the Academy. Two months wouldn’t be out of the question.

After crossing the border, she would still need to go to the capital city first, Merlin, where the Academy was located.

Merlin, by the way, was the name of Mira’s very first apprentice, or so the books told. Funny how he shared a name with a legendary wizard in my world.

The road there and back was smooth and well-kept, relatively secure from any bandits or monsters that might threaten a traveler. Another reason why Father was okay with her returning on her own.

He still did not like the idea of her sitting beside complete strangers for two weeks however, which was completely a reasonable assumption. However, in this world, you were already considered an adult at fifteen, so it was less outrageous than letting a 11-year old girl in my world going on a travelling trip on her own for two straight weeks.

“Sis, how was the trip?” I asked her with a smile once she released me from her hug.

“It was fine,” she answered nonchalantly. “Quite boring actually. Got nothing to do than read books and sleep on the carriage.”

“And how was the Academy? Did you make friends here?”

And immediately a shadow fell on her face.

Suddenly, the previous bright smile she just had moments ago turned uncharastically grim and sullen

“...A-a handful,” she answered, looking away from my eyes.

_D-did something… happen?_

I immediately sensed that something was wrong.

I didn’t want to press her about it right away however, so I decided to stay quiet, shelving my questions for the time being.

She just got back after all.

\----

**Marina**

...I missed this.

I missed this all.

The grass tickling my ankles, the fresh scent of morning dew and sunshine, and the greenery that you could see all over.

I missed Mother’s smile and Father’s laughter.

And, most of all, I missed Hugo’s warm embrace.

_...Oh Hugo. My sweet, little Hugo…_

_I am so sorry. For not being able to be honest with you…_

\----

When I first arrived at the Academy, I was full of optimism and hope. I thought naively, "Wow, I can't wait to learn so much more magic!" I knew how expensive this school must be, but Father sent me here anyway, as he did not want me to squander my talent in magic.

So I intended to be the best student that I could. I would answer every question the teachers have me and I would demonstrate all the advanced level magic that I could use. No doubt that would impress them.

That… was a mistake.

I quickly was seen as a young genius. Ten years old, yet already capable of casting advanced level magic, something only seniors could do.

And that quickly attracted attention from the "rulers" of the school.

When I said "ruler", I didn't mean the headmaster.

I was referring to a special group of privileged students, who could do anything they wanted in school. Skip classes, leave the premises to go to town, and even to cause trouble, as long as it's deemed "in a reasonable range".

And that included bullying and harassing other students.

The school rule stated that to be part of said group, you would have to show a significant and extraordinary talent in magic.

I clearly belonged in that category, yet I wasn't chosen.

I thought my talent was lacking at first, that there were other students with more talent in magic than I was.

However, I soon knew the true reason.

I was an outsider, a foreigner. I was not one of them.

And all the members of that special group; they were all descendants of famous magic families in the country.

And, once they learned that my talent surpassed the talent they possessed, they immediately turned hostile against me.

\----

It all started one week after class started.

It was our first big practical magic class. We were asked to demonstrate all the magic we were capable of casting. It was a way for the teachers to determine our magic aptitude, what we were good at and what we were not, and at what level our magic was currently at.

Most mages only had a couple of magic schools they were good at, and knowing which one was crucial, so that the teachers wouldn’t waste their time teaching magic their students weren’t good at.

I, however, could cast every single one of them, from all the elemental spells, to healing spells (though I could only use Beginner-level ones), even miscellaneous non-elemental ones like illusion spells and transformation spells. I transformed into a dryad that day.

The only spell I could not use were summoning spells, as you needed to make a pact with the relating spirit first, something I hadn't done.

I cast them all that day, earning the awe of everyone present, including the teachers.

Not only that, but I demonstrated my mastery over advanced-level spells. Magma Burst, Rainfall, Frost Hail, Sand Grave, and many others.

I was so happy, so proud that I was earning the applause of the crowd, that I did not realize that I had poked the hornet’s nest.

For by doing so, I was demonstrating just how much better I was in magic than some of those “special” students.

One of them was especially offended by my display.

Her name was Merinda Salamander, a senior five years older than me. She had long red hair that went down to her waist. She always wore a black witch robe, complete with the large wide hat. Her sharp green eyes seemingly always looked down on others, while none of her smiles was ever genuine, always mocking.

She was beautiful, but she possessed a wicked heart, which, I had to say, was quite the shame.

She belonged in the Salamander family, one of the handful magic families that held a seat in the Council. And it showed, both in her attitude and her aptitude for magic, as at a mere age of 15, she already reached the rank of Master, meaning she could cast a Master-level magic, a feat that made her equal to the teachers, even though she hadn’t even graduated yet.

Oh, she certainly could do a “fast track” graduation if she so chose, but she seemingly was content with doing the full six years of education for a normal mage.

That day, she immediately declared myself as her enemy, even though I could not cast any Master-level spell like her. She was still superior to me, yet for some odd reason, she seemed to be threatened by me. She didn’t even do a demonstration that day, as it was only for first year students only. She was simply watching from the sidelines, like the other non-first year students.

I simply could not understand her.

It didn't take long until she came to me, along with a bunch of her underlings.

"Hey, you, new kid," she said to me with a grin. "Come over here for a sec, will ya?”

I saw from the corner of my eyes the other students quickly darting away the moment they saw her and her groupie.

I immediately knew trouble was coming.

I could’ve run, but I knew it wouldn’t solve anything. They would just continue to hound me.

And besides, I had my pride to consider.

“Yes?” I returned with a neutral look, hiding my distaste of the situation.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

_An annoying person_ , I almost replied.

“I do not,” I answered succinctly. “I just arrived here after all.”

Before I knew it, my look had turned defiant.

And she didn’t like that. Not in the slightest.

“...Come with me then.”

It was not a request.

It was an order.

\----

They led me to a secluded section in the academy. There were many of those around, seeing how big the place was.

Then, the leader, Merinda, gave me a good shove to the wall, before holding me in place by placing my body between her two hands.

“So, you think you’re so smart, don’t you? So good with magic that you don't even need to know who's in charge around here?"

"You're not in charge. The teachers are."

"Oh really?" Her smirk widened. "Don't you know about us, the special class?"

"...I do not."

At this time, I indeed had not known of the matter. The teachers had not said anything about it.

"Then, it's time for you to learn. Hold her, girls."

Before I could do anything, they grabbed both my arms, pinning me to the wall completely.

“Y-you… what are you—”

I tried to struggle. But being a ten year old girl, I couldn’t do much against the two girls who were at least five year older than me.

_M-my wand… I-if only I can grab my wand in my pocket..._

“Shhh… this will be over soon, I promise. Just a little cut…”

And then, she began carving a wound into my face using the end of her wand.

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

I screamed. The pain was nothing like any pain I’ve ever experienced before. She was heating the tip of her wand with her magic, so in effect, a blazing hot rod was being placed onto my face.

When she finished, there was now a burn line on my right cheek, going from my lips all the way under my ear.

“Welcome to the Academy.” She said with a satisfied look. “I’m Merinda Salamander. You might want to ask around who I am before the next time we met.”

And then, she left. Just like that.

Perhaps, in her mind, she’d already shown who’s boss around here.

I did not go to the infirmary for said wound, by the way, even though I could perfectly do so. Injuries during training were said to be somewhat common after all, so there would always be healers ready to take care of students’ wounds.

No, my pride wouldn’t allow me to.

I wanted to show her that such a lowly, cowardly act did nothing to me.

Instead, I healed it myself.

Using my Intermediate-level healing magic, it took me a few days until the burn line completely disappeared.

In retrospect, if I had just shown weakness and swallowed my pride, perhaps her bullying would cease as her ego would be satisfied by me kowtowing to her.

...But, that’s not what I chose.

I could not choose that path.

Mother always said that we Greenwoods were always known for our hardheadedness. Father left his home at a young age just because of a disagreement with his old man. To this day, both still hadn’t reconciled, thanks to that hardheadedness of theirs.

Even Mother had some of that, which might have what attracted Father to her in the first place. She too left her home due to a disagreement with her mother. 

Quite funny, if you thought about it. They really were a match made in heaven in that way.

And said hardheadedness was inherited to me, and so I had to obey it. It couldn’t be helped.

I had to keep our family tradition alive after all.

\----

The bullying only continued after that.

She, realizing that I was not repentant in the slightest, continued to threaten and even humiliate me in public.

She, or one of her underlings, would do things like lift up my dress in public, exposing my panties to the world. Or splashing a water spell at me, making me soaking wet, making me late for the next class as I had to change back in my dorm room (while humiliating me as well since my dress would also turn translucent because of it). Or even outright stripping or destroying me out of my clothes while I was in front of the class doing a presentation.

Now that I thought about it, a lot of her bullying involved making me have wardrobe malfunctions in public. I suppose she thought it would be the ultimate humiliation for a girl like me.

No, what annoyed me the most was not that (even though it was indeed very humiliating).

It was how half, no, two-thirds of the academy seemed to fawn over her.

To them, she was basically their idol that could do no wrong. The girls admired how "elegant" she looked, while the boys, well, they were all entranced by her beauty and her larger-than-average boobs, that she gleefully showed off by her low neckline.

_Perverts. All of them. Both her and those boys._

_I'm so glad that my Hugo isn't like that. He's a gentleman, through and through._

_A couple of times my dress was blown upwards in the wind as we played, and every single time he would avert his gaze._

_Honestly, if he's the one taking a look, I wouldn't mind that much…_

Once again, I started to think about my little brother with a smile and a blush.

_Oh Hugo, I missed you already…_

_Without you around, it feels… lonely…_

That was the conclusion that came to me.

I was lonely.

No one really got close to me, knowing that I was the target of Merinda. They didn't want to earn her wrath as well.

There were even those who thought that I deserved all the harassment I was receiving for "daring to defy Lady Merinda", whatever that meant.

In the end, throughout the entirety of my first year, I couldn't make a single friend.

Of course, I didn’t divulge any of that in my letters back home. For all they knew, I had a perfectly happy and normal school life over here.

Why? I didn’t even know it myself.

I tried to justify it in my mind, saying things like “I don’t want to burden Father even more than he already is”, or “I don’t want to worry Hugo.”

However, I knew that it wasn’t the real reason. Not in the slightest.

Perhaps I simply refused to admit any of my own weaknesses, denying to show any of them to the world.

_Oh Hugo, please forgive your sister for her faults..._

\-----

“Sis! What kind of spells did you learn there? Tell me all about it!”

We were now sitting in the dining room, having roast chicken for our dinner, along with some bacon strips, eggs, and vegetable soup.

It was a more lavish meal than usual. I suppose it was to celebrate my return.

I sat across Hugo, who was still all smiling and happy ever since I returned.

I couldn't help but smile in return.

"Let's save the magic talk for later, you two," Mother said with her own smile as she placed our plates. "Marina, how long are you going to stay? The entire summer?"

"Yes, Mother," I took a sip of the vegetable soup.

Warm and delicious. The food I got served with at the cafeteria couldn't even compare.

I mostly remained silent at the table, only answering questions shortly and promptly.

Even as I was surrounded by my family's warmth, I couldn't relax fully, like how I used to a year ago.

Because I knew I was lying to them.

\----

I left the table first, excusing myself by saying how I was still tired from my trip.

Hugo gave me a concerned look, which only hurt me even more.

I went to my room immediately. After changing into my nightgown, I buried myself in my pillow, hoping that I would fall asleep immediately.

After two hours of stirring and shifting however, no luck. 

I could not sleep after all.

_Hugo…_

My mind suddenly returned back to my little brother.

And then, a strange desire came into me.

_I wanted to sleep with him._

_W-we never did something like that before after all._

_I-it’s only fair to do it at least once. Before we both get even older, making it even more awkward._

_I-it’s something brothers and sisters do. I-it’s completely normal._

With red cheeks, I stood up.

And I began to walk towards his room, tiptoeing so that Father and Mother wouldn’t notice.

I now stood in front of his door.

I was about to knock, but I realized that he must already be asleep already at this hour.

And so I pushed it open on my own.

The room was pitch black as expected, and he was sleeping peacefully on the bed in the corner of the room.

I closed the door behind me. Even locking it. Just in case.

Still with crimson on my face, that was thankfully obscured by the dark, I walked over to his bed.

“H-Hugo… c-can I… c-can I sleep with you? J-just for tonight, I-I promise...”


	5. A Heart-to-Heart Talk Between Siblings

After dinner, I immediately returned back to my room to catch a good night sleep. I was still a six year old boy after all, so I still needed to sleep a lot, especially if I was going to grow tall like I certainly wanted.

Yeah, being a short guy looked to be quite the depressing existence to me. The only way it could work if I also retained a baby face with it, so I would become like one of those shota characters in female dating sims.

I think I preferred being a normal ikemen though.

When I threw myself onto the bed however, my mind couldn't help but wander back to Marina.

Something was definitely bothering her! I just knew it!

But she wouldn't tell! Not even to me, her cute little brother!

Haah, I knew exactly her type. The honor student, "perfect daughter" type that would hide her problems from her parents and siblings.

I remembered a girl like that at high school. She was getting awfully bullied by other girls who were jealous of her, to the point that her face actually got slashed by a boxcutter or something. Only when that happened that her parents took notice of the unjust harassment and suffering that their daughter had received for so long.

...Don't tell me that she's also getting bullied there?

With such thoughts swimming inside my mind, I drifted off to sleep.

…

Only to wake up what felt like half an hour afterwards, with Marina standing beside my bed.

Wait, Marina?

“H-Hugo… c-can I… c-can I sleep with you? J-just for tonight, I-I promise...” I heard her mumble.

Even without looking, I could tell by her awfully shy tone that she was blushing furiously right now.

W-wait, did she just say that she **wanted** to sleep with me?

"S-sis?" I sat up, a confused look on my face.

"N-nevermind…"

She turned around, no doubt intending to run back to her room in embarrassment.

I stopped her in her tracks however, grabbing her wrist before she could escape.

"Sure, Sis. You can sleep here if you want." I answered with a smile.

I knew that if I let her go, I would've regretted it for sure.

In the past, I was selfish, only caring about myself. I didn't bond with my siblings as I should. I ignored them, even as they tried to save me.

I would not make the same mistake this time.

"O-oh Hugo!"

Before I knew it, she already threw herself on top of me, hugging me as tightly as she could.

Oi, she was lucky that there was a soft bed behind me, or I could've been seriously hurt!

"Sorry Hugo, but tonight, I want to hug you just like this," she said with a smile.

Hmmmph! Hmppphh!

She was suffocating me! She pressed my head right into her chest with her hand!

"Ah, sorry, you can't really breathe if I hug you that way, can you?” She giggled.

With her relaxing her grip, I could finally take a breather.

And I was immediately greeted by the sight of cleavage.

It was still small, naturally, but it was definitely there, unhidden by her loose, low neckline white nightgown. I could also see that she wasn't wearing any bra underneath.

"Oh Hugo, I missed you so." She sighed as she started playing with my hair. "One year of not being able to play with my cute little brother, it's really lonely, you know."

"I missed you too, Sis," I returned with a smile, hugging her back. This warmth she's giving… I certainly could use more of it.

"What's the matter, Sis?" I asked her. "You're not usually this forward."

"Oh, is it so wrong for a big sister to want to be close with her little brother that she hadn’t seen for a year?” She pouted.

“N-no, not at all!” I replied. “It’s just that—you feel different than your usual self.”

Suddenly, her smile vanished and she averted her gaze. But then, she quickly recovered, and retaliated by going on the offense.

“Oh? Maybe because I’ve grown up a little since we last met? You’ve been staring at my chest all this time, you know.” She smirked.

“O-of course I’m going to stare! Y-you now have boobs, Sis, and you don’t even wear any bra to cover them!” I protested with a blush.

I knew I should be bad for being a pervert who peeked at his own sister, but given how she reacted, with amusement, and not with embarrassment and distress, I couldn’t help but feel I was the victim here.

“Hehe, I see little Hugo is growing up as well.” She smiled. Wait, was that a sultry smile I just saw? “You’re starting to have an interest in girls, huh? Even though you’re just six. Don’t tell me you’ve gotten your first wet dream already!”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, SIs…” I decided to feign ignorance. Putting up my best upset face, I replied, “I hadn’t wet my bed since I was three, you know!”

“Haah, nevermind. You’re still as innocent as ever.”

Without warning, she started to hug me strongly once again.

“...Let’s just stay like this for a while, please?”

At that moment, I sensed it.

The sadness in her voice.

I had to know it. I had to know what bothered her so much.

“Hey, Hugo… what would you do if… if you have someone who doesn’t like you very much?”

That’s… an out of the blue question. I still tried to answer as best as I could however.

"I think… I think I'll try asking them what they so disliked about me first.”

“I see… But what if—what if they hated you for a nonsensical and petty reason? That you really couldn’t do anything about?”

Now her question just got weirder. What did that even mean?

And then, my dense self finally connected the dots.

She was talking about herself! She got someone that hated her guts in the Academy and she wanted to know how to get along with them!

But what did she mean by a “nonsensical and petty” reason though?

If we were talking about fantasy stories, then fantastical racism certainly could be a possibility. But she was human, and so should be her classmates. If I read my book correctly, the nation where her academy was located was human dominated, same as ours. So what could this reason be about?

“W-well, then I would think of them as a petty person that I wouldn’t bother being friends with,” I replied.

Damn it, I didn’t even know if that was the right answer! It sounded kinda condescending and selfish, but it’s genuinely how I would act in the situation.

Hearing that answer however seemed to make her smile.

“Of course! Why should you make a friend with someone like that?” She let out a short laugh. “There are so many other people you could be friends with after all!”

W-whoa, she suddenly gave me a hug once more! And this time around, she’s wrapping her arms around my stomach instead, with her face buried on my shoulder.

“Thank you, Hugo,” she whispered into my ears. D-damn it, why was this actually turning me on? Maybe because I always had a dream of being whispered upon by a girl like this! Come on, Hugo, she’s your sister! Your sister! And she’s still 11!

“Hehe, you’re blushing, aren’t you? I knew it, you are already at that age after all~”

W-was this how those shota hentai leads felt when they were being assaulted by their onee-sans?

“Do you like it, hmm? Being whispered from the back like this?” She continued her assault.

D-damn it, I wouldn't be able to hold back if this continued!

"Oh, Hugo, you're so adorable, you know that?" She hugged me even tighter. "I know you'll be able to get a cute girl to be your girlfriend in no time at all. And then you'll be able to do things like this all the time with her."

I was relieved to hear that. For a moment there, I thought she had gone full brocon and wouldn't allow me to have any lovey dovey relationship with girls other than her!

"Don't forget about me when you do though."

"O-of course not, Sis!"

Nevermind. She was still a pretty heavy brocon.

“Oh, right, Father said that you have been going around the village frequently, haven’t you? So why don’t you find yourself a girlfriend or two there, hmm?” She decided to tease me again.

For some reason, my mind immediately went to Sherry.

"W-well, there's this one girl that--"

"Wait, what?! You actually have someone you like?!"

She immediately lifted me up and flipped me around so I would face her.

"Tell me **everything** about her. **Now**." She shook me on my shoulders.

H-hey, your expression was getting kinda scary there, Sis!

I told her everything. About how we first met, about her attitude and temper, and even about her unnatural strength.

When I was finished, Marina was in her usual, ponderous look—the one she would be in when she was thinking hard about something, usually something related to spells as we were studying.

“You say she just appeared one day in the village. And that she was an orphan. And Old Woman Farla was employing her hard in her farmland.”

Old Woman Farla was the name of Sherry’s employer. I believed she also stayed and slept in her house when she wasn’t working day and night for her. Some also called her Old Maid Farla, since she never got married, but I believed that would be a bit too rude, wouldn't it? I mean, you could call me an old bachelor in my old life, and you would be right. Even her grumpy, hostile attitude was understandable. Anyone would be that bitter if they grew that old and never experienced love.

Hah, quite funny how a six year old could emphatize so much with a--what, 60, 70-year old grandma?

"She must have gotten her from the city's orphanage then. Most likely for free. Those places were always underfunded and they would always be happy to send their children to work so they wouldn't have to feed them anymore."

"Wow, Sis, you really know a lot of things, don't you? I thought you're just a magic nerd," I couldn't help but tease her a little with a grin on my face.

I really was impressed though. For real.

"Whaaat? I'm not a magic nerd! How dare you say that to your sister, huh? Huh!" She pouted, before assaulting me by tickling my midsection, sending me into a laughing fit.

"Hahahaha! S-stop, Sis! S-stop!" I begged, all teary-eyed.

Damnit, she really knew my weak spot!

She laughed as well before she finally relented. Clearly, she enjoyed tickling me, just as much as I enjoyed teasing her.

"Anyway, she doesn't have any slave collar on her, does she?"

"Slave collar?" I paused.

Oh right, I forgot slavery was still a thing in this world. She could very well be a child slave.

"I-I don't think so. No collars or anything else on her neck."

"Then, she's from an orphanage." She declared as if it was a proven fact. "That also explains her bad temper. They didn’t raise the kids there right most of the time.”

“Sis, how do you know all this stuff anyways?” I couldn’t help but ask. Since when an 11-year old could know so much about orphanages? I found that seriously hard to believe.

“Oh, Mother told me all about it,” she answered quite nonchalantly. “Haven’t she told you that she used to work in an orphanage before she took up adventuring?”

“Wait, really? That’s news to me!” I actually never knew about this!

"Hehe, just like you have your secret talks with Father, I too have my secret talks with Mother." She gave her "I-win-this-round!" smile.

Suddenly, silence.

It seemed we had both run out of things to talk about.

"Well, it's decided then." She smiled wistfully. "Tomorrow, we'll go meet this girlfriend of yours."

"I-I told you, she's not my girlfriend! I don't even know if we're friends yet!"

"Oh, what's the difference? I know that in no time at all, you'll be _really_ good friends with her." She smiled scandalously. Wow, she's really confident of my ability to pick up girls, didn't she? I wondered why. I was _absolutely_ horrible at it in my old life after all.

"Never expected you to like feisty and tempered girls though. Just be careful not to be too pushed around by her alright?"

And with that, our conversation was finally over. It didn’t take long afterwards for me to fall asleep, as she gave me a gentle headpat all the way until I arrived at dreamland.

I couldn’t remember what my dream was that night. Only that it was something pleasant and nice. Not anything perverted though, to my surprise, even though I basically slept with my face buried in her budding chest.

I wouldn’t complain about that. Having lewd dreams about my sister—that would disturb me for sure.

\----

When I woke up, Marina was no longer there. Damn, there went my dream scenario of waking up in the morning with a beautiful girl by my side. Even though that girl was my own 11-year old sister. She must have woken up earlier and returned to her room. She wouldn’t want Father and Mother to know that we had been sleeping together, I imagined.

Sure enough, I found her later having breakfast with Father and Mother in the dining room.

“Hey, Hugo, you’re late!” She greeted me with a smile. I suppose we’re just going to pretend last night never happened then.

After having our breakfast, she immediately declared that she wanted to go to the village. “Hugo, you want to come along?”

She didn’t need to say anything. I already knew just from her face that she wanted me to come, as she wanted to visit Sherry.

“Yeah, of course, SIs!” I quickly replied.

Our parents of course gave us their permission. They even gave us a bag of coins to be used if we wanted to buy something in the village.

And with that, we departed.

\----

The farmland Sherry was working at—Old Woman Farla’s farm—was located on the other side of the village, so we had to walk decently far in order to get there. I wasn’t bothered at all with the fact though. In fact, I couldn’t help but be excited to do the trip. So much so that I challenged Marina to a race. Not all the way, of course. Just a race down the hill from where our house was perched on.

“Haa… haa… haa… wow, you’re fast, Hugo!” She praised me once I won, panting as she was completely out of breath.

“Yay! I’m faster than Big Sis!” I declared with a triumphant smile, though I too was gasping for air. Quite ironic that my current six year old self could run further than my old adult self. That’s what being healthy (and not overweight) got you. Not to mention all the physical training I had gone through with the old man.

“I see that the training you’ve been doing with Dad has its effect! You’re now definitely stronger than me in physical activities, Hugo!” She praised me again. Yes, Sis, praise me! Praise me more!

"Hehe, it wasn't easy, you know. Father can be a harsh teacher at ti—whoa!"

Her white dress! It had turned completely translucent! No doubt from her sweat!

I could see her black panties clearly!

I froze, giving it a good stare for two or three seconds before I finally could avert my gaze.

“S-Sis, y-your dress…”

“Mmm? Oh!” With a blush, she quickly covered herself with her hands. Damn, that was a really cute reaction!

“Oh dear, wait a sec.”

She chanted something under her breath. And then, she moved her right palm all over her body, turning the fabric of her dress dry using what I could only assume to be a drying spell.

It might look easy, but I knew for a fact that it wasn’t. That spell… was not in any of the magic books we had read throughout the years. It was her own original invention. That, or something she learned exclusively from the Academy.

When she was done, her dress had returned completely back to normal.

“So, did you see?”

“H-huh?”

“See them? My panties?”

She was now putting her hands on her waist, staring at me disturbingly similar to how Mother would stare before she gave me a good scolding.

“U-uh, I… uh…”

I looked away, feeling as if I was shrinking under her burning glare.

I was going to lie, telling her that I didn’t see anything.

But then, I did see them, didn’t I? For a good few seconds at that. Should I lie? Would she know?

...No, I would not. That’s what my old self would do. Lying just to save his own ass.

“Y-yeah, I did… Sorry about that, Sis…” I looked her straight in the eyes as I said so. Not doing so would just make myself even look more dishonest than I already was.

And then, her glare suddenly turned into a giggle.

"Oh Hugo, such a gentleman! Even when you're still little!" She came over to me and ruffled my hair. "As your big sister, I'm glad I had raised you well."

And then, she bent her knees and whispered, "You know, if it's you, Hugo, I don't mind you peeking at my panties all you want~♥"

With a naughty, knowing smile, she then ran off, giggling yet again.

T-too much! Sis, you're being too much!

She couldn’t just keep teasing me like this or else I would end up with a sister complex as well! And an older sister one at that! I had always preferred little sisters more, you know!


	6. Woes of The Demon Child

When we arrived at Old Woman Farla’s farm, we were immediately greeted by the sight of Sherry working hard on the fields. It seemed she was busy watering the crops, as she was carrying a large steel watering pail with her. And by large, I meant “half her height” kind of large. And yet, she could carry it with no problems whatsoever, though she had to carry it on top of her head thanks to her not being tall enough to carry it normally.

“Hey, Sherry!” I shouted to her, waving my arms.

She looked up towards me, and a flash of a smile came to her face. It quickly disappeared when she noticed Marina however.

"What do you want? And who is she?" She glared towards her.

"Hello." She returned with a smile. "I'm Marina. Hugo's sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah. Sorry for not telling you beforehand."

She seemed to not appreciate me forgetting to tell her about Marina, judging from her frown. But then again, she's always frowning, so who could tell?

"Thank you for playing with my little brother." Marina gave a little now. "He doesn't have many friends, you see, so I'm glad he can have a playmate of his age."

"I-I'm not his friend though…" She averted her gaze, blushing a little. What's this? Did I just witness a genuine, honest-to-goodness tsundere moment? Now that I thought about it, she fit every stereotypical tsundere characteristics out there! Bad temper, super strength, no hesitation to punch people she didn't like--the only difference was her long black hair, which usually belonged to a prim and proper Yamato Nadeshiko type instead.

"Hmm?" Marina's smile turned into a smirk. "Hugo always talks about you though."

"H-he did? What did he say?"

"That you are really cute and he wants _badly_ to become your best friend."

H-hey, Sis, I never said that! Don't make up things just because you wanted to matchmake me with her!

Her face reddened once again, and of course, I was the one who earned her glare.

“T-then he should say it himself! Not hide behind his big sister like this! I-I don’t like cowardly little boys, you know!”

See, Sis! Now I ended up looking bad in front of her! Hey, don’t just laugh!

"Alright, alright." She finally stopped, wiping a tear off her eye.

And then, all of a sudden, her expression turned all serious.

"Hey, Sherry." She looked at her straight in the eyes, bending her knees. "Do you like working here?"

"H-huh?"

"Here? In that old hag's farm?" Holy hell, did she just straight up call her an old hag?

Sherry didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked down, almost as if she was too scared to answer.

"I… I do not…"

Her answer was uncharacteristically weak for such a strong-willed girl.

"Then, I have a better offer for you. What do you think about living together with Hugo?"

Wait, what?

"We can adopt you, you know. Take you in, and raise you like you're Hugo's sibling."

Sis, what? You hadn't even talked about it with Father and Mother yet! You couldn't just give her empty promises!

"R-really?" O-oh God, her eyes! They're like a puppy's eyes when you tempted them with a biscuit they loved very much!

"Really! Here, why don’t we talk to her now right away?”

With a smile on her face, she took her hand while gesturing towards me to follow her.

Oh Sis, sometimes, I couldn’t figure out what you were thinking in the slightest.

\----

Old Woman Farla's house was on top of the hill overlooking her farm. It was smaller than ours, yet it still was a nice house, certainly a reflection of her upper middle class status.

Big Sis didn't hesitate. She walked straight to the front door and knocked on it. Loudly, I might add.

"What in damnation? Who is that?" I heard an old woman's voice coming from behind the door.

The wooden door opened, revealing the most stereotypical looking witch-like old woman that I had ever met. Really, if she just wore a witch's robe and hat instead of a normal dress, she would be perfect for the role.

“You? Who are—Sherry, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working right now?”

“Hello.” Big Sis gave her the most polite smile she could muster. Yet, at the same time, said smile didn’t reach her eyes. Whoa, scary. “I’m Marina Greenwood, and I’m here in Father’s behalf. We are interested in taking in Sherry here, and we wish to ask for your permission first.”

“Marina… Greenwood? You mean, you’re the daughter of those Greenwoods? Hmph, I see. Just as uncivilized as your parents.”

What the—what’s up with the snide remark? Hey, we were the guardians of this region, you know. Or at least, my Father was.

“Of course, Mrs. Farla,” my sister replied. “We are certainly less civilized than you, who are a descendant of King Marchen The First. Even if that lineage is really, really distant from the current King.” The way she said it was full of venom. I could tell straight away that she was offended by her remark about our family, and that she was striking back by mocking her bloodline.

Eh? I never knew Old Woman Farla was of nobility! Was this another thing our parents told her but not me?

“Better than being a child of adventurers to be sure.” She wrinkled her long, crooked nose. “A bunch of ruffians, those lot. To think that Lord Eriol would employ them to be his knights--Hmph, unbelievable."

If I remembered correctly, Lord Eriol was Father's boss. He was the Baron of the region. Actual nobility, unlike our father.

"If your father truly wants that wild, ungrateful child—" Uh, I could see Sherry’s temper rising at this. "—then he must come here himself. I have no interest in talking to his brat. Good day." She then slammed the door in front of her.

Marina sighed. "Well, that's that. Let's go back home, sha—"

CRACK

"Wild and ungrateful?! How dare she?! I have worked so hard for her! Day and night! And yet she never gave me a single gratitude! She's the ungrateful one!"

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

Holy hell! D-did that just happen? In her anger, Sherry just destroyed the stone pathway she was standing on! Just by stomping on it! Every time she did, pieces of rock flew off to all directions—luckily not hitting either of us—and we could even feel the tremor!

"C-calm down, Sherry, calm down!" I grabbed both of her hands from behind.

Only to end up with my world turned upside down as she threw me over her head as if she was some kind of a pro wrestler. I would’ve landed on the hard stone, if not for Marina running straight at me and catching me mid-air.

When she regained her senses, she looked at us with a horrified expression on her face, before looking down at her own, shaking hands as if she was looking at a smoking gun that she just fired and killed a person with.

And then, she ran away. With her speed, there was no way for any of us to catch up to her.

Marina sighed, patting me on the shoulder once she let me down.

“You got a hard road ahead of you, Hugo, if you really want to be friends with her.”

\----

**Sherry**

Ooh, I couldn't believe it! I was so stupid! How could I have done that? And to him, too?

He had been kind to me, all this time! He was the only kid who wasn't scared of me in the slightest! He would go out of his way every time to visit me each time he went to the village!

And now I screwed it up! Terribly! Ooh, he must hate me now! And his sister would never allow me to go near him ever again!

Before I knew it, I was already far away from the farms. My feet had taken me to the edge of the Merti Forest.

I was all too familiar with this place. It was the only place where I could vent off my frustrations in what I considered to be somewhat of a constructive, even positive way.

\----

I was born in an orphanage in Dearth, the only decently large town in this Sheffield Region. They said they found me on the front door one morning, crying my eyes out.

I was an abandoned child.

Of course, there were many like me out there--babies dumped by their parents for all sorts of reasons, from poverty to simple unwanted pregnancy. I never knew which category I belonged, not that it mattered. **I** didn't receive love from my parents either way.

I never got along with the other kids, nor with the nuns working there, as the orphanage was affiliated with the church. I quickly terrified the former, and the latter thought I was a demonspawn for having such an unnatural strength.

As such, I was always alone ever since the day I was born.

_Hmph, who needs friends or family? I am fine by my own!_

At first, I believed those words wholeheartedly. I believed I could go through life by my own hands and feet, without needing to rely on anybody or anyone except for myself.

But then, I realized--that I was merely lying to myself. I wanted friends. I wanted to have a family.

My pride, however, never allowed myself to admit it. I insisted on my isolation, too scared on ever truly reaching out to others. _They are going to hate me anyways,_ was what I always told myself.

One day, I was summoned to the head nun's room. "Congratulations Sherry! Madame Tennyson has decided to adopt you!" She said with a dishonest smile. I knew for a fact that she never liked me, and wanted me gone as soon as possible.

Well, I couldn't blame her. I was a troublemaker after all.

That was where I first met her. And at that time, even though I was bothered by how grumpy and straight up hostile she was looking, I swore to myself that I would behave and act like a good child for her.

As you might expect, my resolve did not remain untouched for long, as the moment we climbed up the carriage that would take us to her home, she declared, “You will work as my servant. You will tilt my farm and clean my house. If you act good, then perhaps I shall consider sending you to school afterwards.”

_Not as her granddaughter?_ I immediately felt anger bubbling in my stomach. I was betrayed!

But then, I remembered what the nuns always said. _Always be grateful, Sherry. Count your blessings the same way our Saint counts her children._ So I kept it inside me. I still endeavoured to be my best in front of her. I did all my work without complain, even though I found it terribly dull and boring. But then…

“You lazy, idiot child. What kind of cleaning have you been doing if there is still a speck of dust around? Hmph, my old maid could do a much better job than you and she’s already 50!”

“You imbecile! That's not how you plant the seeds! stYou have to spread them out evenly! And you didn’t even dig up the holes right! They have to be perfectly round!” 

“What is this?! You call this tea? I can’t believe this, you can’t even brew a proper tea, you miserable little whelp!” She then threw the entire pot at me, making me scream in pain for the water there was still boiling.

It was like that day after day, with me continuously being scolded for the littlest mistakes that I made. And she would not hesitate to hit me either—slap me on my hand or even on my face, with such force that I was thrown to the floor. And she would also lecture me constantly, especially when we were having our meals together, saying how I should be more grateful to her for “lifting me up from such a wretched place”, referring to my orphanage.

I finally realized the truth.

I was not adopted to become her daughter.

I was adopted to become her slave.

\----

“Get lost!”

Another wolf whimpered as I drove my fist into its stomach. It was sent flying afterwards, crashing onto a nearby tree. And just like the others, it fell just after a single hit.

Around me was the whole pack of wolves, completely obliterated by the mere power of my kicks and punches.

_I really am a monster…_

This was my way of releasing pent-up stress—beating up monsters inside the forest. None of the villagers dared to go here, knowing how dangerous it could be for them, thus making it a perfect place for me to be alone, all on my own.

If only I was older, I would’ve become an adventurer. With my unnatural strength, it would be a very easy job. Beat up a bunch of monsters, go back, and then get the reward from the guild. Unfortunately, you had to be at least ten years old to be able to register with them. Such a silly, stupid rule, really. If you were already strong enough, why not just accept the person? It’s not like they cared if their adventurers got hurt or died doing their quests. It’s a common occurrence after all. Or at least, that’s what the nuns told me, to scare me off from becoming one.

I saw a forest boar in the distance, easily thrice the size of me. It saw me back and It immediately snorted furiously, as it readied itself for a charge towards me.

“Come here, you oversized pig! See if you really can take on the demon child!”

It did just that, and, right before it could hit me, I jumped upwards and gave it the strongest kick I could right on its head.

With a pained roar, it lost its balance, falling down to the side with a tremor.

It was still alive however.

“Take this! And this! And this!”

I kicked it in the stomach, over and over and over again. I put in all my hate, all my rage, and all my fury into it.

_You stupid… stupid Sherry! How could you do that to Hugo? He’s been so nice to you! He’s your very first friend yet you treat him like that? How could you?_

I didn’t care that the pig was squealing for mercy. It was better than hitting myself in the head, for being such a high-tempered idiot.

_No one will like you if you can’t control your temper, you know._ I remembered those words now. One of the nuns always said that to me. She was the kindest of them all.

The pig was no longer squealing. Blood poured out of its head and its soft belly that I had been kicking in. If only I knew how to cook, I could’ve had a feast with its meat. And if I brought it to the village, it would only cause panic.

Sorry, Mr. Pig. I guess you had died for nothing, just like those wolves I just massacred.

I returned back home afterwards, but not before washing myself off any dirt and blood that might have splattered onto me in the nearest river. It was getting dark, and I knew better than to frolic inside a forest in the dark.

I didn’t bother asking for dinner. I didn’t even come from the front door. I simply jumped to the balcony on the second floor and then sneaked inside from there. I knew for a fact that the room was empty, as the old lady slept downstairs. In fact, all the bedrooms in the house were empty, with the exception of her own room. And yet, I was still forced to have the attic as my room. “You are my servant. And servants don’t use the beds of their master.” She told me her reasoning when I asked.

I threw myself onto the hard bed, hoping that I could fall asleep right away.

All I had were nightmares.

\----

“Father, Mother, I have something that I’d like to ask of you.”

It was right after dinner. I stood up, announcing my intention to my parents. From the side, Marina was watching me with a smirk on her face.

“You have to be the one to tell Father and Mother by the way,” she had said to me when we returned. “You’re the one who wants to save her after all.”

“W-what? But you're the one with the idea!” I quickly protested.

“Oh, don’t be such a scaredy-cat." She suddenly scolded me. “You’re a man, aren’t you? Then this is your job. Tell Father and Mother how badly you want her to be by your side.”

Judging by her smirk, I could really tell just how much she was enjoying this. Sis, I’m still six years old, you know! Six years old!

Well, I had no choice. I actually agreed with what she was saying. Ultimately, I was the one who brought up Sherry after all. I could just have ignored her plight and go along with my life as usual. In fact, that’s what my old self would do. He would say something like, “Other people’s family drama isn’t my business”. I was done being a selfish, apathetic bastard though. So I ended up bringing up Sherry’s case to Marina. And I felt that even if I didn’t bring it up with her, I would still end up telling Father or Mother in the end.

“So, there’s this girl named Sherry, and—”

“WHAT?! A GIRL?!”

“SINCE WHEN?!”

Both Father and Mother immediately jumped out of their seats the moment I mentioned a girl. Especially Mother, whose boobs bounced wildly in the process. Daaamn woman, calm your tits down. And now, they were staring at me with bewildered looks that honestly wouldn’t be out of place in a comedy sketch.

“N-no, it’s not—”

"TELL ME ALL ABOUT HER, DEARIE!" She now took my hands while awkwardly reaching over from her seat, giving me an all too nice view of her large breasts pressing onto the table. Father on the other hand was smiling all goofy and proud on the side.

I sighed. What was wrong with my family? Everyone just immediately thought a six year old like me would have a girlfriend the moment I mentioned anything about a girl.


	7. Alone No More

"And that's why I'd like Father and Mother to take her in."

There. I finished my explanation. At this point, both Father and Mother had called down--both sitting back on their chairs upright. They were exchanging glances with each other. Like a good couple, they could communicate just by that.

"So, let me get this straight, you want us to take in an orphan girl that you barely even know, that has unnatural super strength on top of a really bad temper, who actually has psychically assaulted you just because you surprised her, and could have probably killed you if your sister wasn't there?" Father looked at me with an exasperated look, shaking his head.

I didn't plan to tell him about the incident from before. But for some reason, Marina thought it was a good idea to blurt it out to Father and Mother when I was telling them about Sherry! That tattletale! I gave her the most glariest glare I could muster!

"Your Father is right, Hugo." Mother then spoke up with a concerned look. "We can't just take in a dangerous, wild girl like that. If she doesn't hurt you, then she would definitely be a bad influence to you. And besides, there are many other unfortunate kids like her out there. What makes her so special that she should be the one we take in?"

And there it was again. "Wild and dangerous"--the term used by the adults to describe her. I wanted to disagree yet I knew that she was right. She was indeed wild and she was indeed dangerous. With her temper, one day she could end up killing somebody by accident and I would not be surprised.

And yet, and yet I still wanted to help her.

I remembered the first time I met her. As cheesy as it might sound, I could see the loneliness in her eyes when our sight met. _She’s just like the old me_ , I thought to myself then.

Afterwards, we met a couple more times by accident, while she and I were both running errands in the village. And every single time, she would have the same, lonely look.

And then, I decided. I wanted to know more about her.

And so my visit to her became a routine.

We never really talked much to be honest. I would just greet her with a smile, and then she would just return it with a scowl. And then the conversation more or less ended there. I tried asking her to go play with me, but she always refused, saying that she still had a job to do. But I knew, the more I visited, the more she became happier every time I did.

My old, scaredy self would’ve backed out on this matter a long time ago.

But now--now I refused to give up, just like that.

“She’s not a bad girl, Mother!” I tried to argue with her first. “Sure, she might have a terrible temper, but she never meant ill towards anyone! That accident—it was all my fault! I was the one who surprised her! Of course any girl would be flustered if a boy suddenly held her from behind like that! And she had it worse than any other normal orphan, Mother! With her unnatural strength, the villagers always called her as a demon’s child! She couldn’t make friends with anyone! Anyone except me!”

Father and Mother exchanged looks once again.

"So, are you saying you are willing to take the responsibility?" Father then said, folding his arms while staring straight at me. "You will take care of her at all times, until she grew up and became an adult that could take care of herself. Until then, you would have to be beside her by all times, with no exception. And of course, all her mistakes—if she lost her temper and broke something, or even hurt someone, you would share the blame as well. And If even once, you ever expressed any displeasure, or even boredom, of her presence, then I would kick you both out of this house.”

“Father! That’s too much!” Marina immediately jumped out of her seat.

“Silence!” Father’s booming shout was enough to immediately frighten her. “Adopting a kid is a huge task and responsibility! And if your little brother isn’t willing to put his own well-being in the line, then I would never grant his request!”

Silence fell. No one spoke. Defeated, Marina sat back down.

All eyes were on me now.

...

“I’ll do it! I’ll accept your conditions, Father!”

I looked at him straight in the eye with a determined look—both palms tightened into fists.

I had resolved to save Sherry, and I would not back out of my promise, even if that promise was only to myself.

And then, suddenly, the mood changed.

“Aha… ahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahaha!”

_Eh?_

All of a sudden, Father laughed. And Mother soon followed, though hers was more of a serious case of giggling fit.

"Oh, Hugo, I am so proud of you!” With a big grin on his face, Father lifted me straight off my seat to the air. What in the—what’s going on here?!

“We’re just testing you, you know!” Mother then said between her giggling. "To see just how much you really want your little friend here! Oh, sorry about calling her 'wild and dangerous' by the way. I didn't really mean that. I'm sure that she's a good kid, just like you said."

Whaaat? H-had I just been tricked, befuddled, and quite possibly bamboozled?

"To think that my son at such a young age could already be this gallant! Here! Let me give you a big hug!"

F-Father, you're smothering me! Aaarghh! At least let Mother do it so I could get buried in her big boobs instead! Thank God he soon put me down afterwards.

"Alright, Hugo." He patted me in the shoulder. "Tomorrow, we'll go fetch your girlfriend the first thing in the morning, alright?"

"S-she's not my girlfriend, Dad! How many times I–"

"Oh, I don't know about that~ If any boy goes that far for me, I would swoon all over him for sure~"

_Goddamnit, Mom! Don't make me even redder than I already am! And wipe that smirk off your face!_

“Teehee, I see my little brother is all grown up now!” Now even Big Sis couldn’t help herself from giggling!

And so ended our dinner, with me feeling relieved that Father and Mother were willing to adopt Sherry after all. And annoyed as well. That teasing was too much! 

But I was also surprised—surprised by the resolve I just showed. Instead of being all scared and second-guessing myself, I answered Father's challenge readily, even though if I were to fail, the consequences would be severe.

_Have I really changed that much?_

My old self—he would have never been able to do such a thing.

I smiled. I couldn't help but be proud of myself.

\----

**Renee**

Oh, I am so proud of my son.

To think that he could already be so brave, dashing, and gallant in such a young age—oh, I'm so happy that I've raised him right! And he's so kind too, willing to go that far to defend a girl he doesn't even know much of.

Hehe, I wonder if he really does have a crush on her. Well, if he does, I have to make sure that she is a suitable girl for him. I can't have him marrying a girl that would just take advantage of his caring nature after all. No can do.

And of course, I would have to start teaching him how to treat a girl right. Yes. That is really important indeed. So that he wouldn't end up like _him_ when he's older.

By him, I was of course referring to my dear husband Alan, who was now watching me change into my nightgown with that all too familiar perverted look on his face.

Hmph, really, we'd been together for how many years now and he still never got bored at looking at my near naked body as if he was still a teenager. That's why I had to keep wearing skimpy panties and bras every time. I'm already a mother, you know. Mothers shouldn't be wearing sexy undergarments like these.

"A lacy black pair today, huh? Really shows off your butt nicely, my dear." And he said that with a grin and a cheeky thumbs up too! He's always like this! No shame at all once we were inside our room away from the kids! "But I think white indeed suits you the best, dearie. You always wear white in our adventuring days, remember?"

"Of course I remember." I huffed. "You kept peeking at my panties after all." I used to wear a short skirt back in those days under my long robe. It wasn't even _that_ short yet somehow he just kept finding angles and situations to peek at what's inside.

"You know,” At this point, I already finished wearing my nightgown, “That's exactly why I have to start teaching Hugo on how to treat a girl right. So that he wouldn’t be like you when he’s older."

“Hey, I thought Marina was on that job,” Alan protested. “And besides, that kind of stuff should be done by me, you know, his dad! This is the kind of thing that should be talked over by a man to another man! Well, he’s still a boy now but you get the point!”

“Hmph, you’re just going to teach him to woo girls instead! And Hugo doesn’t need that anyways. If he kept that level of devotion he showed us tonight to any girl he liked, there would be no doubt whatsoever in my mind that she would fall for him.” I couldn’t help but puff my chest and smile as I said so. Oh, how proud I was of my little boy.

“Hah, true enough.” My husband chuckled. “Alright, I think that’s enough of the kid for now.”

And then, he suddenly stood up and pushed me to the bed.

The rest, well, you could probably imagine on your own.

\----

**Sherry**

“Wake up you lazy little brat!”

When I returned to the world of the living, it was because of Mrs. Tennyson shaking me so hard that I couldn’t help but open my eyes.

No, that wasn’t the truth. I was already awake when she started calling my name from downstairs.

I simply wasn’t in the mood to wake up early.

After receiving another scolding from her, and the punishment from not having any breakfast, I went downstairs and outside to wash my face. Drawing water from the well beside the house, I threw my entire head inside. I stayed like that for a few seconds, taking in on the nice feeling of cold water on my face.

My stomach rumbled. I really was hungry.

Well, what else was new? So many times I’ve gone hungry when I was still living in the orphanage. The food given to us there depended on the generosity of the people visiting the church beside it. If they gave a lot of donations, then we could eat until our bellies were full. But if not, well, we just had to learn patience, just like the Saint taught us to.

Ah, I hadn’t talked about Her yet, have I? The Saint, or Grand Saint Milicis—if we’re going by her full name—was one of the companions of the legendary Hero a thousand years ago. After defeating the Demon God that was enslaving the world then, she became the founder of the Milicis religion, spreading her teachings as the sole way of salvation for humanity. We were taught that she was the one who chose and gave the Hero his power, as a proxy of Heaven. After her death, her closest disciples became Saints of their own right. And even know, there's a Saint living in their Grand Cathedral. I believed her name was Catherine.

I was never taught in detail by the nuns about how someone could become a Saint, but I knew you needed to be capable of casting a Saint-rank Holy magic to be one. I mean, it's in the name after all. Saint-rank magic was considered the highest rank by the way. When I asked what kind of magic would that be, the nun teaching us just smiled and told us that it had to be something truly miraculous and wonderful. I myself believed it's things like reviving the dead. Now that would be a true miracle.

Personally, I was never a big believer of the Saint. Her teachings—I really couldn’t follow them properly. She told us to be patient, yet my temper remained tempestuous. She told us to be grateful, yet all I received were injustices, one after the other. The moniker of “demon”, that came from Her faith as well. After all, we were always taught that demons were these nastily strong creatures that were the eternal enemy of mankind. They even named an entire continent after them, as apparently only hordes and hordes of demons lived there. The nuns always tried to scare naughty kids—that included me—into obeying by saying stuff like “If you keep being naughty, a demon is going to come to you in the night and carry you to the Demon Continent~”. I myself was never scared by those kinds of stories. After all, if a demon popped out, I was pretty confident I could take it on with my unnatural strength.

Ha, they might be right to call me “demon child” after all.

Those were the reasons why I could never become her nun, or even her priestess, like my friend Nicole did. Nicole was always good-mannered and kind, no matter what occurred to her. No wonder the nuns liked her so much that she was sent to a Milicis religious school.

Me? Ha! I could never imagine myself becoming one! Not that they would ever send me there, with how much trouble I’d caused to them. Out of all the orphan kids, only Nicole was selected. Apparently it was the only scholarship slot that they could get. Normally, you would have to pay a decent sum of money to be accepted there. It wasn’t just a school to become nuns or priestesses—apparently it was also used as a school to train young, rich ladies to become proper ones like the Saint.

Personally, I couldn’t really see the logic behind that. I never had the impression that the Saint was a particularly “lady-like” person. After all, she fought against the Demon God. And that kind of thing reminded me of what adventurers did—defeating powerful monsters and all that. And like the nuns always taught me, adventurers were a boorish, unrefined, and wild lot.

After washing my face, I immediately started my work. Splitting up firewood would be my first task of the day.

As I brought down the big axe to the logs however, my mind couldn’t help but wander back to Nicole. I wondered what she could be doing. No doubt she’s a top student in her class. She was always a studious one after all, devouring religious books and texts like they were nothing.

If only the nuns had been willing to tell me the address of the school, I could’ve sent letters to her. Theoretically. Mrs. Farla certainly wouldn’t give the coins I would need. But they had deemed me to be a “bad influence” to her, which was why they forbid her to have any further communications with me. I already had to press them to know that she was sent to that school in the first place.

_Drip drip_

Oh…

My eyes are watering again.

This always happens every time I reminisce about her.

I wasn't truly alone after all.

I think… I think she might just be my very first and only friend.

"Hey, Sherry!"

I jumped.

I turned around and saw him—that nosy kid that wouldn't just leave me alone.

"H-Hugo?"

"Like I promised, we're here to pick you up!" As usual, his happy-go-lucky grin both annoyed and relieved me at the same time.

"Hey, have you been crying?"

"W-what? N-no, not at all!" I quickly wiped off my eyes with my sleeves. Dumb Hugo! Why must you come now?

He didn't come alone too! His whole family was there with him! Now they all knew that I had been crying!

Stupid, stupid Hugo! Why must you point it out?

“Why don’t you come with us, dear?” The young woman spoke. She must be his mother, making that muscled guy beside her his father. “We’re going to speak with Mrs. Tennyson right now.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Could it be? Could it be that she was really going to take me in?

I looked at her. Her smile… it was far different from the sarcastic, mocking smile that Mrs. Farla always had. It was genuine, a-and… and warm… And she's beautiful as well, with a motherly figure that made me want to hug her.

Am I—Am I really going to have her as my mother?

I could only follow her in a daze.

\----

“So, you wanted her so badly that you and your husband would come here personally to request it of me? Hmph, I know you Greenwoods are audacious but this is too much!"

As expected, the old witch wouldn't give Sherry that easily. With an all-too-smug smirk, she continued.

"She's mine. I took her in as my granddaughter. If you think I'm just going to give her like that, you got another thing coming."

Of course. She's going to play hard, just so she could feel superior to Father and Mother.

I gave a glance at Sherry. She was glaring intensely at the old woman. Of course she's going to be mad if she called her her granddaughter out of the blue! She never did that before when she worked her to the bone! She knew very well that it was just one big, fat, and terrible lie!

“I see. Your granddaughter, hmm? Then may I ask why you are working her to the bone from day to night?” Scary! Mother was absolutely pissed! She was smiling but her smile didn’t reach her eyes! Not in the slightest!

“It is good for her,” the old hag quickly retorted. “The Saint teaches us to be resourceful. An idle hand is the devil’s hands. Rather than wasting time frolicking with those lazy peasant kids, I would rather her grow up to be a diligent girl.” She smirked terribly once again. “And I see you haven’t really done that to your own children, have you? That boy of yours—he would always try to lead my Sherry astray with his idleness, to abandon her work and play with him instead.”

This old hag! How could Sherry tolerate her for so long? She must have the patience of the Saint herself!

My mother, however, didn’t seem to be perturbed by her accusation. “Oh? But the Saint surely does not approve of hitting a child so hard that it left marks on her body.” W-wait, what was that? Was that a bluff? Did she just predict that the old hag would be the type to hit children that she disliked in the guise of “disciplining” her?

I didn’t know at the time but Mother had been using one of the abilities she had as a healer. She could tell where the wounds and illnesses were in a person’s body, without even having them show it to her like you would show your wounds to a doctor. It was an advanced-level healing magic spell. And yet, she could cast it without reciting it, and without me even noticing!

When I learned this, I couldn’t help but say, “Wow, Mother is amazing!”

“Sherry, unbutton your dress. You still have those marks left on your back, correct?” she asked kindly to the girl, her smile suddenly turned genuine. She could only nod, as she too was taken aback by what Mother just did.

She gave a glare towards me, pretty much saying, “Don’t you dare look or else I’m going to punch you in the face!” And so I looked away. Well, it’s not like I would be turned on by seeing whipping scars on a child’s back.

And so she did. And the scars were indeed there, still red from a whipping she experienced four days ago when she tripped and threw a bowl of boiling soup right onto the old woman’s lap.

And speaking of the old woman, she was completely speechless by now.

“W-w-what sorcery is this?!” She yelled. “A-and you can’t criticize me for it! Children need to be discplined! Spare the rod, spoil the child!”

“Enough. You are being unsightly, Mrs. Tennyson.” Mother’s voice had turned blood-chillingly cold. Even from here, I suddenly felt chills all over my body. “Take this gold and forget you have ever mistreated a child of the Saint like this.”

Without a word, she threw over a small pouch of coins, landing right on the ground in front of the old hag.

“10 gold. That should be enough. Good day.”

And with that, she grabbed Sherry’s hand back and took her away.

“She’s not one of us, you know!” The old woman shouted as we left. “She’s a demon, through and through! She’s no child of the Saint!”

None of us heeded her words.


	8. Our New Daily Life

**Sherry**

What happened for the next few hours went by like a dream.

One hour, I was an unloved orphan, worked to the bone by an old lady that never cared about me in the slightest. But the next, I was walking home with Hugo's family.

Yes, home. My new home.

"From today onwards, you will be part of our family, alright?" She told me with a warm smile when we arrived at her home. "Now let's get you cleaned up first. Dear, would you be so kind as to fill up the bath?" She told her husband.

"A-ah right…" He quickly left. Hmm, could it be that she wore the pants in their relationship? Even though he looked to be such a strong warrior…

As I waited, Marina (that was her name, right?) came over to me and gave me a hug, saying how glad that I had joined their family and how happy she was that she could be my big sister. My immediate instinct was to push her away, as I certainly was never used to such an expression of affection, especially with a complete stranger that I barely knew. I could only be comfortable with a hug from Nicole, and no one else. So comfortable in fact that I let her hug me all night as we slept together.

However, as I sank into her embrace, my anxiety of being so close to her vanished completely.

_So warm… and she smells good as well…_

Even though she shouldn't be that much older from her, I couldn't help but notice how she already had somewhat of a mature, motherly body, especially compared to me. Her budding breasts were pushed into my face, as if she intentionally wanted me to be smothered by her chest.

When she let me go, I was as red as a tomato, something that did not escape her notice as she gave a little giggle towards me. With a wink, she then added that if I needed any advice on how to get along well with Hugo, I just needed to ask her.

At that time, I didn’t quite understand what she was hinting at. Or else I would surely have blushed furiously from her statement.

Once the father returned, the mother took me straight to the bathroom and undressed me right on the spot. She then put me inside the bath before undressing and entering herself. The bath was small, but it was enough for two people to sit across each other with relative comfort.

But then, instead of allowing me to sit across her, she instead forced me to sit with her!

“Oh, don’t be shy! We’re family now after all!”

I could do nothing as she put me right in front of her, almost to the point of me actually sitting on her lap. I couldn’t help but blush as I felt her ample breasts pressing into the back of my head.

“So, is this your first time having a bath together like this?" She started pouring water gently on my head.

"N-no… we all used to have our baths together back at the orphanage." I explained to her that once a month, we would visit a bathhouse for our bath. We didn't have much money, so we could only afford the trip twelve times a year. Naturally, this made it a waited occasion for us all, especially when you felt all smelly and dirty for not bathing for an entire month. Well, the boys might not care but us girls certainly did.

There, we all were forced to share a pretty cramped bath. It was the cheapest bathhouse in town after all. The water wasn't even warm, let alone perfumed like the bathhouses nobles liked to use, like Nicole told me.

Speaking of Nicole, she was there as well, and she would always help me brush my hair as I took my bath. She always said how jealous she was of my long and straight hair, as hers were curly, and took a great deal of care—compared to mine, at the very least—to be kept prim and proper. She usually wore her hair in two thick braids. I thought it was very cute on her, but she always returned that my long raven hair was cuter. She even joked that once I was older, I would have so many suitors that I wouldn't know what to do with them.

I doubted that. No one would want a bad tempered demonically strong girl like me. But I knew Nicole said that to comfort me, so I was glad to receive her compliments nonetheless.

"I see." She smiled back. "Well, it certainly could be fun, taking baths together like that. Perhaps not if you're a shy person though. Like me."

"You are?" I looked up to her face in surprise. "But you are so brave, standing up to Mrs. Tennyson like that!"

"Well…" Her smile turned mischievous. "I suppose you could say I'm less shy now. Alan is probably rubbing off on me."

"Alan?"

"Your new father, silly!" She giggled, messing up my hair a little.

"S-sorry, I-I didn't know his name yet." I looked down. I felt ashamed, not knowing the name of my benefactor.

"Oh, don't feel bad!" Kyaah! She suddenly hugged me from behind. "You'll get all the time you need to know him later! And me as well! Let's be good friends, shall we?"

As her big breasts pushed down heavily on my head, I couldn't help but remember my bathing time in the orphanage again. There, the older girls would flaunt their developed bodies to the younger girls. I couldn't help but be annoyed by them, perhaps out of jealousy of my own underdeveloped figure. I knew it's ridiculous for a child like me to think about that kind of stuff, but I always wanted to grow up quickly and become an adult. Even now.

"Don't fret, Sherry." Nicole sweetly said to me. "You'll grow up as beautiful as they are. I just know it."

To me though, Nicole would be the type to turn into a big-boobed woman once she grew up. Me? I'll remain thin and bony and awkward-looking for the rest of my life.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted upwards. She turned me around, making me now face to face with her and her big chest, which I couldn’t help but take a good, long stare at.

“Hmm? You like my breasts, don’t you?”

“A-ah, n-no! I-I didn’t mean to—”

“Shh, it’s alright. You’re my daughter now, after all.”

And then, she buried me in her cleavage.

“Ummmmm1 Hmmmmmmmhhh!”

I struggled to escape, but for some reason, my superhuman strength seemed to have disappeared. I was now like an ordinary little girl, struggling to escape her mother’s escape just because she thought she was already too old for it. In retrospect, I was happy for that, or else I could have actually hurt her. I would never forgive myself if I had.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally loosened her grip, though she still was holding me up with her hand. “Warm, isn’t it? The embrace of a mother? I thought you could use one, after all you’ve been through…”

_Drip drip_

My tears… they were dripping out again.

"Oh dear…" She gently wiped them off my eyes with her finger. "That's no good. You are prettier if you smile, you know. Here. Have another one."

This time, I did not struggle in the slightest.

I had found what I always wanted at last.

Family.

\-----

**Renee**

When I released her for the second time, I finally saw it. Her smile.

I smiled back, patting her on the head. As a mother, there's nothing that made me happier, seeing my children smile.

Yes, she is one of my children now. I have decided so.

Well, perhaps my daughter-in-law would be more correct, if she really is going to marry my Hugo in the future, teehee.

_Hmm?_

I took notice that she was once again staring at my breasts.

Ah, I remember this. Marina used to do the same, stealing glances at them when we still took our baths together. She never really wanted to interact with them though. Too shy, I believed, seeing how she would blush when she saw them out of the water. That silly girl really could be too serious for her own good.

And Hugo, oh that boy. He was all over them when he was younger. He would squeeze them and play with them so ravenously as if he was his father! And even now, I still notice him stealing glances at my chest when he thinks he can get away with it.

And if I would have another child, which I certainly hoped I would, they would surely be attracted to my breasts as well.

"Dear, do you really like my breasts that much? You're staring again you know." Forgive me, Sherry, but I just couldn't resist teasing you a little.

"I-I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to, I-I swear!”

There she blushed again. Hmm, I guess she’s more like Marina than Hugo then.

“Here. Why don’t you have a little touch?”

I brought her hands to my two mounds, putting them firmly on the soft and bouncy fat.

 _Munyuuu~_

Her redness immediately increased two-fold as a result.

Oh she is just so unbelievably cute! I just want to squeeze her cheeks before gobbling her up!

"Soft, aren't they?" My smirk only got wider. "You can fondle them all you want, dear. Like I've said, I am now your mother after all. And little kids can fondle their mother's breasts all they want."

"I-I'm not at that age anymore! I'm already eight years old!" She protested, not realizing that she was only making herself look even cuter!

"Ah, so that's how old you are." I answered calmly. "Well, you never have the experience of playing or drinking milk off a mother's bosom, right? I can't give you the latter, but I certainly can give you the former."

"Or perhaps you'd prefer to do it later, when we sleep together for the night? Oh, don't worry about Alan. He can manage not being with me for a night."

She paused for a short moment, before quickly agreeing with my proposition.

She's definitely embarrassed. She probably thought it would be less embarrassing if my breasts were covered.

Well, too bad. My nightgown is quite skimpy and revealing after all. She would just have to bear with a sheer silk that wouldn't hide my breasts in the slightest.

...I really am having too much fun with her, aren't I? Maybe I should step it down a little. Too much affection isn't good for the child after all.

...Oh, it's fine. Give me a few days and then I'll tone it down. 

But for now, little cute Sherry is my new sweet daughter!

\----

Before I knew it, Sherry already became a natural part of our family.

To my surprise, she was actually two years older than me, even though she was shorter. So I guess that made her my older sister as well? Lame. I already had one. What I wanted was a little sister instead. She’s shorter than me so I should be the big brother! That was my thought.

Speaking of older sisters, Marina started teaching me magic once again, just like old times. To my awe, yet as I predicted as well, she already improved quite significantly from her old self a year ago. First, she was now capable of using summoning spells. The academy facilitated students’ attempt at forming contracts with spirits, something you would need to cast a summoning spell. “Every type of spirit has their own ways of forming a contract with a mage,” she explained to me. “For example, for a simple fairy, you would only need to place a pot of flower near your bed for a week, sprinkled by a special potion you would prepare beforehand that would contain a piece of your hair. Then, you would have a dream where you enter their world. There, you find a fairy to persuade in becoming your spirit. Mine, she just came to me and praised how I smelled, then she told me that she wanted to join. Odd fairy, wasn’t she?” She couldn’t help but giggle a little. “Well, she’s a flower fairy, so I suppose it makes sense that she would love pleasant smells.”

She liked the way she smelled, eh? Well, she indeed smelled good every time she hugged me…

“I then contracted with a dryad. She’s part of the Fey spirits, which meant I would do the same proceedings as before, then we had a little hide and seek game in the forest there. She was surprisingly hard to find, as she would camouflage herself amongst the trees. But I managed to find her anyway, so she became my spirit as well.”

“So, you can just choose whatever spirits you want to summon?” My eyes glimmer with excitement. “Then, how about some cool stuff like giant wolves or the like?” To be honest, I didn’t think I wanted to summon fairies or dryads. Maybe the dryad, if she’s all flirty and naked like the common depiction in fantasy games and stories. But if I wanted a spirit for that, I could just choose a succubus instead. Hmm, maybe I should really summon a succubus instead!

Wait, no, that would be too dangerous. I was still a six years old boy after all. If this world follows the same lore as the succubi back in my world, then they would probably want a constant meal of my semen as payment, which I would be happy to give… if I wasn’t a six year old boy that hasn’t even reached puberty yet. If not given, they would probably suck out my soul instead or something. Brr, no thanks.

“Giant wolves?” She replied in astonishment, before laughing. “Oh Hugo, they would be way beyond your level.” But then, her expression turned stern all of a sudden. “No, really, never try it. You could die doing it. There’s a good reason why we could never find anything related to spirit binding pacts at home. It’s because it’s really dangerous. So many spirits out there are outright malicious. They will curse or even devour any mages that called upon them if they don’t find them worthy to be their master. Basically, bad things would happen if you failed a pact ceremony.” I gulped. That sounded scary indeed. 

“I only made my pacts under the supervision of the teachers of the Academy.” She continued her explanation. “So don’t try anything stupid while I’m gone, alright? Not that you could anyway. We don’t have any summoning books here after all. And no, before you ask, I’m not lending you any! If you’re going to learn any summoning magic, it has to be under my supervision! Understand?”

Damn, she’s good at this. She should be a teacher in the future.

I didn’t say anything about how the way she lowered herself in front of me exposed her budding breasts though, thanks to her loose clothes. Now that was something a teacher shouldn't do. Unless you're aiming for the sexy teacher look, of course.

She then showed me the two summons she had talked about. With each having their own chants, she brought them to my presence.

"Hola, Marina!” The fairy smiled with great cheer.

“Hehe, what do you need today, Marina?” The dryad smiled brightly as well.

The fairy looked like your usual fairy. Small with insect wings, about the size of an adult fist. This fairy styled her blue hair in a long twintail. She wore a short blue dress, matching the color of her hair.

The dryad, on the other hand, really did not wear any clothes, with her long and shaggy green hair covering her wood-like body. Unlike your monster girl interpretation where she would just be like a naked teenager, her wooden body certainly gave quite the turn off. Not to mention her pitch-black eyes that had no pupils whatsoever. And her sharp fingers as well, with no fingernails. In short, she’s the teenage girl version of a treant.

"Oh, nothing special. I just called you two here to show to my little brother how a summoning spell looks like." And just from that smile, I can already tell that she's really proud of herself. 

Sis, being a showoff is no good, you know. 

But then again, she's probably only like this with me and our parents, so I suppose it's forgiven. I too always loved to brag my accomplishments to my siblings and parents. I wanted to make them proud of me after all. Well, until I gave up and became a failure, that is.

"Ooh, so he's your little brother?"

"How cute!"

The two now stared at me with curious eyes. I couldn't help but blush a little from the sudden attention I was receiving.

"Oh, right, I haven't talked about how feys differ from demons, have I?" Marina suddenly interrupted. “Well, they don’t, really, fundamentally speaking. Do you know what the term ‘demons’ really refer to?”

Hmm? Now that I thought about it, I actually didn’t know. So many times demons were mentioned in the books I had read, but none of them really defined them from real. They probably assumed that their readers would already be familiar with the term.

“What people referred to ‘demons’ were usually those that lived in the Demon Continent. And that includes the Fey.”

“Hey, don’t lump us off with those brutes!” The dryad suddenly protested. “We Fey have a territory of our own that is free from the influence of them! Like the Great Fairy Forest where we live!” The fairy nodded in agreement.

“Oh, forgive me. It’s not my intention to insult your people.” Marina quickly apologized. “But that’s exactly my point. The common folk don't really care about the distinction. Any nonhuman races that don’t have an alliance with us humans are deemed as demons in their eyes. In Milicis lands, it’s actually forbidden to perform summoning spells even.”

Milicis? Oh, it’s the most prominent religion of this world. They got their own theocracy and all. Well, Father and Mother didn’t seem to be amongst its followers though.

“Oh, look at that! It’s time for me to go!” The fairy suddenly exclaimed. “Payment please!” She flew straight towards Marina’s hair and gave it a good, long sniff. “Mmm, smells good as always! Cha chao!” And with that, she suddenly disappeared with a poof.

“Time for my payment as well,” the dryad then exclaimed. Marina nodded with a smile, walking towards her before tapping her wand onto her head, almost as if she was knighting her.

“There. That’s enough nutrition, right?”

“Yep!” The Fey exclaimed cheerfully. “Goodbye, Marina! Goodbye, Marina’s little brother!”

She went poof as well. Hey, she didn’t even know my name!

And with that, Marina decided to end our lessons for the day.


	9. Our New Daily Life Pt. 2

When we returned, Sherry was still busy doing her sword training with Father.

“Hyah! Hyah! Hyaaaah!”

Kaboom! The dog-sized rock that was standing in front of her was split into two. And she didn’t even need to actually connect her sword to the rock. She did it by just swinging it in a powerful downward slice from a distance.

Suddenly, I felt a pat on my shoulder. It was Father’s. “Sorry Hugo, but she totally outclasses you, even though she has only trained for a week.”

“I know, Dad.” I crossed my arms with a grump, sighing. “I really can’t compete with her super strength.”

Of course I was grumpy. I had trained for an entire year, yet I couldn’t even brag about it to either Sherry or Marina. The former could pretty much kick my butt, with or without a sword, and the latter, well, I changed my mind on trying to show off to her. With how much better she had gotten in magic, there was really no point in me bragging how I could do basic swordfighting now. I couldn’t even break a rock yet.

“Not just talking about that. The way she handles a sword—she’s a complete natural.” Father continued his praise. “And thanks to her strength, she’s perfectly suited for my style of swordsmanship too. She’s the student I always wanted!” He said with a laugh.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad. Really, now I felt like my old self again, whenever my parents praised my siblings instead of me.

"What? So I am **not** a student you want?" I said with a huff.

"N-no! Not at all, Hugo! Not at all!"

Sorry, Dad, but I just couldn’t help myself.

“Oh, don’t be so down on yourself, Hugo.” Marina interjected with a smile, messing up my hair as she often did. “You’re good at magic after all! When you reach my age, I have no doubt that you’d be better at me at it! Right, Father?!” Whew, she sent him a chilling glare that outright reminded me of Mother when she got angry.

“R-right, o-of course you are right, Marina!” He quickly answered with a cough. Ah, he really was weak to a woman’s glare like that. Well, I wouldn’t blame him. It really was quite scary.

Noticing our presence, Sherry stopped her training. The moment she saw me however, she quickly averted her gaze before running away. Huh, what? What did I do?

I would only know the reason later on.

\-----

**Sherry**

Ooh, I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t even look at him now! This was all **her** fault! She didn’t need to tell me all that, did she?

It had been only a week since I became a Greenwood, and yet I felt as if I had already been with them forever. Mrs. Renee, or as she insisted, M-m-mother—Ooh, I still couldn’t call her that!—had been really good with me. She made me sleep with her, where I could indulge in the warmth and love that I desperately wanted, even if I myself refused to admit it. She truly loved me, just like she loved her children. It didn't take long until I no longer minded having my face buried in her large chest. There was nothing embarrassing about it. In fact, it was a wholesome expression of her motherhood. It was normal for a woman's breasts to grow big when she became a mother. At least, that's what Nicole told me.

But then, last night, she told me something. About how it was Hugo who fought for me to be adopted into the family. "He stood up and said to us with this really serious look on his face, 'Father, Mother, I have a request for you two'. He then told us all about you, still with that serious look. Really, it was a mixture of both cuteness and coolness. What a sight that was!" She told me with a dreamy smile and a giggle. I could tell just how much she was proud of him for that speech of his. "'I won't let you insult her, Mother!' he then said with anger when I teased him about you, calling you 'wild and a bad influence'. Oh, sorry about that by the way. Didn’t mean that in the slightest.” She ruffled my hair with a smile. If she were a stranger, I probably would've been furious. I was never able to take any insults directed to me in stride. All the kids that teased me—I beat them up until they all stopped doing so in fear. But her, she was different. I knew she was just putting on an act, but what she said was true. I was wild and dangerous. Anyone who angered me would be hurt by me sooner or later. Even Mrs. Farla, who I was only patient with because I thought I could make her love me one day. And I knew that once I lost that desire, I could end up taking her life in a fit of rage. Such was my selfish self, only ever caring about my own needs and well-being. And so I said nothing, other than a flash of sadness on my face. To my relief, she continued onward, seemingly not noticing the change in my expression. 

“At that moment, I knew that you’re not just a flight of fancy of my son. That he truly cares for you and wants you to escape the horrible life you have endured all this time. In fact, I dare say that he likes you, Sherry.”

Wait, l-like? A-as in, r-romantically? N-no, t-that can’t be right! N-no one would ever—

“Now, now, before you go into denial, let me tell you something. You are a really, really cute little girl, you know.”

“C-cute?! N-no! I’m not cute! Not cute at all!” I quickly denied, waving my arms around as I blushed terribly.

“Nonsense. Your long and straight raven hair—many girls would die to have such amy dear." lustrous hair. Look at how smooth they are.” She then combed her fingers through said hair. “Guys love playing with long hair like this, you know.” She smiled knowingly, as if she spoke from her own experience. Oh, right. She normally put her long blonde hair up in a bun. But now, she’s sleeping with it flowing freely down her back.

“I-I think blonde hair like yours is much prettier though… I-I mean, the Saint has long flowing locks that goes down to her feet! A-and she's supposed to be really, really beautiful, isn't she?!" I would've brought up Nicole as well. She too had pretty golden locks that I was jealous of.

"True enough." She continued to smile, still playing with my hair. "Milicis is certainly portrayed like that by the Church, doesn't she? Well, as a blonde myself, your black hair matches perfectly with your emerald eyes. With some dressing up, you would be so cute and adorable that Hugo would never be able to pull his eyes away from you."

“N-no! I-I don’t want to be Hugo’s lover or anything like that!” I blushed even harder.

“Oh? Is my son not good enough for you?” Her eyes suddenly went cold.

“N-no, not at all! He’s a really good and cute boy! Any girl would be lucky to have him!” I didn’t notice what I just implied, until she let out a giggle.

“I see. So you think he’s cute, hmm?" Damn it, I'd fallen into her trap! "Then, if, and this is just an if, you end up becoming his lover once you two are older, would it be to your liking?"

I paused. I didn't know how to answer. I was about to tell that no, she was wrong, that I had no feelings whatsoever for her son. But, that would be a lie. I **did** have some feelings for him. He was so genuine and sweet that I could not help but be fond of him. He was the first boy I had ever liked in my life.

But as a romantic partner? A lover? A-and a wife even? Immediately my imagination ran wild. I saw him, kneeling before me, offering me a ring as he proposed to me. And, like the shameless fool I was, I imagined him first as his child self, with his innocent, bright smile, before transforming him into what I imagined him to look like once he was older. Still with the same smile, but much, much more charming.

I had made him into a Prince Charming with me as the blushing princess, straight from the stories Nicole liked to tell me, even though back then, I always thought that she was better fitted for the role.

This, naturally, only increased my embarrassment even further.

“I-I don’t know.” I answered her, averting my face away. Ooh, it must be really red right now. “I-I certainly think that whoever he ends up marrying would be very happy… b-but that can’t be me, can it? H-he certainly doesn’t like me that way! A-and I would make a bad wife! I-I have a bad temper, a-and I can’t cook at all!” It’s true. Mrs. Farla tried to make me learn how to, but after months of trying, the cook who was supposed to teach me gave up. “This girl has no talent in cooking whatsoever!” He declared with passion, after I burned Mrs. Farla’s omelette for the 34th time. Yes, he counted it all. In the end, he had to be employed to act as the house cook, to Mrs. Farla’s dismay. It seemed she wanted to save money by making me do everything. 

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." She smirked. "I'll teach you all you need to become a good wife, alright? I too had to learn all this stuff, you know. Cooking, cleaning, satisfying him in bed…"

"S-satisfying him in bed? Y-you mean d-doing—"

"Oh, oops! You're still too young for that." She giggled. "I'll tell you all about **that** when you're older, alright?" She winked. I knew what she was talking about. All thanks to Nicole accidentally borrowing the wrong book from the town library. No, to be more exact, she thought it was just an ordinary fantasy book like the ones she always had. But then, we got to the scene where the hero visited the heroine’s room after they had faced a tough battle and won. We didn’t get far, as Nicole quickly closed the book, apologizing for reading such a “sinful” book, before hurrying back to the library to return it. But I remembered how the hero pushed down the heroine to the bed before grabbing her breasts, and that apparently made her moan.

When Nicole returned, I couldn’t help but ask what the odd scene was. She could only answer, “I-it’s something intimate between two lovers. Husband and wife stuff. W-we’re too young to be reading that kind of stuff, really.” She gave me a nervous grin as her face reddened once again, walking away from here to end the conversation. I wasn’t satisfied however, so I went to the library myself, and read the rest of the scene on my own.

And thus, I lost my innocence. I now knew what lovers did in their bedroom together at night, in the exact, graphic detail. My knowledge of the term “satisfying him in bed” came from there as well.

A-and to think I would have to do all _that_ with him? W-with Hugo? I would have to let him push me down and grab my chest before throwing kisses all over my neck, as I moaned lewdly? Then he would take off his pants and take off my panties and thrust his—

”Oh dear, you seem to already know about a wife's duty in bed already." I didn't know how, but she just read my mind completely!

"N-no, I don't—"

"Shh, that's fine. That's perfectly fine. The first time I read a dirty book, I was also eight, just like you. It was my older brother's actually. Oh, the look on his face when I asked him about it." She giggled again.

“But enough about that for now.” I sighed inwardly in relief. Thankfully, it seemed she had decided to change the subject of our conversation, saving me from further embarrassment. “So, how about it? Do you want me to teach you all there is to know about housekeeping and being a wife?”

I paused once again. Cooking and cleaning. If I were to be honest, I never liked doing either, not when I was in the orphanage, and certainly not when I still lived with Mrs. Farla.

"Y-yes! I would love to!" I accepted, not because I liked them, but because I wanted to be grateful. I wanted to repay her and her family for accepting me, a complete stranger, as one of their own like this. If I could help around the house by cleaning and cooking and doing the laundry, I would certainly do so.

"Great!" She clapped her hands together. "We can start tomorrow morning with breakfast, alright?" I nodded. "Oh, and one more thing…"

\----

"Ahhh… warm baths after a long day of training really are the best…"

I was now inside the bathroom, sitting inside the bathtub filled with warm water. Thanks to the heating pebble placed inside, there was no need to warm up the water beforehand with firewood (or a fire spell). Thanks to our close proximity with Mira, we can buy magic objects like this pretty cheaply.

And then, all of a sudden, the door opened. Ah, I forgot to lock it again.

“Dad, is that—w-whoa, S-Sherry?”

“Y-young Master Hugo! P-please allow me to wash your back!”

My jaw dropped. There she was, standing in front of the door, wearing what was most definitely a maid outfit.

I blinked once. And twice. And thrice, just to make sure that I wasn’t hallucinating.

Yep, she's still there, alright, in her glorious frilly maid outfit. She even got the headdress on. The design looked like your usual, prim and proper maid outfit, with a long skirt plus apron and long sleeves. There was just a little twist to it. The chest area was white, as the black dress was open on that part, with her wearing a white underdress underneath.

C-cute! Too cute! And her getting all embarrassed only makes her cuter! I was normally more into blonde loli but she was undeniably, blindingly cute at this point! So much so that I went into panic mode!

"I-I'm coming in!"

"W-w-wait, Sherry, I-I’m naked right now, you know! Naked!”

“T-that’s fine! I-I promise I won’t look! Y-you can just sit on the edge of the bath away from me a-and I’ll wash your back that way!”

Clearly, she was as embarrassed as me. Hell, she might even be more embarrassed.

But for her to do this, there must be a good reason. And I could only think up one single reason. One person, to be exact.

_Mother put her up to this, didn’t she?_

I sighed inwardly. Ever since Sherry became part of our family, I noticed how she was clearly matchmaking me and her. And this would just be yet another one of her schemes.

_Even though I already told her that we’re not like that…_

_Well, I probably wouldn’t mind actually going out with her once we’re older though… She’s pretty cute after all, hehe…_

For someone who had died a virgin like me, I have to take any chances I could to get a girlfriend! That’s one of my resolutions when I was reborn here!

She walked in, still as red as a tomato. She tried to keep her eyes away from my naked upper body, but it didn’t escape me that she would steal some glances here and there when she thought I didn’t notice.

“H-hey, Mother told you to do this, didn’t she?”

“N-no! I-I’m doing this out of my own will! Now would you just shut up and let me wash your back? N-no, I-I mean, p-please turn around and let me wash your back, Y-Young Master Hugo!”

Oh God, the way she corrected herself like that! She's so cute I feel I could get a heart attack from the cuteness!

I did as she asked, slowly lifting myself upward until I sat on the edge of the tub. I couldn’t help but blush however, as even though I could cover my little guy with my hands, my arse would be fully visible to her.

_H-ha… Why am I blushing like this? She’s just an eight year old girl! And you’re supposed to be a pervert, for God’s sake! You can’t show off a little butt to a cute girl?_ It was like this too in my old life. When I was still a popular kid, I pushed away the girls that took interest in me, simply because I was too shy to engage with them.

That decision haunted me for the rest of my life. I could have become a real deal harem protagonist, goddamnit!

“U-umm, you’re supposed to rinse off with water first, right?”

I couldn’t see how she looked as I was looking away from her. But I could tell that she was definitely still blushing, just like me.

Using the water bucket placed nearby, she poured half of it on my head, making me shiver as the water there was colder than the water in the bath. Then, she gave the washing rug a little soap, before rubbing my back with it. Of course, that soap was quite different from the liquid soap I was used to back in my old world. It was an alchemy concoction, and since this world didn’t seem to have industrialized magic production, a bottle of soap could cost you a fortune. So she had to be careful not to waste even a single drop.

"O-ouch! H-hey, don't be so rough!"

"S-shut it! I just want to clean you up all proper—I-I mean, o-of course, Young Master! I-I'll try to be gentler."

She's really bad at this maid stuff, isn't she?

Well, might as well enjoy it while it lasted.


	10. Sherry Goes On The Offense!

**Sherry**

_Urgh, stupid Hugo! Why must he be so whiny? Too hard, he says! Well, if you’re going to scrub something, you have to press the rug hard onto it!_

_Tch, he should just shut up and let me do it! It’ll end faster that way!_

_Grr, why am I doing this anyways? To be washing a boy’s back like this, a-and a naked one at that! Ooh, what would Nicole think?_

Such thoughts swam inside my head as I worked on Hugo’s back. Since he complained that I was rubbing it too hard, I tried to tone down my strength, moving the cloth slower and pressing it less hard.

_For a boy, his back and shoulder are surprisingly pretty firm… Must be from the training he got from Sir Al—I-I mean, F-Father…_

Before I realized it, I was ogling him once again, as when he lifted himself off the bath, I obtained an eyeful of his behind. O-of course, I quickly looked away, and even now, I tried not to look downwards. I-I was not a pervert after all. The realization that staring at a boy’s naked back was also a perverted thing didn’t dawn on me until I was nearly finished, and it made me scrub the rest of his body as fast as I could, earning another complaint from him.

“S-shut up! I-I’m almost finished here! Don’t be a big baby!”

Grrr. Yet again, instead of giving him the respect he deserved, I was scolding him, just to mask my own embarrassment. I still remembered Mother’s words, about how I should treat him kindly, just like Marina. Technically, I too was his big sister after all.

_B-but it’s not fair! Marina already knows him for her entire life! I bet she could wash his back without a single blush manifesting on her cheeks! She might even be able to do the front as well!_

I couldn’t help but feel jealous of her. She knew Hugo so well. And they had their magic training together from the morning until the evening.

I knew that she would have to return back to her boarding school once summer was over, but still, looking at them, I could see that they shared a closeness that I could not pierce through. 

_Ah, that’s right! Once she’s gone, Hugo would have to return back to his sword training! That means we could train together for the other 9 months! Watch out, Marina! I’m coming for your No.1 sister spot!_

...Oh, who was I kidding? I knew I could never replace her. Even if I could have more time with Hugo than her, I would never have the courage nor the temper to be really close with him! I would be too shy, and I would push him away!

“O-ouch, h-hey, d-don’t you think that’s enough already? My skin is already dry, you know!”

O-oh right, I had been rubbing his back on the same spot all this time.

“I-it’s done, Y-Young Master. L-let me rinse you afterwards.”

I turned around to grab the bucket again—

Only to slip forward, pushing both Hugo and myself straight into the bath.

I didn't know how it had happened. Perhaps some soap had spilled over, causing the ceramic floor to turn slippery. Perhaps it was me, not used to the fancy shoes I was wearing. Or perhaps it was just Fate, playing a prank on us. Well, the latter seemed to be most likely, as what happened afterwards could only come from the most unfortunate of coincidences.

As my face went underwater, I saw it. What lied in the middle of a boy's legs. The "spear of manhood", as that lurid book described. When I surfaced, I was completely red in the face. And horrified by what I just saw. 

It wasn’t the first that I saw, as the little boys in the orphanage, around one to two years old, would sometimes wander around completely naked, as the nuns missed them. However, this was completely different. It belonged to Hugo, a boy that I had seen as a friend, and a boy whose mother had told me to marry when we were older. 

And I saw it all in its full-sized glory, ready to pounce, just like that book described.

How could I not be embarrassed from such a sight?

Hugo soon surfaced as well, coughing up some water that had entered his throat.

And then, his eyes stared right towards my chest.

“Kyaahhh!”

I immediately covered myself with my arms. If my face could have gone any redder, it certainly would have.

The white part of my outfit—it had gone completely transparent, exposing my chest to his staring eyes.

At that time, I was completely flat, of course. However, I was old enough to have the same embarrassment as older, more well-endowed girls when their white shirts turned translucent, revealing whatever bras they wore underneath. In fact, it might be a little bit worse, as I didn’t wear any bras after all.

I couldn’t say anything. I could only feel my embarrassment reaching the tipping point, thanks to that and what just occurred under the water.

“P-pervert!”

I slapped him as hard as I could, before running away from the bath, leaving a trail of water and tears behind.

And so, what was supposed to be me giving my gratitude to him, ended up in a complete disaster. My temper had won over me once again. I didn’t even dare to look back, to see how much damage I had dealt to my benefactor by my full-powered slap. I immediately went to my room and locked myself there, like the coward I was.

And then, I cried.

\------

“Oh no…”

I could only watch as Sherry left the bathroom like a hurricane, after giving me a good slap in the face.

Well, it was my fault. I did stare at her naked chest after all. I simply could not resist. Did you know how erotic it was to see a white fabric turn see-through like that on a girl? Even if that girl was an eight year old who was as flat as a board.

To my confusion however, the slap she just did—it barely hurt my cheeks. I thought she was supposed to have super strength. Where did that go?

I shuddered when I imagined what could have happened if she did hit me with her full strength though. My head could end up dislodged from my neck, I felt.

_Mom, this is all your fault. That transparent fabric… you must have planned it from the start, haven't you? Just so she can get all embarrassed in front of me?_

_Thanks Mom, I-I mean, ahem, that's terrible, Mom! Poor Sherry must be crying right now!_

I stood up, drying myself with a towel before I dressed myself up. I resolved myself. I had to go pay her a visit ASAP. If I knew her, she’s most likely back in her room right now.

Yeah, my old self would certainly have run away from this situation. I would just think, "Hey, it's her own fault she tripped! And she even took me down with her! And she dared getting angry with me?!" Perhaps I was right. It was her fault after all. As long as I was in the "right", I wouldn't care about anything else.

But now, I realized that way of thinking was wrong. It didn't matter who was in the "right". If you got into a fight with someone, you had to reach out to heal that gap. Swallow your foolish pride, if you truly wanted to be friends again.

And that was exactly what I was going to do now.

I climbed upstairs. Her room was right beside Father and Mother’s. Naturally, I found the door to be closed. “Sherry?” I knocked on the door. “Umm, s-sorry about that… I-I really shouldn’t have stared…” No response. Instead, I just heard muffled sobbing from behind the door. Oh God, I now felt even guiltier. What a garbage human being I was, making a little girl cry like this. “L-look Sherry, it’s my fault, alright? It’s completely my fault. You might think of me as this completely good kid, but that isn't true in the slightest. I am a pervert, through and through. I would have a peek at Big Sis' cleavage every time she bent over in front of me. And Mother's bouncing, swaying breasts fascinated me to no end. So when I got to see your naked chest, I couldn’t keep my eyes away! You were so cute that I would hate myself if I didn’t get to see it! So please, f-forgive me!” I bowed as deeply as I could to the door, even though I knew she couldn’t really see me doing it.

Silence. No response. But at the very least, it seemed the sobbing had stopped.

"You—you think I’m cute?”

_...Eh? W-w-what's with her question all of a sudden?_

“W-well, I think… I think y-yes, I think you are, Sherry! Very cute in fact! The cutest girl that I’ve ever met!”

I could not help but blush as I said such cheesy, cheesy words. I was about to chicken out on answering, saying noncommittal stuff like, "Well, you look nice…". But I remembered what Father had said the other day. 

"Hugo, if you like something about a girl, make sure to tell her that, alright? You want girls to like you when you're older, right? So always be honest with them, and tell them what you like about them, even if you find it terribly embarrassing to say," he said out of the blue after he finished Sherry's training, Damn, Dad. Since when you were such a romantic? 

"So that means you always praise Mother's boobs, don't you?" I smirked. Sorry Dad, but I just couldn't help myself.

"You cheeky little runt." He ruffled my hair with a grin. "Of course I do. Every single night in fact. God, there is nothing softer in this world than those two mountains of hers!"

Well, that's it. Father was a true pervert. Just like me. And that actually gave me a little relief, knowing that even a pervert like him could get such a beautiful wife.

My thoughts returned to Sherry and me having told her how cute she was. I wasn't lying. She was indeed cute. Compared to the other village girls I saw, which definitely had some cuties amongst them, despite their freckles, she stood above them all. It was the combination of her long black hair, her spirited nature, and the fact that she could beat the hell up that bully when we first met.

Well, she still couldn't compare to the busty onee-sans I saw at the village. I wouldn't call them cute though, so they didn't count. They were the beautiful type, just like Mother, and just like Marina. So, technically, I was not lying in the slightest.

I was sure Sherry would grow up to be a beauty though. A distant, raven-haired elegant type. Wait, she couldn't be elegant, could she? Still being a tomboy at that age would just ruin the image! She's not a redhead that could get away with it!

...No, I couldn't tell her what to do with her life. That wouldn't be fair to her. Even if Mother seemed hell-bent on making her be my wife, for some reason, if she decided not to, and, let’s say, went away to travel the world as an adventurer instead, and then fall in love with some jackass mage that she partnered with, it would be her choice.

I should tell that to Mother. To stop her being so pushy with her.

I waited for a while for her answer. Did I offend her, by praising her like that? Maybe she didn’t like being called cute? I certainly knew a couple of tomboy characters in the stories I had read that would kick the protag’s ass if they called them cute.

"Y-you're not… you're not just teasing, are you?" Finally, she answered!

"No, not at all!" I quickly returned. "I'm serious! 100%!"

Another pause. And then, she asked something that made my heart skip a beat.

"D-does that mean… does that mean that you like me?"

There it was—the scenario I was all too familiar with, the blushing girl asking a boy whether or not he liked her. It was basically a confession. No question about it.

I was asked the same thing in my old life by one of my elementary school classmates. Well, similar enough, at the very least. She asked me whether I already had a girlfriend or not. And I, like the absolute dumbass that I was, lied straight to her face. I told her that I already had a girlfriend, just so I could escape the embarrassment.

And that was the worst lie that I could’ve concocted. I could’ve said that she was in another school. But no, my mind panicked. I didn’t realize the implication of what I just said to her, as it led to a “civil war” between my admirers, as they accused each other of being my secret girlfriend. It got so bad that it led to an actual catfight in recess. Both girls got detention as a result.

Eventually however, they realized that they had been duped. None of them were really my girlfriend. And that I had lied to them.

And that was when I started garnering scorn from the opposite sex.

This time would be different. This time, I would choose my words as carefully as I could.

_Think Hugo. Think on what you really want from Sherry. Do you just want her as a friend? Or something more?_

_I know that you’re just a six year old kid. You’re not supposed to make decisions like this yet. And she’s still eight as well. Childhood friend promising to marry in the future… that only happens in harem stories, not in reality. She would most likely grow bored of you as she gets old, and then she will leave you._

_So how should you answer her? Should you tell her that you indeed like her, humoring her for a few years until she tires of you? Or should you reject her now, making her suffer a heartache that would surely put a distance between you two?_

...I knew my answer now.

"Yes, I do like you, Sherry! Ever since I met you, I was attracted to you! That's why I always try to visit you everytime I went to the village!"

There. I said it. Now, to wait for her reaction.

To my surprise, the door opened. There, her head peeked out, all red and flustered. She was now wearing her nightgown, just a simple one-piece white dress.

"T-then prove it. Prove it by sleeping with me tonight."

I froze. D-did I just hear that right?

"T-that's what boys and girls do when they like each other, r-right? M-my friend Nicole told me so, back at the orphanage. A-and she wouldn't lie!"

T-this Nicole person, surely she was just talking about actually sleeping together right, not actually doing **that**?

As I stood there, unable to respond, a frown slowly grew in her embarrassed face. I immediately knew that if I didn't immediately accept her demand, then she would slam the door in my face and call me a liar.

I had no choice. I had to accept.

"S-sure, we can do that!" I flashed her my nervous smile.

"G-good. Then get in."

T-to think that this would be how I was invited to be in a girl's room for the first time—by an 8-year old girl of all people. I couldn't help but feel I was committing a crime by doing this.

The room was decently large, similar as mine. And the bed was thankfully large enough so that we could sleep on opposing sides without having to look or touch each other.

"I-I'll take the right. You take the left." She told me. She couldn't even look me in the eye as she ordered me around.

I sat down on the bed, taking my shoes and socks off. I supposed for tonight, I wouldn’t sleep in my pajamas. I waited until she tucked herself in before doing the same.

“S-so… now what?”

“W-wait, why are you asking me? I-I don’t know!” That was a lie of course. I knew **exactly** what we could do next if we were really supposed to act as lovers, from simple hugging, to kissing, to doing **that** , which would be an absolute no-no! No sirree! I might find my anime lolis cute, but I would never go that far to actual children in real life! Even though I was technically younger than her!

"W-what? I-I thought you're all smart and stuff… Your mother always bragged about how smart you are, you know!"

"T-this is the first time I slept with a girl like this, you know!"

"Liar! Your mother told me you used to sleep with Marina! And even now, you still sometimes slept with her, like when she returned home from her school? What did you two do there?"

W-wait, Mom knew about that? Did Marina get caught?

"W-well, we… just hugged, that's all." Crap, I shouldn't have said that! I should just say that we slept peacefully on our sides of the bed and that's that!

"Alright. Hug me then." She turned to face me, still the same redness and poutiness from before.

I had no choice. I brought myself closer and wrapped my arms around her lithe, small body.

"I-is this it?"

"Y-yeah, this is it. This is all we did."

I then felt it. Her arms going around my body and hugging me tightly. She also buried her face in my chest.

"T-then?"

"Then we sleep. That's it."

We stayed like that for a while, frozen and unmoving. Both of us were too nervous to do anything else.

_G-god, this is so awkward…_

Eventually however, we fell asleep, with her doing it first. I was going to release myself from her hug, but her strength prevented me from doing so. In fact, the more I struggled, the more she tightened her grip on me, to the point that it was starting to hurt.

And so I surrendered. I let myself fall asleep in her embrace, after I played a little with her smooth and silky black hair. Because why the hell not? Might as well do it while I could. It wasn’t like she was going to sleep with me like this again. In fact, I bet that in the morning, she would throw me to the floor once she woke up. Urgh, that would be painful.

With those thoughts, I drifted off to sleep, carried away by her surprisingly nice scent. Different than Marina’s, but just as pleasant, only in a different way.


	11. Meet The Fairy!

**Sherry**

“Uuuhhh…”

My eyes fluttered open. A familiar-looking white ceiling was above me. I was in my new bedroom. 

It seemed I had fallen asleep before I realized it.

Suddenly, I felt it—a tickling sensation right on my most sensitive place.

"A-ahn!"

I couldn't help it. A moan just came out from my mouth on its own. It was just like that lurid book described, with the heroine unable to resist moaning shamelessly as the hero assaulted her, even though the walls of the room were thin and she very well knew their neighbours would be able to hear what was going on. It led to quite the embarrassing scene afterwards, where the innkeeper would scold them for being too loud and disturbing the sleep of the other guests.

I looked down, and there was a person there—his upper half disappearing inside my white nightgown.

“H-Hugo! W-what are you doing down there?” No good. He was clearly still asleep.

And then, a rush of memories suddenly entered my mind. How he told me that I was “the cutest girl that he ever knew”, and how he admitted that he liked me, and how I invited, no, _demanded_ for him to sleep with me for the night.

My face immediately went beet red. What was I thinking?

And now, he’s here, right under me, with his breath tickling my precious spot.

"Ahhnnn, H-Hugo! N-not there…" I moaned again—tears starting to pool in my eyes.

My first instinct was to kick him off the bed right then and there. How could he do such a thing to a girl when she was sleeping? However, I stopped myself. I was the one who forced him to be here. And since he was still sleeping, he must not be doing this on purpose. I was a bad sleeper after all. In my sleep, I somehow must have moved around to end up in this position with him.

Suddenly, he stirred. But instead of going downwards, as I wished he would be, he instead moved upwards, pushing his nose right into my pantied crotch.

"Aaahhnnn, H-Hugo, no, Hugo!" I tried to push him away but I found my strength suddenly not being there. Not to mention that my legs were now gripping him, as if they wanted to push him even further into me.

_I-is this divine retribution? For seeing what's between his legs yesterday in the bath? Now he's seeing what's between mine! Not only that, but he's also breathing into it!_

_I should've apologized! I was the one at fault! Why did I slap him like that?_

_Oh, Saint Milicis! P-please stop this at once! Or I'm going to die out of embarrassment!_

Just when I thought I was going to lose it, a rush of steps closed in, followed by the door opening with a bang. It was Marina, and her gaze was immediately locked in towards me and Hugo.

Immediately a chill went through my entire body. She was mad. Really mad. Calling her angry would be quite the understatement.

Without hesitation, she pulled Hugo away before shaking his body, telling him to wake up.

What followed after was a straight lecture for half an hour, as she basically scolded Hugo for doing what he just did to me. He just sat there with a pitiful, sorry look, avoiding both her gaze and mine. I tried to interrupt multiple times, telling her that it wasn't his fault, but she would always tell me to stay out of it, not wanting to listen to any of my arguments.

When she was done, Hugo was in the verge of tears. This was the very first time I saw him like this. I wanted so badly to go there and gave him a hug, but I knew Marina would not approve.

"I-I'm sorry, S-Sis…" His voice shook. "I-I promise I wouldn't do it again…" He sniffed.

That’s it, I couldn’t just stand by any longer! I had to come to his rescue!

“Stop! Don’t scold Hugo any longer! It was my fault! All of it!” I rushed forward, standing in front of him with my arms outstretched, giving a tearful glare towards the older, taller girl. “I was the one who forced him to sleep with me! And I was the one who moved around in my sleep, making him end up in a position like that! He didn’t do anything! He was just breathing in his sleep, that’s it! If you want to punish someone, then punish me!” I panted. Suddenly, I was completely out of breath. Without realizing it, I had been yelling at her.

She paused for a while, looking straight at me. It felt like an eternity, with her and I staring at each other—no one seemingly wanting to give an inch, to show a weakness to the other.

And then, all of a sudden, she started to laugh.

“O-oh you two! Really! You are so serious that it’s adorable!”

For a good minute, she just stood there, laughing to herself, holding her stomach as if she was in pain. And when she finished, she wiped some tears of her own eyes, as some had gotten out from her laugh.

“Alright, alright, I get it now. It’s my defeat. You two really do like each other after all.” She cheerfully declared, while ruffling both of our hair. "Hugo, I'm so proud of you, standing up for Sherry like that. You're planning to take all the blame, don't you? How chivalrous! Just like a little gentleman!" She then turned to me. "And you, Sherry, you're willing to speak up to save Hugo, even though you know that you would be punished for it. You're honest and I like that in a person, especially one that might be my little brother's wife in the future.” She gave me a little wink here. “Now I know for sure that I will leave him in safe hands while I am gone."

Had this… had this all been an act by her?!

"re Before I leave though, let me say one other thing. Let this be a lesson to you two, alright? Especially you, Sherry. Inviting a boy to sleep with you like that? Not a good idea. Even though it’s Hugo, he’s still a boy with his desires. As his older sister, I know that he already has some fondness for a girl’s body, and it would only increase as he gets older. Of course, he, as the good boy that he is, would try to hold back and not do anything that would upset you. But, if you invite him like that, he can turn into a beast that would devour you whole. All boys are like that. In fact, it would be odd if a boy doesn’t have at least some lust towards the female form, especially when they’re older. And you, Hugo.” She turned towards him. “Take care of her well, alright? If she shows a moment of weakness again like last night, don’t just take on her offer. You have to think about the consequences first. I do not want a little brother that would closely befriend a girl, only to throw her away once he gets bored.”

And with that said, she left us two, with me befuddled at what just occurred.

“H-hey…” Hugo turned to me. “S-sorry again… f-for what I did there…”

BA-DUMP!

H-he’s blushing! T-that’s so cute! I almost threw myself into him for a hug!

“S-stop apologizing! It’s my fault, remember? A-and the incident in the bath too! That’s my fault as well!”

“R-right…”

With an awkward tension between us, Hugo left the room. Before he could leave however, I stopped him, just to ask this one last question.

“B-by the way… d-do you like it… w-when I wore a maid’s clothing like last night?”

I didn’t know what came over me at that time. Only that I suddenly wanted to know more about his… preferences in girls. If what Marina said was true, then he must already have said preferences. And I… I wanted to fulfill them. I-if they weren’t too embarrassing, of course.

He halted his steps. Without turning around, he answered, “Y-yes. I-I think you look really cute in them.” And then, he ran away.

And that was how my first night with him ended. After this, I wouldn’t invite him again, remembering what Marina said to me. I would, however, continue to strive to be a girl that he would like. Even though he already said that he liked me, I still couldn’t rest my laurels. I wanted to be even more liked by him. I was turning greedy. I wanted him all for myself.

I just hoped that one day, he would find me as desirable.

\----

Autumn was approaching, and that meant Marina had to return back to the magic school soon. Knowing this, I strived to learn as much as I could about magic from her.

I learned more about summoning spells and how they worked. Apparently, after a contract was formed, a summoner would only manifest the projection of the spirit/monster he or she made the contract with. You wouldn’t really be summoning the real deal, so to speak. That would be reserved for advance level summoners, where they would know the true name of their summons. Once they did, they could keep their summons around for basically forever, and without fulfilling their demands if they so chose. They called it a Familiar Pact, and it basically forced the spirit to do whatever biddings the summoner had in mind. Since he or she knew the spirit’s true name, they really couldn’t resist the commands of their summoner. 

That only applied to the Fey, by the way. Demons didn’t really have true names. To make a demon stay around for long, you don’t need to do anything special. You just need to keep feeding it mana, and if the demon decided they wanted to stay around, they would. In fact, there was no obligation for the demon to return if they didn’t want to. Marina’s teacher told her a story about a young mage who was haunted by a succubus demon that would never leave him alone. And she would interfere with his love life, like she was his extremely jealous and possessive girlfriend. Only after he learned to forcefully banish her that he could escape from that nightmare.

Well, I wouldn’t know if that anecdotal story was true. But it’s certainly a good propaganda-ish reason why summoning demons was quite frowned upon. You couldn’t quite control them like you could with the Fey. Though Marina also said that a handful of her classmates actually ended up making a pact with them. In Mira, it wasn’t illegal to do so.

Marina herself said that she was never interested in summoning any demons, apparently. She said that they all looked shady and dicey to her. She preferred to summon more Feys instead.

I couldn’t help but be relieved from her declaration. I wouldn’t want her to summon an incubus boy that would try to seduce and even bed her. Urgh.

Oh, I hadn’t talked about summoning demands yet, had I? To make a contract, you need to promise a specific thing to the being you were going to make a contract to, that had to be fulfilled every time you summoned it. Taking Marina as an example, her fairy wanted a sniff of her aroma, while her dryad wanted her to give her some nutrients through her magic. I imagined the more powerful the creature was, the harder the required task would be.

I was taught my first summoning spell at last. Just like her, I was going to summon a Fey. At first, I didn’t want to try summoning a fairy, but she insisted, saying that, “You have to start from the basics! A fairy is the easiest Fey to summon, and the safest as well!” So I did as she instructed, placing a flower pot specially fertilized with a potion she made near my bed. Just as she said, a week later, I had the dream she foretold.

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my room. I was in a forest. Most likely the Great Fairy Forest in the Demon Continent, as she told me. 

_Wew, this place… it’s… extraordinary..._

I was speechless. Just looking around where I started, it was clear that this forest was not an ordinary one. It looked and felt a lot more fantastical, with many of the trees and branches bending over in unnatural-looking ways. And I felt a certain ambient energy permeating through the air, entering me every time I breathed. Ah, the ambient magic of the Demon Continent. I remembered Marina telling me about it. The entire continent was enveloped in an unnaturally high level of ambient magic compared to other continents.

Of course, I wasn’t actually there. My current body was just an astral projection, manifested by the ritual pact I was currently engaged in. I wouldn’t know how accurate my senses were at this moment.

I walked forward, looking around for any fairies that I might make a pact with. It certainly would be nice if I could find a cute one, though usually, all fairies tend to be cute in the fantasy stories I had read.

Hmm, that’s odd. I couldn’t find a single one. Shouldn’t there be an abundance of fairies around in a place called the Great Fairy Forest?

My steps carried me into a small spring, with water gushing out from the middle of the body of water.

And there, on the top of said gushing water, was a fairy, seemingly asleep on top of the water spout.

_She’s beautiful!_

Such was my first impression of her. Unlike Marina’s fairy, who fit in the palm of her hand, she was much bigger. If I had to say, she was around the size of a small cat. She could perch on my shoulder with no problem whatsoever.

She had long and wavy blue hair, tied and braided when it ended near her feet. Her head was adorned by white flowers (I couldn’t name them), and she wore a white dress with a bluish skirt that was longer in the back, exposing her lovely thighs a little.

Just by looking at her, I decided. I wanted her to be my fairy.

But how would I go about making a pact with her though? Marina didn’t say anything about that. She just said that every fairy would have their own conditions and such. What? So this was just like courting a girl?

And then, I noticed it—her eyes slowly fluttering open.

“Kyaah! A human!”

She fell down through the spout, almost comically, I might add. Was this fairy the clumsy type? She quickly recovered however, and she immediately flew away from me.

No good! I had to catch her! "Hey, wait!" I chased after her. "I want to make a pact with you! I'm a mage, you see!"

She stopped. And suddenly, just as fast as she had escaped, she went back, smile going up both ears, eyes like an excited puppy. “Really?! Really? Really? Really? You want me to become your summon?” She said in a sing-along voice. “Y-yes, really!” I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her excitement. “Then take me take me take me! I’m so bored here! I want to play around on the outside too, like the others! Can you believe that no one has ever made a contract with me even though I’m already a high fairy? Uuu, I want to go too! I wanna gooooo!!!”

Oh God. I thought she would be the calm type, judging by her looks! But she’s unexpectedly whiny and childish like this! Maybe all fairies were just like that? And a high fairy? So she’s not just a normal fairy?

“A-alright then!” I couldn’t help but be taken aback a little. “One thing though, what kind of compensation do you want?”

“Compensation?” She raised her eyebrows. “Ooh, right… that…” For a moment, she paused, seemingly deep in thought. “I know!” She suddenly declared. “You give me a head pat and praise me for the good job that I just did!”

What. That was certainly an… odd request to ask.

Well, not as odd as wanting to smell you, I suppose.

Well, I wouldn’t complain. It was an easy request to do after all. I quickly agreed, and with it, it seemed we had finished our pact.

_Chuu~♥_

With a kiss to the cheek, she bid me goodbye, telling me to call upon her soon. Damn, she’s pretty precocious, wasn’t she? Not that I was complaining of course.

Wait, how about the summoning chant though?

\----

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I somehow immediately knew the words I would need to summon her. Quickly, I ran over to Marina’s room, wanting to tell her that I had done it. I could summon my very first spirit at last!

Only to stumble upon her right in the middle of changing, as she bent over forward, pulling her panties upwards.

_W-whoa!_

I could see it all; the smooth, plump butt, the teal panties she were pulling upwards, and the embarrassed look on her face as she realized that I just entered..

“Hugo, what did I say about knocking first before barging into a girl’s room?” _Oof, that scary smile… I’m in trouble now!_

“S-sorry, Sis, I-I forgot!” I quickly answered. “I was so excited that I couldn’t help running over here as soon as I could! I just made a contract with my fairy, Sis!”

Her scary smile disappeared, replaced by a curious and intrigued look. She pulled the panties upwards, letting her dress fall afterwards. Thankfully, she had already worn the rest of her dress. Just not her panties, for some reason.

“Really?” She smiled with excitement. “Then show me! Right here! Right now!”

“A-alright, Sis, alright! Sheesh, no need to rush me…”

I immediately began my chant, holding my right hand forward as I gathered my mana. I would need to conjure the summoning circle mid-air, where the summon would come out from. I imagined the circle forming, all the while chanting the spell as clearly as I could.

When I opened my eyes back up again, there she was—the fairy, smiling at me.

“Wow, but that’s… that’s a high fairy, isn’t it?” Marina exclaimed. “You get one as your very first summon?” It was clear that summoning a high fairy was not something a complete beginner like me should be able to do.

“Hello, Hugo!” The fairy cheerfully waved her hands. “And hello, another human I don’t know about!” She waved her hands again towards Marina.

I then started to explain how I met her. Well, before she decided to interrupt me and told the story herself, that is. And for some reason, she felt it was necessary to embellish things. Quite severely, I might add. She started to talk about how I saved her heroically from an evil kobold who wanted to kidnap her and make her his wife, even though obviously nothing like that ever happened.

“And that’s how Hugo became my master!” She patted her chest proudly. Marina just blinked with a clear look of confusion on her face as she finished her story.

“U-uh, right…” She could probably tell that the story was too outlandish to be true as well. “So, Hugo, looks like you really got a high fairy as your first summon. That’s really quite rare, you know. High fairies are quite above the level of the common fairies. They’re bigger for starters, and they could cast some magic other than healing ones. This one you got? She seems to be a spring fairy, so she could probably cast some water spells.”

“Yep! Rightomundo!” The fairy declared. “Need your plants to be watered, Master? Then I’m your girl!”

_Uh, I don’t think I would use a fairy for that purpose… though it certainly can be quite convenient..._

“Oh, look at that!” The fairy suddenly declared. “Time’s running up! Master! Your headpat and praise please!” She flew towards me, leaning forward with a happy smile, closing her eyes. Wew, this fairy really didn’t know any shame, did she?

I did as she demanded, patting her head and saying to her, “Great job! Thank you for the introduction!” with a smile. “Hehe, you’re welcome, Master! You’re welcome!” She giggled. And then, she flew closer to me and gave me another kiss to the cheek before disappearing.

I looked back at Marina... and saw that her expression had soured considerably.

She didn’t say anything however. Well, not to me anyways. Under her breath, I could hear her whisper, “Really? Is every girl Hugo meets will flirt with him like this?”

I couldn’t help but grin a little. _Big Sis is getting jealous! Big Sis is getting jealous!_

I didn’t say it to her of course. I wouldn’t want another half an hour lecture after all.


	12. At The End of Our Beautiful Summer

**Marina**

_Aah, to think that my summer break is almost over…_

_I’m going to miss Hugo again for sure…_

I was now walking up to the hills where I usually trained his magic in. It was the last day before I had to return so I fully intended to make it a worthwhile session.

Whoosh…

"Ah…" I quickly put my hands behind me, pulling down my dress. The day was quite windy, so I had to be careful with my dress or else Hugo would be able to look at my panties.

Oh, who was I kidding? I **wanted** him to look.

Ever since his incident with Sherry, where he, well, got terribly intimate with the girl, I realized something.

He wouldn't need me anymore with her around.

I would go back to school, and stayed my lonely, bullied self there, while he would be happy, playing with Sherry as much as he wanted to.

I was jealous.

And that disgusted me. A big sister was supposed to be happy if her little brother was happy. And yet, my heart was feeling this way.

The worst part was that I didn't even know whether I was jealous of him because he had a close friend around, or I was jealous of Sherry for being able to be with him much more than I could.

_Oh Hugo… if only you could come to the academy with me… Oh he would definitely try to protect me from that Merinda girl… he is my little knight in shining armor after all…_

Another breeze blew, raising up my dress again. I looked backwards and saw him immediately averting his gaze with a blush once he noticed I was looking. _So cute!_

_Hmm, I think I know now. The perfect parting gift for him._

\----

_Urgh, really Sis? You should really be more careful with your dress. That's the, what, seventh time I saw your panties today? They might be knee-length but they're really susceptible to the slightest gust of wind that blew, you know._

Whoooshh...

_Goddamnit, here we go again. Why must she wear such skimpy pink panties anyway? Doesn't she know how sexy they looked? And she already knew I "could already appreciate the female body" too._

_Wait, don't tell me that she actually wanted me to look at them?_

“Alright, Hugo.” Unfortunately, my train of thought was interrupted by her. Huh. Before I noticed, we had arrived at the top of the hill. “It’s time for your yearly final test. Just like me, you too have to know what it’s like to be asked to demonstrate all the magic that you know to your teacher.” She must be talking about the academy. “We have been learning advanced level magic this summer, correct?”

“Y-yes, Sis!” I answered. Suddenly, her demeanor transformed into that of a teacher. It was honestly amazing, how a mere 11-year old girl could have such a mature presence.

“Then, show me all the spells that you could do.” With a grin, she moved out of the way, letting me take the center stage.

I gulped. Now all of a sudden I felt nervous. Why did she have to say it’s a test? I was never good at tests. Well, I once was, when I was still considered a genius that got straight A’s in every exam. But for the rest of my life, I could only barely pass my exams.

_No, this is different. I have trained hard with Marina for the entire summer. I’m no longer the lazy, cram-everything-in-the-last-day guy I was before. I can do this. I can do this!_

I took a deep breath. First, Fire.

“Oh, one more thing.” Damn it, she interrupted me! “I want you to cast them all chantless.” She added with a grin.

“B-but Sis!” I protested. “I’ve never done any of them chantless before! You had me learn them with a chant and once I could do them, you would immediately go to the next element!”

“Oh shush, You can do it." She dismissed me entirely! "You should remember the feeling of casting those spells, right? The flow of mana and how you form them to weave the spells? For you, who had cast magic without chanting all his life, this should be a piece of cake."

Now I felt like I was being pressured even more!

I took another deep breath and calmed myself. I reached both my hands upwards and then closed my eyes. I imagined the spell, Flame Wall. A wall made of fire. The shape? A circle around me. The radius? Ten meters. The height? Two meters.

_Come on, come on, make it work!_

And then, it did. A blaze of flames suddenly appeared around me. Ten meters away and two meters tall. Just like I imagined it 

"I-I did it!"

"I knew you could!" Marina cheered from outside the circle. Even through the flames, I could tell that she looked very happy.

_Alright! I'm going to ace the other elements as well!_

I was now excited instead of nervous. I could do it! I now had the perfect confidence!

I put the fire out by disconnecting my mana flow. Then, I moved on to the next element.

Water. Water Spout. Summoned a powerful geyser from the ground.

Earth. Earthen Break. Made the ground explode into hundreds of rocks and dirt.

Thunder. Thunder Strike. Created a thundercloud that fired off a powerful lightning.

Ice. Cold Blast. Enveloped the target in a large blanket of ice and snow.

Wind. Air Sunder. Created a miniature cyclone.

When I was done, I was completely out of breath. My mana was completely drained and I had to sit down in fear of passing out. But I was happy, as I had passed her test with flying colors. I could hear her clapping with pride before she approached me.

“Well done, Hugo, well done!” She ruffled my head. She probably would’ve hugged me if she wasn’t still in her teacher persona. “To think that you could do all that chantless, and without a wand as well! Normally, you have to start using wands to cast Intermediate-level magic and above, you know!”

“E-eheheheheh…” I could only give her my grin. I was too tired to say anything else.

“So, as your teacher, I have a gift for you.”

She took out her wand and then flicked it in front of her. Suddenly, a rectangular-shaped wooden box popped out of thin air. She grabbed it before it could fall to the ground.

“Spatial magic.” She spoke to me with a proud smile. “Interdimensional storage.”

Right, space magic. She had introduced me to it before. Unlike elemental spells, I seemed to have no talent in it whatsoever. It belonged to the “miscellaneous” family of magic, as it didn’t have the rigid classification of levels that elemental magic had. The only spatial magic I could cast was a simple teleport on a non-living being. A pebble, to be exact. I could move it for around one meter, and that’s that.

“Here.” She handed over the box to me.” Open it.”

I examined the book with a confused yet curious look. It was pitch black, and it was made with the smoothest wood I had ever encountered. I couldn’t really tell what kind of wood it was unfortunately.

I opened it, and there, inside, was a wand.

“It’s your own wand, Hugo. Take it out, will you?” I looked back at her, and saw that she was smiling so brightly that it was almost blinding. And were those tears I saw pooling in her eyes?

“It’s my gift for you, for being an Advanced-level mage. Use it with pride.”

I took it out as gingerly as I could. It seemed so… fragile, as if I could just snap it in two with my two hands. And it looked quite different than the one she had. Her wand had a red crystal on the tip and was brown in color, while this was just a straight slim stick that became slimmer as it got nearer to the tip.

“Sorry for not giving it to you earlier.” She continued, wiping off her right eye with her index finger. “But I wanted to see how far you could get without a wand. And to think that you could cast Advanced-level magics barehanded… you’re amazing, Hugo! Oh, if only there isn't that stupid rule, you could've entered the academy with me for sure! You are already far smarter and more skilled in magic than all the ten year olds that enrolled with me!"

She couldn’t hold herself back any further. She gave me a hug so tight that I was hurting a little from it. She didn’t even care that I was soaking with sweat. “Oh, I’m going to miss you, my cute little brother…” Once again, she brought me to her budding chest. She really was fond of this move, wasn’t she?

I decided that I would indulge her little brother complex however. I too quickly felt overwhelmed by all the emotions that were flowing through me. For a long time in my old life, I always felt worthless. I couldn't achieve anything that I could be proud of. But now—now I felt that I had accomplished something that mattered. Something that made me feel… special.

Well, she’s still more special than me though. What I just did was all single-element Advanced spells. And she, from a year ago, could already cast several multi-element ones. And they were naturally more difficult than what I just performed.

There was no jealousy in my heart however. Only pride—pride that my big sister could be such a genius and talented magician. That part of my old self, who would scorn his little sister who was much more intelligent than him, was no longer inside me.

Releasing me from her embrace, she stood up, eyes still wet and sparkly. "Here. Let me show you my ultimate magic before we go home. Just so you could see what one day you would no doubt be able to accomplish."

She told me to move away, which I quickly obeyed. And then, she drew her wand and aimed it straight to the ground a distance away in front of her.

"O power that lay hidden beneath the Earth! Hear my plea! Grant me the blessings and bounties of nature, so that I might shake this very world with your manifestation! Spread your roots far and wide, and let your bark and leaves become my sword and shield! Become the very tree that illuminates the world’s foundations! Grow and flourish, o great Yggdrasil! Judge those that dared defile the land!”

It was a very long incantation, and she did not hurry in the slightest as she spoke the words. Her speech was deliberate and pronounced, almost as if she was reciting a poem. It took almost a whole minute until she finished.

And then, the world trembled.

“W-whatt? E-earthquake?”

No, it wasn’t. Not in the slightest. It was the shaking of something huge, coming from the ground right underneath us. Unlike me, she was standing completely unfazed, staring at the large clearing in front of her.

And then, a massive tree punctured the ground in front of her like it was nothing, growing taller and taller until its shade covered both of us entirely.

“Master-level Earth magic. Yggdrasil.” She turned towards me with a smile. “I learned it just before I returned back home.”

I could only stare in awe, completely speechless on the display in front of me.

Once again, she proved to me that it was still very, very far until I could catch up to her.

\----

We returned back home afterwards (the tree simply returned back to the ground after she was finished with her demonstration, and the hole left behind was nothing that her Earth magic couldn’t fix), after she made sure to make me promise that I too would learn a Master-level spell one day. She jokingly suggested that I would be able to cast it at the end of the next summer. I quickly refuted her, of course. There’s no way I could learn such a spell just the next year!

“And besides, didn’t you explain once before that knowing how to cast a Master-level magic means you can graduate from the academy? Doesn’t this mean that you could just graduate right away?”

"It is the bare minimum, yes. To graduate, you have to be able to cast at least a single Master-level spell. However, most students would graduate with two or three under their belt. There are even students who graduated with even more Master-level spells. And some, the handful elite they said, that only appeared once every ten years—they managed to reach the highly covered Grandmaster-level.”

I remembered that. That’s the level above Master, just below Saint. If you managed to reach that level as a mage, you would pretty much be a superstar in the Magocracy. You would become famous in no time, and you would have the right to sit on the ruling council of mages they had there. Well, if there was an opening. If not, then you would have to challenge one of them in a mage vs mage duel. If you won, then you could replace him or her as a council member. At least, that’s what Marina had told me.

“So, Sis, are you aiming for that level before you graduate?” I asked with a grin. I could certainly imagine her reaching that summit with the rate she was growing right now. She returned with her own shy smile. “I don’t know, to be honest. But after Father spent a large sum of our family’s gold on the entrance fee, I certainly wouldn’t waste the remaining five years I would spend there.”

“Five years, huh? And after that?”

“After that?” She looked at me with a slight tilt to her head.

“What do you want to do after that? After you graduate?”

She paused. "I have no idea to be honest. I suppose I would find some work as a mage, whatever that could be."

"Then, how about becoming adventurers? With me and Sherry! She could be the frontline fighter while we fire off spells from the back! Just like a proper party!" 

There. I said it. My current goal for the future. Form an adventuring party with her and Sherry. Then we could all go on exciting adventures together. Why would you not be an adventurer if you’re in a fantasy world, huh?

With a smile, she ruffled my hair once again. "Oh Hugo, you still need a healer, you know? No adventuring party can ever be good without one."

"Then, how about you, Sis? Can you learn some healing magic?"

“No, unfortunately. The Academy doesn’t really teach Holy Magic, you see, which healing magic belongs under, in case you don’t remember. That branch of magic belongs more to the followers of Milicis and their religious schools. And, as I’ve told you before, the mages of Mira don’t really get along well with them.” She never really told me the reason why they didn’t get along. Only that it was caused by differences in their beliefs. Yeah, I could imagine that. From what I read and I heard from Sherry, the Milicis faith was pretty similar to medieval-era Catholicism in my world. So I imagined they would share the same zealotry and intolerance as well. Hmm, I wonder what the Saint herself would say if she saw them today.

“I guess we just have to find a cleric first then! Hey, how about Mother? She used to be one, right?”

“Hmm? What kind of an adventuring party brings their mother along? That sounds more like a family picnic to me. Might as well bring Father along too for a second fighter.” She giggled.

I grinned back. It was just a joke suggestion of course. It would be really lame and embarrassing if I had to bring around Mother or Father on my adventures. Sorry, Dad. Mom.”

We continued to chat as we walked home, accompanied by a beautiful reddish-gold sunset behind us. And before we knew it, we already arrived.

\----

The next morning, Marina departed early, right after breakfast. Another two weeks trip to a foreign school. And just like how she arrived, she returned there alone as well. We all watched and waved our hands as the carriage rolled away, including Sherry. _Goodbye, Sis. I’ll make sure to keep writing you letters on how my magic lessons are going!_

Before she left though, she whispered something interesting to me. “Hey, Hugo. Check under your bed later. I left you two more presents there. Keep them until I get back home next summer, alright? Oh, and don't tell Sherry or anyone else!”

Hmm, what's up with the secrecy? Well, whatever. I already showed off my new wand to everyone. I didn't need to show off these two additional presents from her.

I immediately rushed back to my room. Just as she told me, there was another box right under my bed. With glimmering, excited eyes, I immediately crawled down to get it, pulling it out as fast as I could. And then, I opened it right away.

_A book?_

I took it out. The title said, "The Adventures of The Legendary Archmage and Hero.” It seemed to be a picture book made for kids. I opened the cover and found a little parchment put inside. Hmm, it seemed to be a handwritten note from Marina.

_This is a little picture book I purchased in Mira. I’ve read it so I thought I’ll give it to you. You might find it a little amusing._

_Huh, alright then. I’ll have a read on it later_. I put it away for now, eager to look at the other present that she had left me.

Only to find that it was— 

“P-p-panties?!”

There was no mistake about it. That fabric inside the box—they were a girl’s panties for sure!

“T-that pinkness… n-no, it couldn’t be…” I gingerly picked them up. “No way… This… this really is Marina’s panties! The one she wore yesterday!” I spread them open. Yep, no doubt about it! The same shape, the same skimpiness, it was definitely hers! “W-w-why are they here?!” I looked back at the box. There’s another piece of parchment there! Quickly, I put the panties down and read what’s written on it.

_And this is my other gift for you, Hugo. Since you seem to like them so much, I thought, "Why not give them to you?" So here they are. Freshly worn and not washed. Just like you like it, right? Use them to remember me, your big sister, alright?_

_P.S. Hide them behind your wardrobe. Mother never cleans up there._

I fell backwards, landing butt first on the carpet below.

“W-whaaaaaaat?!!!”


	13. Looming Shadows

_What is this book? This can't be the real story of the Hero, can it? This is just Mira propaganda!_

Such was my reaction when I finished the picture book Marina gave to me. Sure, it was just a book for kids, but the portrayal imbalance between the two heroines was so obvious that I couldn't help but laugh at it.

The two heroines were Mira and Milicis, and they were the companions of the Hero in his journey to defeat the Demon God. Oh, his name was Arthur by the way. You know, like the legendary King Arthur back in my world. What a funny coincidence. 

By the way, as you would expect from these kinds of stories, they both ended up falling in love with the guy, making them love rivals to each other. Ah, the love triangle between the mage and the cleric. Now that’s a classic trope right there.

So far, I would have no problem with that. The Hero getting a harem? Totally realistic. What kind of girl wouldn’t want to bed the famous Legendary Hero? I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had dozens of princesses and female knights all wanting to have his baby. Such was the perk of being the most famous person in the world, not to mention being the literal savior and all that.

However, what I took issue with was the portrayal of Milicis. This book unabashedly displayed her as this jealous, overly clingy, pathetic girl that couldn’t function in the slightest without the Hero by her side. She was clumsly and incompetent, always bumbling around in her fights and ending up defeated, only for either Mira or the Hero to save her (really, if this were an adult doujin and not a children’s picture book, she would’ve been raped so many times, from demonic tentacles to the random bandits they met in their journey). There were no redeeming qualities in her whatsoever. She was sanctimonious, arrogant, and worst of all, she had small boobs, especially compared to Mira, which she always whined about in her monologues.

Speaking of her, she was clearly portrayed as the preferred partner to the Hero. She was intelligent and competent, and the author only emphasized that even more by giving her a pair of glasses to go with her older age and her mature body (big boobs ahoy!). She would act as his mentor and guide of sorts, and they would cooperate with each other so well, with the Saint being the clear third wheel in their relationship.

Now I understood why Marina called this book “amusing”. She too must think of it as a cheap propaganda to extol how much better the Magocracy is compared to Milicis’ followers.

Though I had to say, even if Milicis was clearly designed to be unlikeable, I still found her adorable. She always tried so hard to steal the Hero’s attention from Mira after all, and I was always weak to those kinds of girls. The drawings of her were pretty cute too.

Well, enough about that for now. I stored the book into my bookshelf. Maybe I would read it again later, just to laugh at it even more.

Eh? How about Marina’s panties, you ask? I hid it, of course, just as she had told me to.

Why don’t you just hand it over to Renee if you don’t like them? But that would mean ratting out Marina! I am not sure if Mother would like it if she starts giving me her dirty panties like this.

Isn’t that just an excuse though? Y-yeah, I suppose it is…

Oh fine! I’ll admit it! I’m a big pervert, alright?! It’s always one of my more depraved fantasies to steal a pretty girl’s worn underwear and take a deep sniff of it, just to know how she smelled. When I was younger, and could get away with it, I had to tell myself not to crawl into my parents’ room and take a sniff on Renee’s dirty pair. I had sworn to myself that I would become a new and honest man after all.

But now, I am given an even better chance to do that! Marina’s panties were in my hands and she was perfectly willing to let me do that! I-I mean, that’s what she meant by using them to remember her, right? Surely, she can’t just mean for me to carry it around like they’re a pair of handkerchiefs instead?

However, even with this golden opportunity, I couldn’t bring myself to do it fully. I only gave them a little sniff from a distance, before hurrying to put it away like she instructed. Even then, I already smelled the pleasant odor of her that I was familiar with, from when she hugged me or when we slept together. She’s already at that age where she started going through puberty after all.

_She’s my big sister, goddamnit! I can’t be lewding her like this!_

Funny how when you wanted to lead a straight and narrow life, you had girls throwing themselves to you like this. But when you were a pervert so desperate for a girlfriend, no one even batted an eye on you. Not that I was complaining, of course. I liked being able to befriend pretty girls like this. _Aah, I can’t wait until I get older and finally be able to do_ ** _that_** _with a cute girl!_

\----

One month had passed since Marina’s departure. The air was getting colder as we slowly approached winter. As usual, at every single year, Father started gathering firewood to be stored and used, as when winter started, there would be barely any in the wilds. And, as a knight in charge of protecting the villagers, he would also gather enough to be given to those too poor or too weak to gather enough firewood on their own. To him, his job wasn’t just to beat bandits or monsters, but also to do as much good as he could for the village. And I genuinely admired him for that.

This year, however, he had help. Sherry, with her super strength, could lug around large logs back home with no problems whatsoever, just like Father. She too helped with the cutting process, as she could do it like it was nothing.

I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous towards them. There was nothing I could do to help them after all.

Speaking of Sherry’s strength, one day, Father decided it would be a good idea to challenge her to an armwrestling match. To my surprise, he actually managed to win against her (though not without shattering the tree trunk they were using as their table—Damn, that was scary). You might think that’s an odd thing to say, since he was a fully grown adult with large biceps and muscles after all, but the more I witnessed Sherry’s power, the more I believed that there was truly no limits to it. That match proved me wrong however.

Or so I thought, as when Mother saw what was happening, she demanded them to do a rematch. They obliged, but before they started, Mother whispered something to Sherry’s ears that I couldn’t quite catch. I believed Sherry responded with a bewildered look, but she quickly covered, closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening it back again.

And then, she won. Somehow she did. And Mother’s face turned pale as she witnessed it. She quickly left before I could ask anything of her. I asked Sherry, but she too refused to talk about it, only throwing an angry glare at me instead. I asked Father, and he just shrugged, saying that Sherry suddenly became much stronger in their second match. And of course, he quickly added that he wasn’t really trying seriously, and that if he went 100%, there was no way she could’ve won.

Sure, Dad. I could take your word for that.

Mother’s facial expression bothered me, so I went to ask her about it. But she refused to say anything. Aargh, it was frustrating! I always hated it when my family kept secrets from me like this!

The matter was quickly forgotten however, when Mother, with her face as bright as what I imagined a fairy queen would look like, announced that she was pregnant.

I was going to have another sibling.

\----

**Marina**

When I heard the news from Hugo’s letter, I choked on the tea I was drinking.

I couldn’t believe it! Mother was pregnant?! That meant Hugo and I were going to have another sibling!

Thinking about it, it was quite the miracle that Mother wasn’t pregnant sooner. I knew how much Mother and Father had their passionate nightly sessions after all. Well, I myself preferred less siblings than more. I couldn’t imagine living with nine other siblings for example. Everyday would be noisy and hectic, and as the oldest, I wouldn’t be able to rest in the slightest.

Hmm, do I want a boy or a girl? Another cute little brother like Hugo would certainly be nice, but a cute little sister would be refreshing as well. Hmph, knowing Hugo though, he would win over her heart in no time at all. That boy… He would totally be popular with the ladies once he grew up.

“Hey, whatcha’ reading, ‘Rina?”

I groaned internally. There she was again. My new annoyance.

In front of me stood a grinning red-headed girl. She wore a black and purple witch outfit, complete with the tall pointy hat. Really, weren’t wearing such tall hats an annoyance? They said that it was tradition for female mages to wear hats like that. Well, not me though. I wasn’t going to wear any tall witch hats anytime soon.

Without hesitation, she snatched the paper away from my hands. “Ooh, what’s this? A letter? From who, hmm? Your lover?” She giggled.

“My little brother,” I replied with a clearly displeased look. “Now please return it to me.”

"Aaw, you really like him, huh? You have such a happy face when you read the letter after all! For you, Ms. Grump Grump to smile like that, wow, it's such a rare sight that I thought I was dreaming for a sec there!"

This noisy little girl was the younger sister of my tormentor. I believed Alincia was her name—I didn’t really listen when she introduced herself. She just entered the academy this year, and immediately she came to me and bugged me to no end. No doubt her big sister put it up to this. She was in her final year after all, so she might have more tasks assigned to her by her teachers. Unlike her sister however, she was just that, noisy. She didn’t really actively bully me like her older sister did.

I took out my wand. And, without a chant, I flicked it forward, flinging the letter back to my hand.

“H-hey!”

A subtle application of wind magic. I was never in the common school of thought that magic had to be all flashy and big. Little things like this actually required more control and finesse than just throwing a gust of wind at your opponent.

No wonder only a few actually attended alchemy classes. It was classified as optional by the academy, so only those that were really interested in the art would attend. Which was few, as alchemists were in general—quite unfairly, I believed—looked down upon by the mages of this kingdom. Only the non-mage folks had any respect for them, since they had to depend on them for their medicine (and other necessities), especially since there were no Milicis priests around. Ever since their last conflict a hundred years ago, all forms of Milicis worship were to be outlawed inside the magocracy’s territory. And thanks to the country having several Grandmaster-level mages around, the Holy Empire hadn’t dared invading. And the two countries being separated by sea certainly didn’t help matters either. I was pretty sure that just a single Grandmaster-level mage could sink an entire fleet of ships with their spell.

Other countries didn’t have the same luxury however, like my Marchen Kingdom, so we had to allow the Milicis devotees to open their churches, whether we wanted to or not.

Well, personally, I disagreed with the magocracy's decision to ban Milicis churches altogether. Their clerics really helped in keeping the masses healthy. Just a few years back, there was a plague that devoured this land. With so little alchemists, and no priests, so many people died from it. Or so I was told from my books.

I stood up, ignoring the shorter mage entirely. I had already finished my dinner, so there was no reason for me to stay here at the cafeteria. Not to mention that I had to start writing my own letter to be sent back home.

I gave another glance towards Alincia as I left. Of course, she still insisted on chasing me, so I kept on ignoring her. She would tire eventually.

_Yep, if I’m going to have a little sister like that, I’d certainly rather have another little brother instead._

\-----

For the next nine months, I kept the thought of my unborn sibling on the back of my head at all times. I simply couldn’t wait until next summer, where I could return and hold him or her in my hands. I still remembered how cute Hugo was as a baby. I suppose this was what you would call “motherly instinct”. Well, there was just something about holding a baby in your arms—something that I couldn’t quite put into words. Happiness, serenity, contentment, joy? All that seemed to apply.

Though they said that too much of that might make a girl prefer younger men though. Ever since Alincia discovered the letter, she would often mock me about how I had a “brother complex” and how I would marry him if we weren’t siblings. What a silly accusation. As his big sister, I simply loved him very much. That’s all. It’s natural for a big sister to want to hug and cuddle their little brothers, right? She wouldn’t know, of course. She didn’t have any male siblings after all. And besides...

_He’s going to marry Sherry in the future. I just know it._

Well, Sherry’s a good girl. I’d rather have her as my sister-in-law than some other girl that I know nothing about. Especially when there are so many predatory girls going after younger boys these days. Yes, that’s right. I had overheard them—upperclassmen girls talking about how there were so many cute boys in the first year, and how they thought of snagging a couple and teaching them “all sorts of mature stuff”. Hmph, I didn’t even need to know what they meant by that.

Those kinds of girls were **exactly** the kind of girls I had to keep my dear Hugo away from. He was so cute I could just imagine their reaction if they ever saw him. Predators! All of them!

And so I wasn’t really that surprised when a rumor surfaced that one of them was practicing necromancy in secret.

Necromancy. The vilest branch of dark magic that existed out there. Like the name suggested, it was a magic art about the manipulation of corpses and the spirits of the dead. It would also be the branch of magic that you would learn if you wanted immortality. Usually humans, since we were the race with the shortest lifespan after all.

Naturally, it was completely banned in Milicis lands, with the punishment of being burned at the stake, but even here, where we could actually learn some dark magic and not be prosecuted for it, necromancy was still a forbidden art. After the Necromancer King's attempt at conquering Mira 500 years ago, which got so bad the Council at the time had to swallow their pride and ask the Holy Empire for help (after all, their priests and clerics worked really effectively against the undead), necromancy was completely outlawed in the magocracy.

Now, I wasn’t sure how the Necromancer King did that—threatening a kingdom with several Grandmaster-level magicians. I had yet to find any detailed accounts on said history unfortunately. Perhaps the books were in the Forbidden section in the library. They said that any books about necromancy would be stored there, only accessible to students with an explicit permission of a teacher. Though perhaps the special students like Merinda could take out any books they wanted. Hah, wouldn’t it be funny if she’s the necromancer.

Personally, I thought of necromancy as quite the disgusting art. There were only a few things less evil than desecrating the dead and enslaving them for your own purposes Imagine if you saw your dead father or mother as huddling, rotting corpses, controlled by some depraved dark mage that just wanted power. Even if I could actually cast dark magic, I would never in a million years touch necromancy.

...Hmm? Oh, that’s right. I hadn’t told you that I couldn’t cast any dark magic in the slightest, had I? I suppose my parents’ assumption that I was a genius that could cast any magic was wrong after all. We actually had a teacher of dark magic here in the academy and he already declared that I didn’t have any talent for it whatsoever. Of course, said teacher would never touch necromancy with a ten foot pole. He just taught less gruesome and more “proper” dark magic, like shadow magic and blood magic (though I was pretty sure the latter was still pretty gruesome).

And speaking of subjects I wasn’t good at, I was never that great in alchemy either. Thankfully, no one here really cared here if you weren’t any good in the subject. Most students only learned it to be able to make basic mana and health potions, maybe also some anti-poisons and the like, and any concoctions they needed to perform summoning pacts. No one cared for making bombs or gunpowders and the like. They said that’s more of a dwarf thing, fighting with magic tools like that, and who needed that when they could just cast fire through their spells?

I didn’t hear anything more about this rumored necromancer until a few months later, where the news broke that the student was one of the scholarship students, and that she had run away before she could be apprehended by the authorities. Not to mention how she had an affair with one of her professors. And by that, I meant her straight up giving him her body in exchange of access to the necromancy books in the library. Thanks to the special enchantments put in place on the restricted section, you couldn’t just steal or even read them willy-nilly. You would need a form of magical authorization first.

This country never believed in destroying forbidden knowledge like the Holy Empire. Instead, it would just be hidden away from the eyes and ears of the public.

Naturally, said professor was immediately fired and kicked out of the academy. Good riddance.

To my surprise however, Merinda herself came to me and told me these news with a smirk on her face. And she didn’t even bring her underlings with her.

“Ha, what a joke. Of course that balding bastard would be vile enough to lust over his students like that. No woman ever wants to be with him so he has to settle on his own student!” She declared, referring to the teacher. “She realized her skills in alchemy were useless, so she turned to the dark arts. Like the scheming whore that she was, she seduced him to give all his knowledge of the dark arts to her, including necromancy.”

Ah, if I remembered correctly, she was always beaten by her in the alchemy. Always second best below her in both written and potion-making tests. In that sense, she could be called a star student. Yet since it was just alchemy, she never became famous from it.

_Hmm, don’t tell me that she gets bullied by her as well… just like me..._

“Hey, wipe that look off your face! I’m still mad that you hide the fact that you can already cast a Master-level spell, you know!” She pointed at me. “What, you think you’re going to sneak behind me and pounce after my position when I don’t expect it? Hmph, what a coward. Just as you would expect from a girl from a backwards country like Marchen.”

“That’s odd,” I replied with my usual calmness. “I thought you don’t want me showing off. So I don’t.”

“S-shut up!” It was a hit. She was now clearly flustered. “Y-you dare speak back to me?" She pushed me to the wall, as she liked to do. "Let me tell you that I've mastered my second Master-level spell! That still makes me better than you! So you should just be a good girl and listen to me!" Urgh, she was loud, louder than usual. She pretty much screamed right in front of my face.

I remembered how her little sister said to me that she wasn't a bad person, and that she just wanted to be friends with me. Frankly, I couldn't see that at all.

“Hmph.” She backed off. “Anyway, I just thought I’m going to warn you.”

“Of what?”

“Why, of the accolades I will soon obtain.” She puffed her chest proudly, making her outrageous breasts bounce. “I will catch that necromancer girl and bring her to justice after all. So you better start to cry yourself to sleep as you will never surpass me after this!”

And with that, she left me, laughing like a mad witch in the process.

_So she would be part of the hunting party that chases after her? Hmm, I suppose if you’re the granddaughter of one of the Council members, you can just be assigned like that._

_Well, whatever. I don’t really care if she becomes even more famous than she already is. All I care about is studying magic. That’s what I’m here for after all._

Little did I know that it would be the last time I saw her alive.

Perhaps I would’ve been nicer to her if I had known otherwise.


	14. A New Form of Magic Fighting

Happy birthday, me! I’m seven years old now!

And so far, with the exception of some bumps here and there, my new life is going as smoothly as it could! I still remain true to my resolve seven years ago when I was born that I will live out my new life to the fullest without any regrets! I never slacked around and studied magic and swordfighting as much as I could! And I saved a girl from being treated horribly by her foster parent! And now, she's living with me and she has taken a liking on me!

Aah, I'm returning back to my prime again! My elementary school self! A top class student **and** popular with the girls!

Yes, I just need to keep this up until I become an adult again! Then my goal of becoming a person I won't be disgusted with will be achieved!

There's just one problem though. My swordsmanship skill is totally stagnating! Compared to Sherry, who's just climbing higher and higher, I'm just staying in one place, not getting any stronger. I have to do something!

Hmm? Isn't being a magician enough? Well, maybe. Marina certainly has given up on swordsmanship entirely, focusing her efforts entirely to become a pure mage. But if I follow her, I feel I won't be able to keep with her either. She's an absolute genius in the subject after all.

_I just don't want to be left behind again by my siblings, just like in my old life…_

Not to mention that if Sherry is really going to be my wife in the future, I wouldn’t want to be a weak husband who has to rely on her for my protection and safety. I want it to be the other way around, with me being able to protect her like a cool husband would. Father and Mother are the perfect example. Mother is a cleric, so Father, as a swordsman, would have to protect her at all times like her knight in shining armor. But if I’m the mage and she the swordswoman, I will be the one that gets protected by her. I know it’s selfish, but goddamnit I want to be cool in front of my (future) wife.

And so I decided. I had to develop my own style of fighting. Something that Father couldn’t teach to me.

The idea started out simple. What if I combined my magic with my swordfighting? Could I enhance both, with one discipline covering for the weaknesses of the others?

First test. I would throw Beginner and Intermediate-level magic while I used my sword at the same time.

\----

“Sparring?” Father raised her eyebrows. “You against Sherry?”

“Y-yeah, I think it can be good training. For both of us.” I smiled back nervously.

We were having our usual sword training sessions. After we did our warming ups, I immediately suggested my idea to Father.

Yes, I was going to use Sherry as my guinea pig. If I won, then I would declare my idea to be a successful one.

“...No, you can’t.”

“H-huh, w-why?”

“She’s too strong for you, son. None of you would gain anything by sparring against each other,” he said to me with a sad look. Damn you, Dad! No need to pity me that much!

“B-but I won’t just be using my sword! I would also use my magic!”

“Magic?” He raised his eyebrows again. “You mean, you would cast magic as you fight with your sword? That’s… I never saw any mages doing that. They would use their staves, not swords. Myrilla would do that if an enemy ever gets too close, just to put a distance between them.”

“Myrilla?” I asked with a curious look. I never heard of that name before.

“Oh, she’s just a mage I used to party with.”

Wait, what’s with that look? He’s avoiding my eyes as he said it. Don’t tell me that she's her ex or something! Does Mother know?

“Hey, don’t give me that look,” he immediately protested. “I never cheated on your mother, you know. If I did, well, I’ll be out of here for sure.” He gave a grim smile.

...Yeah, I could imagine that. Whew, she’s scary when she’s mad.

Though realistically speaking, she would be the one to leave the house, as women didn’t really have any right to own property back in the medieval era. I dunno whether this fantasy world really followed the same rule though. I imagined if it’s a family of two adventurers, who got the house and children would just be decided in combat, most likely to the death. A fantasy world tends to be a world where strength matters the most after all.

I gulped. I really wouldn’t want to see Father and Mother fighting like that. That would break my heart for sure. Father, please tell me that you really are not a cheater.

“Enough of that.” He suddenly threw a wooden sword at me, which I caught promptly in mid-air. Hey, my reflex had gotten better after all from my training. “If you really want to fight, then fight. You bring your wand?” I nodded. “Good. Then Sherry, go easy on him.”

I looked towards her. She was already nine years old longer than I had been seven, as her birthday was earlier than mine around a month or so. Thanks to Mother giving her lots of nutritious food, I could see her being taller and less thin than her old self. Well, her boobs were still nonexistent though, and I was still taller than her. I doubted that she would ever get taller than me, which I liked, as short girls looked cute to me. I loved how they had to stand on their toes to kiss their taller partner. Not that tall girls were bad, oh no. Tall girls on the other hand allowed the shorter men to just bury their face inside their large milk jugs that they usually had.

Well, enough about my preferences. I needed to get ready for the fight. I took out my wand and held it in my left hand. Thankfully, I was born ambidextrous, unlike my old right-hand-only self, so I could easily cast magic and wield a sword with both hands.

"Hey, are you sure about this?" Sherry suddenly spoke with a concerned look on her face. "When I fight, I still don't have good control of my strength, you know. I… don't want to hurt you…" She looked down. Oh, Goddamnit. With that that kind of melancholic expression, I just knew that she would definitely blame herself terribly if she hurt me in any way shape or form. And I certainly wouldn’t want that!

Well, all the more reason to not lose to her, right?

I readied myself, going into an evasive stance right away. I knew that I would be the one taking the defensive role in this match-up. She would outclass me in both strength and speed. The only advantage I had was my longer range.

“Sherry, remember what I taught you before! About fighting a mage!” Father shouted.

W-wait, Father had taught her that. I-I wasn’t informed of this!

“In three… two… one… begin!”

It was too late to protest. The match had begun.

And Sherry, well, she didn’t hesitate. She launched herself right towards me with her wooden sword raised.

“F-Fireball!”

I immediately responded by blasting my basic fire spell right towards her. But to my surprise, instead of opting to dodge, she simply slashed my fireball, dispelling it like it was nothing.

H-hey, w-what the hell was that? That’s a wooden sword! How could she do that and not burn it in the process?

Combined with my surprise and her speed, it was too late for me to devise my next move. Before I knew it, her sword was already on my neck.

I had lost. Didn’t even take her 10 seconds to do so.

“Well done, Sherry, well done!” Father clapped. “That’s how you deal with a mage! You close up on them and bash them straight up! Using your sword, you can just cut through any low-level spells they sent at you, as they would not have any time to chant the bigger ones.”

She retreated her sword. Once again, she gave me that worried look of hers.

“And you, Hugo. You didn’t expect her to just cut through your fireball like that, did you?” He grinned. Gah, now I’m starting to get angry. “In the hands of a strong swordsman, even a stick of wood could pierce steel.”

I guess since this is a fantasy world, statements like that could actually make sense. But still, was she able to do that just because of her strength? Or was there something more about swordsmanship that Father wasn’t telling?

_Or maybe he just doesn’t know. The way he teaches… it’s really… rudimentary and simple. Easy to understand, but there’s nothing refined to it, you know. I know a little about kendo from my old life and it’s far fancier than what he teaches to us._

...Hold on. Could it be that it’s a form of magic as well? Even though it’s done by swinging your sword around, who said that magic couldn’t take that from? Is magic exclusive to magicians with their wands and staves?

...I think I should ask Mother about this. Maybe she’ll know something Father doesn’t. Wouldn’t get my hopes up though. She’s just a cleric after all.

And so ended my first spar with Sherry. It was a total and complete loss.

\----

Ever since Mother was pregnant, Father insisted that she should stop working so hard and take more rest, even though she herself didn’t want to. But she refused to make Sherry take most of her work. Like a good mother, she didn’t want to make her feel like she was being used as a servant anymore. And so, as a compromise, Father decided to hire a girl from the nearby village to be a temporary live-in maid from the village to help with the chores. She was well-compensated, of course, with a salary that beat any work she could do in the village. Father also counted on her to help with delivering the child, once that day came.

_Wow, she’s cute!_

Such was my first impression when I saw her arriving with Father. She was indeed young, perhaps around seventeen or eighteen of age. No more than twenty, certainly. She had long, brown hair that reached down to her waist, along with a pair of yellow-brown eyes. And she arrived already wearing a maid uniform too. Combined with her charming, bright smile, I could already tell that she would be a welcome addition to our family for sure.

_Not to mention those big boobs as well!_

“Hello! I’m Mary! I’ll be working here from now on!” She bowed, making her breasts jiggle.

Uh oh, Mother’s expression—her smile wasn’t completely genuine, I could tell, and her eyes were drawn towards the maid girl’s breasts. Could this be the beginning of a war of boobs? But Mother's breasts were clearly bigger though.

"Thank you, Mary. I'm glad that you're willing to work for our family.” Mother bowed as well. And as expected, her boob jiggle easily overpowered the maid's.

"A-ah, please don't bow, Madame! The pleasure is all mine!" The girl bowed again, her breasts jiggling yet again.

I glanced towards Alan. As expected, he was paying full attention towards the "battle" that was going on. Hey, Father. Aren't you staring too much?

And so from that day on, we had another person living with our little family.

\----

That night, I was just relaxing, resting myself in my room when Sherry entered, wielding a broom and wearing her maid uniform. As usual, she was going to clean my room. She usually did it once a week, and always while wearing said clothing. I couldn’t help but think that me saying how cute she looked in it had a part on it.

No, that’s definitely what happened. She would sulk if I didn’t watch her as she did her work after all.

“I-I’m going to clean the room now, y-young Master.” How cute! Even though she had been doing this for months, she still went all blushy everytime. 

I couldn’t help but be bothered by the Young Master part however. 

“Hey, umm, don’t you think that you can drop that Young Master stuff? Now that we actually have a proper maid here, it just feels… well, weird, especially since she too calls me by that.” I scratched the back of my head, smiling nervously towards her.

And then her face quickly turned into shock, before turning into sadness, and then followed by anger.

“S-so, now that Mary is here, I-I’m not good enough, huh?!” She yelled. “You want your maids to be all pretty and big-chested like her, huh?!”

“W-wait, that’s not what I mean!” I panicked, quickly correcting her. “I-it’s just that… I-I don’t want to see you as a servant as well. Mary is one, but you, Sherry—you are family. And every time you call me Young Master like that, I can’t help but feel that you’re lowering yourself to her level…” Sherry acting as my maid was certainly really adorable and cute. But my conscience always told me that it was wrong to make her do that. I might be a pervert, but I was still a pervert with some moral compass.

Her anger subsided, and she looked away from me. “Oh… Oh, Hugo, I-I’m so sorry… I-I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that… M-my temper… I let it get the better of me yet again…" She bit her lip, looking back at me. Goddamnit, her eyes were tearing up. I had to comfort her right away!

"Hey, don't feel bad! I think… I think your temper is also part of your charm, you know." God, I could already tell that my face was reddening. "I… I always find that spirited girls are more interesting than timid ones." That's not entirely true though. I liked quiet, timid girls as well. In fact, I liked **all** sorts of girls, at least fictional ones. I was always intimidated by real 3D girls after all, as pathetic as that might sound. And if I was actually one of those harem protagonists, I would perfectly be willing to woo all sorts and types of girls to be my lovers. Well, if jealousy wasn't a thing in the real world, anyways. I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of any girls that could love my pathetic self. I would always cherish them and be the best husband to them that I could be. I swore to that.

“R-really?” She responded to my compliment with the cutest shy blush I had ever seen.

“Yes, really!” I smiled back, putting my hands on her shoulders. “So don’t be so hard on yourself, Sherry. You can get angry once in a while. Anyone does.”

“Y-you never get angry though…”

“Well…” She’s right. I did get annoyed multiple times, but I was never as angry as she was. “I get really angry whenever I see anyone tease and bully you, calling you a demon and all that. Though with you scaring them off, I guess I don't need to be worried, huh, hehe." I gave a little joke at the end, just so I wouldn't even be more embarrassed by my cliched and cheesy line. I wasn't really lying though. I did indeed get angry when those little brats came after her cruelly like that. It reminded me of my own dark past after all. So I thought it would be alright for me to give those words to her, even though it made me sound like those goody-goody harem protagonists that no one really liked.

She gave a little huff at my joke. But then, she looked away and mumbled, "T-thank you… You really are nice, Hugo…"

And then, she turned back and immediately gave me a kiss on the cheeks. "T-there… for always being there for me… A-and if you would, p-please protect me more in the future..."

She then ran away, leaving me as red as she was.

I touched the cheek she just kissed. I didn't wash my face for a while afterwards.

\----

Thanks to Sherry's night visit, I was completely invigorated! Aah, I want to be stronger after all! Strong enough to protect her, just like she wants!

And so I racked my brain, trying to find a better way to use my magic in combat. I determined that I couldn’t just use it in a straightforward manner. Even if I used my Advanced level magic, which I could use without chanting, I still needed to concentrate. And that would give an opening for her to close the gap between us. I would risk hitting myself as well, with how powerful those spells were. Intermediate? I had a feeling that they would just be dispelled by Sherry—the same way as she dispelled my Fireball.

Hmm, how about this? Maybe I should use my magic in a less straightforward manner. Not just to attack. Maybe there were some useful utilities I could gain from them, if I could use them in a more creative manner.

First idea. Wind Step. I would generate a burst of wind under my feet, pushing me to the direction I wanted to go.

I immediately tried it outside. Holding both my wand and my sword, simulating how I would be in combat, I took a deep breath. Naturally, I was nervous. What if I did it wrong and sprained my ankle?

 _Left._ I sidestepped. And just as I did, I conjured a small burst of wind under the soles of my shoes.

“W-whoaaa!”

I was immediately sent flying ten meters away, landing roughly on my left shoulder. Urgh, that hurt! Thankfully, however, I didn’t seem to break anything.

_Too much power. I need to control it better._

And so began my training. I fell over and over again, making scratches and bruises all over my body. But I didn’t care. I wanted to do this! And I wouldn’t give up until I could! And besides, no matter how badly I got wounded, Mother would always be able to heal me afterwards! My only obstacle was myself—my laziness and my fear of pain. And I would overcome it! Not just for Sherry, but also for myself!

And so, for the first time in my life, I worked hard on something entirely by my own. This time, I didn’t have Marina or Father to guide and encourage me. 

My own will and spirit. That was all that I had.


	15. Victory and Defeat

**Sherry**

When I first saw Hugo training like that, I wanted to stop him. He just kept falling to the ground over and over again, and it looked completely miserable. I couldn't bear seeing him hurt himself like that.

But when I came to him, he just said, "I-it's alright, Sherry. Mother will heal me afterwards after all." All with that stupid cheerful grin of his.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't get angry at him. Even though I didn't understand why he's doing all of this. That grin of his… it's the same grin that made me become fond of him after all.

...Wait a sec… "Hugo, you're doing this because I beat you yesterday, aren't you? Y-you don't have to worry about that, you know! I only won because of my strength, nothing more! And I didn't train for that!"

He smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Don't feel bad. I'm doing this for you, you know. I… well, I want to protect you, Sherry. So I have to become stronger."

BA-DUMP

The way he blushed as he said that, averting his gaze a little as he was too shy to keep staring at my eyes as he said it—it was immeasurably, unbearably adorable.

Once again, I had fallen in love for him, as much as a nine year old could fall in love, at the very least.

I could not resist. It was his fault for being too adorable in the first place.

I took a step forward and gave him a kiss right on the lips.

As we kissed, I gave him a hug as well. I didn’t care that he was dirty and sweaty. Only that I was now giving my first kiss to him, as I remembered what Nicole said about first kisses when we were still in the orphanage. “A maiden’s first kiss is a treasure that all men chase after.” 

I had decided. I was going to give my treasure to Hugo. He already more than deserved it.

He fell down, surprised by my sudden forwardness. That's fine. This position, with me being on the top, was fine.

"Hugo… I want to—"

"Aah, Young Mistress Sherry! Young Master Hugo! Are you two fighting?"

They said that Fate had a sense of humor. I couldn't agree more at this moment.

The new maid, Mary, ran over to us—her breasts jiggling disgustingly as she did. In her naivete, she seemed to be under the impression that we were not getting along, and that I was pinning Hugo forcefully to the ground.

Naturally, I gave her an angry glare. She just interrupted my moment with Hugo after all. Who knew when there would be such an opportunity again?

“Come on, Mistress Sherry! Fighting is no good, you know! Especially since he’s the one who took you in!” She pulled me away from Hugo, before dusting off my dress.

“We’re not fighting, you know.” I still gave her my deadly glare. “We’re in the middle of something and you just rudely interrupted us.”

“O-oh, r-really? T-then please forgive me, Milady!” She bowed again. Hmph, did all large breasts have to jiggle around like that?

I didn’t say anything to her afterwards. I simply left, giving Hugo one last look before I departed. My mood had soured considerably. It wouldn’t do well for me to be with Hugo for the rest of the day. I wouldn’t want to show him my grumpy, disagreeable side after all.

\----

Finally! Finally I managed to do it! I could control Wind Step now!

I plopped down on the dirt, taking a deep breath. I couldn't help but laugh for a good twenty seconds. At last! After a grueling training for a week, I finally mastered my very own original magic! None of those magic books had this technique written on them!

! And I did it without anybody’s help!

I couldn’t help but be proud of myself. For a loser like me, who had never put a significant hard work and effort on anything, to be able to accomplish something like this, was like a dream. So many times during my training that I thought I was just wasting my time. I would never be able to use my basic wind spell in that way. However, my mind would immediately return back to Sherry, and how she kissed me right on the lips. When I remembered her, I knew that I couldn’t give up. I didn’t want to disappoint her!

_So this is how it feels to be fighting for someone you love, huh? It feels… nice… Now I understand why so many men could work in unfulfilling, dead end jobs with smiles on their faces. It all must be because of their lovely wives, waiting for them back home._

_And now—now that I have someone like that, I can truly work hard without looking back! Without feeling afraid that I will just end up as a failure, that I would just waste all my sweat and tears on something that won’t bore any fruits._

And then, it struck me.

Sherry wouldn’t like me forever. She would eventually grow up and mature, and she would think of this little crush of her as a simple childhood thing that isn’t real in the slightest. We would still be friends, of course, but she would stop pining for me like she did now.

...That’s fine. That’s fine by me. Even if she became that way, I would still support her as much as I could. I wasn’t a scummy guy that would only be a girl’s friend just because I wanted to get in bed with her.

...Gah, enough of the depressing stuffI still needed to think of the other techniques and master them, before I could have my rematch with her!

And so I stood up, dusted myself off, and readied myself to resume my training.

\----

Two months. Two months were what it took for me to be ready.

And today was the day. I was now staring at Sherry across the field with a determined look on my face. She too returned the same stare. Even if she might be in love with me, she had no intention of taking it easy on me. Father made sure of that. He had told her that she would only belittle my efforts if she didn’t take me with all her might.

Mother was also here, watching from the veranda along with Mary. The maid had a visibly frightened expression on her face—she clearly wasn’t used to violent things like this, while Mother had a serious and calm expression instead. She believed in both me and Sherry, and she knew that this was something that we needed to do, as much as it might break her heart, watching her son and adopted daughter fighting each other like this.

At first, she scolded me for my training when she healed me. But after I told her the reason why I trained, how I wanted to be stronger for both Sherry and myself, she relented with a sigh. 

“You really are your Father’s son after all. He once went into this training spree, you know, after we almost died at the hands of a strong monster. Well, to be more exact, **I** was the one who was in the wrong. My positioning was too forward, giving the beast an opening to attack me instead of him. I… well, I lost an arm on that attack.”

I gasped. I didn’t expect her to suddenly tell a grim story like this.

“In a fit of rage, he killed the monster, before rushing me back to the nearest church. Thankfully, there was a high-ranking cleric there, with the ability to bring back lost arms. We had to pay every single gold that we had for it though. He even had to sell his dear sword that he had been with for years.” Mother smiled as she told this. She no doubt felt really touched by the sacrifice he made for her. “Afterwards, he told us that he was going to leave for a month for training. I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen, saying stuff like ‘I’m not strong enough to protect you yet’. He didn’t return until the second month, and when he did, I, well—”

“You proposed to him, didn’t you, Mother?” I guessed with a smirk.

“Oh Hugo, yes, of course I did, you silly boy!” She laughed, messing up my hair. “Sometimes, you really are like your sister. Too smart and clever for your own age.” She then gave me a hug, pleasantly burying me inside her cleavage. “How could I have not? He cared so much for me that my heart just went to him straight away. I still remembered how as my consciousness dimmed, he begged me to stay with him with tears in his eyes. That big man, brought to tears like that. And I wasn’t there since I was still not awake yet, but I heard from Myrilla that he would be with me for every single hour, refusing to sleep until he just fell asleep beside my bed. He would also pray to the Saint with a fervor that rivaled even the most devout Milicis believers for Her to save me, even though he was never the religious sort before.”

“Myrilla?” I replied. “Oh, the mage you used to party with, right? Father told me a while back about her.”

“Oh really? What did he say about her?” Huh, was that a hint of jealousy on her face?

“Nothing. He just mentioned her name and he refused to talk about her any further.”

“I see…” She paused, smiling a little. “Well, hopefully, we’re going to meet her soon.”

“Huh, really?”

“Yes. We… ah, have something we need to consult with her, you see.”

Mother ended the conversation there, telling me to clean up before we had our dinner.

I could just sense it. There was definitely more to her story—something that she or Father weren’t willing to tell to me.

Back to the fight, I was now ready—wooden sword on my right hand, and wand on the left. Sherry, on the other hand, was holding her sword with both hands. She didn’t two-hand her sword the last time we fought, which meant that she was really taking this seriously.

“In three… two… one… fight!”

Sherry bolted forward, exactly in the same manner as her opening move two months ago.

I, however, was ready. With my Wind Step, I dodged out of the way with ease.

She quickly halted her flight, turning 180 degrees to face me. However, as I was flying mid-air, I cast another quick spell. Flame Whip. An intermediate-level Fire spell that I had managed to cast in just a single second. The twin whips reached out to her, aimed at both of her hands.

“Aaah!”

She let out a yelp as the two whips wrapped itself around her wrist, no doubt feeling the burn on her skin. Sorry, Sherry, but just like Father said, I wasn’t going to hold back either.

However, instead of just surrendering, with her great strength, she yanked the two whips back at her, sending me flying towards her as my wand was still connected with the other end of the wips.

“Gah!” I immediately disconnected the whips, dispelling the spell. And then, using my wind spell, I pushed myself away. Must keep my range!

With her wrist freed, she was ready to resume her attack. With her great speed, she quickly closed the distance between us.

However, I was ready, With my Earth spell I dubbed Vine Grip, I conjured a series of short vines to grab onto her feet, tripping her up as she ran.

It didn't work! She just tore through them with her sheer strength!

I wasn't done yet though! I imbued my wooden sword with lightning, with a spell I aptly named Lightning Sword, and tied my feet with the vines from the spell before. I couldn’t dodge anymore. I had to face her head on!

Noticing the lightning however, she cleverly decided not to engage me in melee. She instead swung a powerful overhead slash, sending a sword wave straight towards my direction.

“Aarghhh!”

I blocked it with my own sword, but even with my lightning and vines, I couldn’t win. Not even close. I was immediately sent flying backwards, just from the sheer force of the attack.

Before I could recover, once again, her sword was already on my throat.

“The winner is… Sherry!”

I had lost for the second time.

\----

In the end, for the rest of the year, I still couldn’t surpass her.

Neither my spells nor my sword skills or strength were good enough to compete against her. And it certainly didn’t help that she continued improving on her swordsmanship at an amazing rate, or so Father said.

Gah, at this rate, I had to ask Marina for help when she came back in summer. Surely she could figure out something that I could do.

Before that though, I had the birth of my little sibling to wait for.

No major incidents happened before then. Well, except for two. The first, where I discovered that Sherry had a surprising fear towards ghosts. On one winter night, Mother decided it would be a fun idea to get together and tell us some ghost stories. As she did, I noticed Sherry trembling, as much as she wanted to hide it. I comforted her by grabbing her hand, but she was clearly still afraid nonetheless. I didn’t want to insult her pride by bringing her up, so I said nothing.

And then, the next morning, news broke that Sherry had wet her bed.

This led to an entire week of her avoiding me entirely. I wouldn’t blame her, really. I would do the same if I wet my bed. I knew just how humiliating it was, to have an accident when you were already nine. Yes, it was from my personal experience. And no, I’d rather not talk about it, thank you very much.

And when I told her that I didn’t mind her blunder, and that I thought it to be a little cute even, she slapped me instead. Damn it, she probably thought I was mocking her. I was just trying to comfort her! This is why I was never good with girls!

The second incident was when Sherry, who insisted that she had to be the one cleaning up my room, even though we had Mary now, managed to find Marina’s panties behind the cupboard.

Naturally, I never saw her angrier than that night.

“What are these?”

“T-that’s…”

“Whose panties are these?”

“M-Marina’s…”

“Then why are they here, instead of her room?”

“W-well, y-you see, i-it’s because—”

“Ah, I get it. You steal them from her room, didn’t you?”

“N-no, that’s not—”

“I can’t believe this! How would she feel if she knows you’ve been doing this—this sneaking around, stealing her panties from her room while she was away?" She was now visibly shaking with rage.

"I-it's not like that!"

"What else can it be then?" She was now walking towards me, panties in hand. "Don't tell me that Marina gave you the panties herself! If you think I'll believe such a bold-faced lie, then you—"

"It's true! She was the one to give them to me! It was her secret parting gift last summer!"

She stopped in her tracks. Judging from her expression, it seemed she believed that I wasn’t lying to her.

“S-she gave you… h-her panties… a-and a dirty one at that, judging by the smell… s-since last summer?!”

“Y-yes… s-she thought they would be a good way to… to remember her…” Naturally, the ridiculousness of said statement didn’t escape my mind. Dammit, Sis! Can’t you come up with a better excuse in your letter?!

She paused once again. Biting her lip, she looked down, straight to the panties balled up in her right hand.

“Y-you… do you like… keeping girls’ dirty panties like this?”

There it was! The golden question! I gulped. If I answered wrong, I could end up destroying her admiration towards me completely! And I didn’t want that in the slightest! Not at all!

She looked at me, straight in the eyes. There was no anger in them, only curiosity. I knew that she fully expected me to tell the truth. If I lied, she would really brand me as a cowardly pervert and would no doubt start to hate me from the bottom of her heart.

"Y-yes…" I answered, looking down. "I liked keeping them around, and gave them a smell occasionally…" I then looked up, a wry smile on my face. "I'm a pervert through and through Sherry, like I said to you that one time… I wouldn't deny that… And having Big Sis' used panties with me makes me able to remember her scent… and warmth…"

My old self would have immediately denied and lied his way out. He was so concerned with his image, that he didn't realize he was only making things worse for himself. He was too spineless to admit to anything that put him in a bad light, even from himself.

What happened next took me entirely by surprise.

Sherry, not saying anything, bent over and pulled down her own panties. Vaulting them over her legs, she then brought the fabric to me, putting them on my hands before saying, "I-if you like panties that much, t-then I’ll give mine to you too. I-I have worn them all day s-so they should be pretty smelly. J-just the way you like them, r-right?”

After shoving the fabric to me, she immediately ran away—face as red as a tomato.

I blinked. It took me several minutes to process what just happened.

_D-did she just…_

I looked down to my hands. Yep, there they were. Sherry’s white panties, along with Marina’s pink.

And so, ever since that night, I had two pairs of panties in my secret box.


	16. The Truth of The Past

“Aah. Ahh!”

_Cute! So cute!_

_Aaah, a baby is cute after all!_

_And best of all, she’s a girl! Just like the way I want it!_

_I’m so blessed! So blessed indeed!_

Such were my thoughts when I looked over my newly born baby sister. She was so precious, so adorable that I couldn't help to start making funny faces in front of her, just to see her laugh.

"Come on Hugo, don't tease your sister so much." Mother laughed. "She needs to have her nap soon and she can't have that if you overexcite her too much."

Mother was still bedridden, recovering from the grueling process that was birthing a child. I was there, helping out by summoning my high fairy and telling her to heal her over and over, while Mary was the one acting as the midwife. Father, on the other hand, had to stay outside. He couldn't really help and he was just making things worse by being all panicky. I wouldn't blame him though. I knew that I would probably be the same if my own wife was getting through childbirth, whenever that would be.

"Congratulations, Ma'am! It's a girl!"

When Mary announced that, I had the longest breath of relief that I ever took. It was really as if a large rock had been lifted off my chest.

Only a day had passed since then.

“Gyaaa! Waaaaahhh!”

Uh oh, suddenly, my little sister started to cry! I quickly lifted her up, moving her around a little to calm her down. No dice! She’s still crying! I checked her diaper. Nope, still dry.

“I think she’s hungry, Mother." I told her.

"Oh? I suppose she still hasn't gotten her lunch yet. Here. Let me hold her.”

I did as she told, giving the baby to her as gently as I could. She was still weak, so I had to bring the baby to her so she wouldn't need to get up.

As I did, Mother pulled down the neckline of her gown, exposing her bouncing breasts to the world. Hmm, was it just me or they had gotten even bigger?

My little sister immediately stopped crying at the sight. Smiling, her little hands reached upwards towards said breasts.

"Hehe, you really are hungry, aren't you? Here. Have as much as you want, alright?"

Mother brought the baby closer to her breasts. And in no time at all, she began sucking on her left nipple, drinking her milk like there was no tomorrow.

I couldn't help but stare. It was an oddly mesmerizing yet at the same time heartwarming sight. Now that I thought about it, I was never this close to my other little sister when she was born. Then again, I might just not remember, seeing how I wasn’t seven years old like I was now back then. I was quite a lot younger.

"Hmm? What's the matter, Hugo? You want to drink your mother's milk too? The other one is free, you know." She gave a tiny mischievous smirk as she cupped her right breasts. Oh, goddamnit, Mom! Please don’t tease me like that! Even now, I can feel my face reddening from it.

“Aah, this really reminds me when you were still a baby yourself, Hugo.” She continued. “You too would drink greedily like this, you know. In fact, you are even worse. You would use your other hand to play with my breast while you were drinking from the other one."

A-ah, right, I did do that, didn't I? W-well, you see, I just couldn't control myself. What would you do if you're faced with two beautiful, perky breasts that you could fondle and play and even drink from—without the owner being mad at you, huh? Any man would do the same as I did!

“Only Marina was somewhat reserved about it. I suppose even as a baby, she was already more mature than you two,” she added with a smile. I suppose any mother would be fond of reminiscing about her kids when they were babies like this.

“Oh my, the left one seems to have run out. Here, honey. Have the right one.”

Without pause, my little sister immediately started to drink from the right nipple instead. Damn, she really was hungry!

“Sorry Hugo, it seems you’re not getting any after all.”

“M-Mom!” She clearly had fun teasing me like this! 

“That’s alright though. Once you two are older, you can just ask Sherry for her milk instead.”

Immediately my mind went into overdrive. I imagined Sherry in a sexy negligee, laying down on the bed with me on top of her. She was older, and her body had turned just as curvy as Mother's. Her beautiful long black hair was draped loosely all over the sheets, only increasing her sensuality.. Her eyes were upturned and her cheeks were a brilliant shade of red. 

There was no doubt about it. She wanted me, and she wanted me bad.

“N-now that our baby is sleeping, w-we can do it tonight, right? I-I know how much you like them, s-so h-here, I-I’ll let you suck on them all you want…”

She then unbuttoned her negligee, revealing the treasure that laid barely hidden underneath. I got closer to her, and with my hands around her, I lowered my head until—

“Oh dear, to think that you would actually be fantasizing about her...”

Mother’s voice immediately jolted me out of my fantasy. “N-no! T-that’s not—”

“Oh, Hugo. It’s useless to try to hide anything from your mother, you know.” She giggled. “You are your father’s son after all. Having those kinds of desires to a girl is completely normal. Well, maybe you are a bit too young for that though… I suppose in a way, like Marina, you are more mature than you look, at least in that department.” She started ruffling my hair with her right hand, while her left still held the baby. “All I ask is for you to always be kind to her, alright? She likes you very much, but that just means that it'll hurt even more to her if you betray her trust."

"I-I'm not going to cheat on her, if that's what you meant," I quickly protested. "I-I don't like cheaters, you know! Cheaters are the scum of the earth!"

I wasn't lying. I really did despise guys who would go behind their girlfriends' back to go after other girls. Utter riajuu scum. If I had actually been blessed enough to get a girlfriend, there's no doubt that I would cherish and take care of her well.

"Oh my sweet Hugo, of course you won’t!” Mother let out another giggle. “I didn’t raise you that way after all. I know you wouldn’t cheat on her. You’re too kind for that.”

“Then, why did—”

“I’m just saying that in the future, you would most certainly meet other girls that will like you the same way as Sherry does. No, don’t give your Mother that look. I can tell. Let’s just say it’s a mother’s womanly instinct, shall we?” She smirked a little. Oi oi oi I was still a seven year old boy, you know. Aren't you thinking a bit too far ahead? Though if that's true, then it certainly would be nice… being popular with girls is certainly any guy's dream!

"Hehe, you like being popular, don't you?" Dammit, I must have grinned like an idiot without realizing it! "Being popular is certainly nice, but it comes with a price. The girls that would be fond of you… you would break their heart—one by one, until you end up with the one that you spend the rest of your life with."

As she said that, I noticed a sad, melancholic look on her face. Wait, don't tell me that this was her personal experience?!

"Alan—your father… he broke a girl’s heart when he decided to marry me me.”

“...It was Myrilla, wasn’t it?”

“...Ah, of course you’d be smart enough to guess it right away.”

With a forlorn look and a sigh, she began telling me all about her.

“She… and your father… they go a long while back. In fact, she was his very first companion.”

That expression… I could tell that she was jealous of that fact.

“For a couple of years they would travel together, with him being the swordsman and her being the mage. Maybe they would get additional members in their party occasionally, but nothing permanent. It was basically the ideal romantic journey. I imagined that people would automatically think they were already a couple, even though they weren’t.”

“And then, they met me.”

She let out a sigh again. The guilt in her eyes… I could already imagine how this story would end.

“I became their permanent cleric. With me on their group, we three managed to reach the highest rank an adventurer could get. The famous S-rank. Our combination was quite impeccable. Your father would be on the front, taking most of the monsters’ attention, Myrilla would be on the back, blasting them all with her magic, and I would act as support, healing him while making sure that none of the monsters got to Myrilla with my barriers.”

She was smiling as she said all that. Those must be quite the happy times for her.

“Of course, as you already know, that didn’t last forever. I proposed to your father, and he repricorated. The day that she caught us kissing passionately… I could never forget the pained look on her expression.”

“Afterwards, our party was disbanded. Your father and I decided to settle here, while Myrilla continued on being an adventurer. We wished that we could stay in contact with her, but she kept moving around. Only recently that we got the rumor about her staying put in the Demon Continent. We had sent her several letters—all requesting her to come here. Because we wanted to ask her about She—ah!” She abruptly stopped herself, putting her hand on her mouth.

Of course, I didn’t miss the name that she was just about to say.

“Sherry? What’s wrong with Sherry, Mother?”

She looked away and let out yet another sigh. “She… might not be human, Hugo.”

I paused. I knew I should be surprised, but I always knew in the back of my head, that it was certainly a very real possibility.

“Not surprised, aren’t you?” She smiled wryly. “Well, it’s certainly difficult to think of her as just a normal girl when she’s that strong at such a young age.”

“T-that’s not true, Mother! She might be strong but I always treat her as a normal girl! I don’t care how strong she is!” All her cute tsundere reactions… I certainly could never think of her as anything other than a girl. “I don’t care if she’s a human or not! She’s my friend, and that’s that!” I put up my upset face. If she thought of separating us just because of that, well, she’ll get one _really_ upset boy coming to her.

I saw a flash of surprise on her face. However, it quickly turned into a warm smile, before she patted me on the head.

“You really are one kind of a boy, Hugo. Now, let your mother and sister rest.” Before I noticed, the baby was already sleeping in her bosom. "Oh, and don't tell Sherry about it, alright? We're still not sure about it ourselves, so I wouldn't want her to worry about it just yet."

nodded. I could only imagine Sherry being devastated if this news reached her ears. She always hated being called a demon after all. If she discovered that there’s even a slightest chance that she wasn’t actually human…

I shook the thought out of my head. I’d worry about it later, when that Myrilla person came and got a good look at her.

For now, I just wanted to celebrate my little baby sister’s birth.

\----

A couple months had passed since Erika’s birth—we named her that after some fierce arguments between Mother and Father. She grew up healthy and strong, to the point that she already had some hair on her head already. And they were golden, just like Mother's. Naturally, I could already imagine her growing up to be this cute blonde loli that would call me “Big Bro” over and over again! Ooh, I can’t wait!

Mary also stayed by the way. She helped around the house doing chores, giving Mother more time to take care of Erika. It seemed Mother had deemed her to not be a threat, even with her big boobs, as she was completely innocent in any matters regarding love or even any sexual stuff. Mother was well aware of her own womanly charms while she on the other hand didn’t. That meant there was no chance of her flirting with her dear husband. Only she would have that right.

Yep, it didn’t take long until they started going at it again. I wondered if it’s really healthy, having a baby in the same room as where you had your happy fun time.

In the meantime though, I continued to train. I still hadn’t given up yet on beating Sherry after all, even after I knew that she might not be a human. My old self might disagree, whining about how it was unfair before giving up entirely, but I wouldn't. I still had more cards up my metaphorical sleeve after all. First, my summon, the High Fairy. Even if just for a short while, I could have her aid in fighting against Sherry. She would act as the mage, blasting her with water spells from a distance while I took the front and distracted Sherry. To do that, however, I needed more training. My style of fighting so far had been to dodge Sherry. If I was going to act as a tank, I needed a different set of spells.

Argh, if only I could cast advanced level spells quicker, I can just use the elemental wall spells to protect me. In my current mastery of them, they were still too slow. Sherry could get to me before the spell could really manifest.

"Gah, why can't Big Sis return faster?!"

Of course, I had mentioned this problem of mine through my letters to her. But instead of giving any straightforward answers, she just gave cryptic hints that pretty much told me to figure out the answer for myself.

"You're a boy, aren't you? Then figure it out yourself. It'll be unfair to Sherry if I told you right away how to beat her. I can imagine her working hard to not be surpassed by you. If you want to be her cool knight in shining armor, then work on it yourself," so she wrote. But that's not fair! Father told her everything he knew on how to beat mages like me!

And was it just me or her tone seemed to be a little on edge, even angry lately? She was really happy when I gave the good news that Mother was pregnant. But once I bombarded her with questions relating to magic and how I could beat Sherry, her tone slowly changed.

Hmm, perhaps the classes there were getting tough on her. Maybe I really shouldn’t be bugging her with my own problems like this. I remembered how in my old life, I would ignore my little sister every time she came to me for my attention. I thought of her as a nuisance, because she would cry at the slightest things and she would always demand to be included when I played with my friends. Maybe I was being a nuisance to Marina without me realizing it. Sorry Sis. Your little brother was still far from being independent after all. I’d try to tone down my letters next time.

Speaking of younger siblings being nuisances, Erika seemed to have ended up quite attached to me. Mother would complain that she would cry and refuse to calm down until I came over and held her, in which she would immediately give her angelic smile. The problem was, I was busy doing my training, so I couldn’t be babysitting her for most of the day. On the other hand, she didn’t seem to be that fond of Sherry. Maybe she knew instinctively that she wasn’t really her actual, blood-related older sister. I felt bad for her. I could tell how much Sherry wanted to be liked by her. She couldn’t hold her for long until she started crying.

“I-I suppose I’m just too scary for a baby like her…” she said to me with a sad look on her face. “I’m a demon child after all…” She added with a bitter grin.

My heart skipped a beat. I still hadn’t told her how she could really be a non-human. If she already looked this sad now, how would she take the news when it hit her?

...No matter. If she got all mopey and depressed from it, I would be there to snap her out of it. Like a man, I would hug her and tell her that everything was fine, and that I still liked her as much as I always did, before I knew that she wasn’t really of the same race as me. Then I would teach her to be proud of her heritage, no matter what it could be. Why would you be ashamed of being a nonhuman in a fantasy world anyways? Wouldn't you be excited instead? Being human is boring, you know. If I had a choice, I would've chosen to be something cool like a dragonkin. Dragons are cool after all!

I just wish that Myrilla would come sooner, just so we can know for sure. This is similar to when you wait nervously for the result of your tests to come while you are having your holiday. It’s quite the terrible feeling, and _definitely_ not holiday-ruining in the slightest.

Unfortunately, she didn’t come, even until next summer, where Marina returned for her second summer holiday.

“Welcome back, Big Sis!”

Just like last year, I greeted her with a tight hug the moment she got out of the carriage, burying my face in her chest. As expected, she had gotten taller, and her boobs had gotten bigger as well. Hehe, it would be nice if they would grow to be as large as Mother’s!

We all returned inside. Naturally, she immediately made a beeline to Erika. And unlike Sherry, Erika actually liked her! She laughed as she cooed and teased her. Watching her like this, I could already imagine her being a great mother in the future.

I noticed Sherry looking dejected once more on the corner of my eyes though. Ouch. How could I make Erika like her as well?

The next morning, I came forward to Marina, begging her to help me with my training, giving her my best puppy eyes in the process. Come on Sis, I’m seriously at the end of my ropes here!

She let out a long, weary sigh. I couldn’t help but grin a little. My little brother charms won her over after all. I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist if we met face to face like this!


	17. A Big Sister’s Jealousy… And A New Rival?

**Marina**

_Urgh, stupid Hugo! Sherry this Sherry that! You’ve stopped asking about your sister entirely and all that you care about now is her! Wow, Sherry’s so amazing! She’s so strong and fast! I want to beat her! How about your big sister, huh? Don’t you think she’s amazing too? Don’t you want to beat her too?!_

Such were the thoughts that swarmed in my mind after I received yet another letter from my little brother. Lately, he had been sending more and more letters. But instead saying stuff like how much he missed me or asking me how my lessons went, now all he cared about was his magic training. Did he just think of me as his free tutor? Hmph!

Yes, I was upset. I was jealous. The attention I used to be showered with—now he’s giving it more to Sherry.

Now, Sherry’s a good girl. A completely fine one, in fact. She’s cute, she’s a hard worker, and she definitely cared for him. But I'm also cute, I'm also a hard worker, and I also care for him! So why is she the only one getting all the attention?

Argh, this only worsened my already bad mood further.

Why was I having such a bad mood, you might ask? To answer that, I would need to return back many months ago, when the news arrived.

The news of Merinda Salamander’s death.

I was never really privy of the details, but apparently, she was taken off-guard by the necromancer girl and killed in the most cowardly manner. Something involving poison.

I remembered how said necromancer girl was quite adept in alchemy. In fact, I believed she was the very best in the subject in her year. So I imagined using her alchemy, she had concocted a lethal poison that ended her life.

When the news broke, there was naturally an uproar, not just in the academy, but outside as well. After all, Merinda was the granddaughter of one of the Council members.

There were demands for the necromancer girl’s family to be hanged for her crimes. However, it was soon discovered that she had no family left. All of them had perished in the plague that struck around fifteen years ago, leaving her a complete orphan.

The blame then fell to her alchemy teacher. At the very least, he wasn’t executed. He was simply banished from the Magocracy. As for the already fired dark magic teacher, he actually got that punishment. Execution by lightning mages.

I didn’t know whether the Magocracy would send its agents to hunt after her beyond its borders, as I heard the necromancer had boarded a ship to cross the ocean. I suppose it would depend on how much the other Council members saw this incident as an affront to its authority. Not to mention her grandfather wanting revenge for his dead granddaughter.

All I knew however was that Alincia was completely heartbroken by the whole ordeal.

\-----

I was present in her burial. In fact, everyone in the academy came. It was a massive funeral, and she was treated as if she was a fallen hero. I heard even the Council members came, though I didn’t get a good look at any of them. It was only natural for a granddaughter of someone in such an important position would have a funeral as lavish as this one. Not to mention that it was also a funeral to her followers, who had come with her to chase after the necromancer. It wasn’t just a single murder.

To think that just one girl—not that far of age from me—could accomplish such a terrifying feat… just how skilled she was in the acts of murder… and how did she get the knowledge in the first place?

Her eulogy was all good of course. No mention of bullying me or any other students. I didn’t mind though. I wasn’t even angry at her now. She was dead—her lifeless corpse was going to be buried beneath the ground of this cemetery. Holding grudges to the dead just seemed silly, in my opinion.

I left her a bouquet of flowers. And a little prayer, for her to be able to rest in peace.

_I have forgiven you. So you can rest now, Merinda Salamander._

\----

With her gone, I immediately noticed a massive transformation in my academy life.

The girls and boys that normally kept their distance away from me all this time—now they acted normal, even nice towards me. No longer would I have to wait until the teacher assigned me someone to work in a class project with. They would come to me on their own.

There was only one thing. With Merinda gone, they were no longer afraid of befriending me. I was no longer the black sheep marked by her to be teased and tormented with.

Sad to say, I couldn’t really see them as other than acquaintances. You might think of me as arrogant, but I would never want cowardly friends like them that just quivered and bent their backs in front of a clear injustice.

If it were my dear Hugo, he would have defended me from the start, of course.

Speaking of the boys, some of them were clearly aiming for more than just friendship with me. I wasn’t sure why. I wasn’t particularly beautiful or anything. And I wasn’t a wizard nobility either.

One of them, however, was particularly consistent with it. He would hound me every day with his presence, asking for me to teach him magic or help with his homework. And to make matters worse, he actually reminded me of my dear Hugo. He was a Hobbit, you see. And if you knew how Hobbits worked, they couldn’t really look older or get taller than a 10-year old human boy or girl.

I knew better than to be persuaded by his boyish charms however. Before Merinda died, he was actually her fiance. They were already scheduled to marry the moment they graduated. He too belonged to a powerful wizarding family. Unlike Merinda, it was his grandmother who sat on the Council.

For him to suddenly approach me like this, there must be some ulterior motive behind it. And I believed I might have an idea on what it could be.

Magic bloodline preservation.

The prominent theory of magic inheritance stated that a marriage between two powerful mages would produce children with even greater talent in magic. That was why children of powerful wizarding families would only marry other children from equally powerful wizarding families. With Merinda gone however, I might have actually become the most talented mage in the entire academy. I assumed that he, or to be more accurate—his grandmother, most likely—decided that he had to marry me instead, and produce powerful heirs that would make even greater mages to expand the influence of their family. His grandmother was a gnome, and just from that, you could already expect that his family, the Marjoram, to be quite the unconventional one, at least compared to the other wizarding families. Most of the folks there seemed to care about the title and respect of being part of the ruling families, so they would only marry their children to other ruling families. But the Marjoram, they seemed to welcome marriage outside of the family, or outright leaving the Magocracy together to become adventurers and such. His uncle was one such person. He married a demoness when he travelled to the demon continent, and ever since then, he had lived there. And he wasn’t disowned for that. Perhaps the demoness he married had powerful magic abilities that satisfied the grandmother. And of course, her daughter, who also was a gnome, ended up marrying a hobbit, and that led to her grandson becoming a hobbit, inheriting the genes of his father. There was no such thing as a half-gnome half-hobbit, only which blood was more dominant, and that would be the one who got inherited. I could imagine her not being so pleased that her grandson was a hobbit instead of a gnome. The latter tend to be more attuned to magic after all.

Vera Marjoram, the legendary Ice Snake Witch. She earned that title after she overthrew and destroyed one of the ruling mage families and replaced them with her own. It was a victory not just done through her impressive feat in magic, but also through politicking with the other families. Before they knew it, a gnome was already amongst them, sharing the same table in the Council. That never occured in the entire history of the Magocracy, ever since it was founded by Mira a thousand years ago.

With that kind of person scheming in the shadows, I knew that her grandson was not to be trusted either. He never really liked me as a person. He simply wanted my womb for his seeds. That’s all.

If only he didn’t remind me so much of Hugo, I wouldn’t be this annoyed with him. And Hugo himself didn’t help matters, as lately he had been asking all sorts of things about magic, just like him.

_All that for Sherry… he really is fond of her that much, huh?_

I sighed. I knew I shouldn’t be selfish, wanting to monopolize him all for myself. He’s growing up after all. He’s already seven now this year. Before I knew it, he would already be a fully grown man. And then he would have a lover for real. He would coddle her and give her all his attention. And knowing him, he would definitely have a lot of fun with her in bed as well. He would have no time whatsoever for his older sister anymore.

_And if this continues… Sherry would definitely be that lover…_

_Aah, it would be nice if I can have my own lover too..._

\----

“Hey, Marina! Surprise hug!”

As I was returning back to the dorms from my classes, I was suddenly assaulted from behind by a familiar redheaded little girl.

“Oh, Alincia. You almost gave me a heart attack there.” I smiled, turning around to face her.

After her sister’s death, we had grown much closer than before. It all started when one night, as I was just about to sleep, she suddenly came to me with tears in her eyes, demanding that I would sleep with her.

I obliged. I would be cruel and heartless not to do so.

She cried herself to sleep that night, dampening my nightgown considerably with her tears. But I didn’t mind in the slightest. Instead, I told her to let it all out. Without her sister, it seemed I was the only one that she could pour her heart and soul to.

I then learned the horrible state of her family, about how her father and mother had eloped when they were young, leaving them to be raised by their absurdly strict and demanding grandfather. As the first daughter, Merinda received the most pressure from him, as he wanted her to be his successor, and not to become like his useless daughter who had run away. He demanded her to be able to cast at least three Master-level spells before she graduated, and to be the number one student in all subjects.

It was clear to me then why she became a bully in the first place. Anyone would snap if put under such pressure.

If only I had known, then perhaps I could have eased her burden a little.

And so, ever since that night, I treated Alincia as a true friend. Perhaps even more, as I started to see her as a little sister of sorts. Quite ironic, considering that back home, I actually had an actual little sister.

“Good afternoon, Big Sis Marina!”

Our moment was interrupted however when the hobbit boy I was talking about made his appearance. He was about as tall as Hugo, but with a black hair instead. And of course, like most Hobbits, he was barefooted. He seemed to have shaved his feet though. Hobbits’ feet were usually hairy after all.

“Do you have anything to do for the weekend? Then how about you come to my house? I promise we’ll have all sorts of delicious food there!” he said with his usual easygoing smile.

“Hey, get lost, hobbit boy! Marina has already promised to go to town with me! She got no time for the likes of you!”

As usual, Alincia immediately showed her dislike towards him. She could get away with all sorts of rude comments towards him, thanks to her status. Not that he seemed to mind any of them though.

“Oh, Alincia! You can come too if you want!”

“Hmph, who wants to come to your house?” She showed her tongue towards him. She really was still a kid after all.

“Also, how many times have I told you to stop calling Marina like that?” She’s not your big sister! You’re the same age as her! Stop pretending to be younger than you really are, just to seduce her with your boyish looks!”

I sighed. Alincia still thought that I had a preference towards younger boys, just because of my attachment towards Hugo.

The hobbit boy, however, opted to ignore the young mage entirely, resuming his talk with me instead. “Grandma wants to meet you, you know! You know who she is, right? No one would ever miss the chance to meet with her personally!”

There it was—his grandmother making a move towards me. No doubt she would try to befriend me and influence me to marry her grandson in the future.

“I am sorry, Tom.” I told him with a calm yet serious look. “I already promised Alincia that I will go with her.”

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he switched his strategy, giving me the saddest, most pathetic puppy-eyes that he could muster. I flinched. Even though I already encountered this strategy a few times before, it still made my heart ache. He really was adorable when he did so, and he immediately made me guilty for rejecting his offer.

I quickly regained my composure however, keeping my cold expression towards him.

"Well, that's a shame…" He looked away with a defeated look. "Grandma is looking forward to your visit too…"

"So, how about next week instead?" He grinned.

I could only sigh once more. Thomas Marjoram, or Tom for short. He was the grandson of the infamous Vera Marjoram, the Ice Snake Witch. Just like his grandmother, he wasn’t the kind of person that would give up quickly. No matter how many times I rejected him or gave a cold shoulder towards him, he would come back with that same cheery smile like I was really his older sister. It was honestly somewhat unnerving, especially since I knew the smile was most likely just a front he put up for me to lower my defenses.

In the end however, I never took any of his invitations. I managed to resist until the very end, until it was time for me to return back home at the end of my second year.

Still, I couldn’t help but be nervous about the matter. Eventually, people like that would drop their pretence of civility and become more forceful in making me do what they wanted. If his grandmother asked me to come in an official manner, I imagined there would be nothing that I could do to reject her invitation.

Well, I put the matter on the back of my head. No sense in thinking about academy stuff when you’re having your holiday after all.

_Aaah, I can’t wait to see little Erika! I bet she’s even cuter than Hugo when he’s a baby!_

With those thoughts in my mind, I took the long carriage ride back home.

\----

Just like last year, I was greeted by a hug from my little brother Hugo. Now this was what I wanted—a genuine love and affection, not a false one like that hobbit peddled. I hugged him tightly back, taking a big sniff of his nostalgic scent.

If it’s him, I could cuddle and hug him as much as I wanted after all.

I then got to see my little baby sister, Erika. And my heart nearly melted from the sheer adorableness that she exuded. She's like an angel! My little angel! Aaw, look at her reaching out to my chest! Sorry, Erika, but if you’re hungry, you have to go to Mother’s instead.

The next day, Hugo asked me to help him with his magic training. Naturally, I had expected this. It was all he talked about after all. It wouldn’t be Hugo if he just gave up midway through. Instead of just obliging right away though, I felt I had to act a little selfishly towards him first.

“Hmph, that’s all you care about, don’t you? Sherry this, Sherry that—you don’t even ask about me anymore in your letters!” I said with a huff, looking away from him as I folded my arms under my chest.

I knew that it was childish and unreasonable, and that there was no way Hugo had stopped caring about me like I insinuated. But I felt I had to let it out, or else the feeling would just fester inside my heart like poison that would taint my relationship with him and with Sherry even more.

And besides, it’s always fun to see Hugo’s panicked expression.

To my surprise however, instead of furiously making excuses for himself and denying my accusation, he instead gave me a heart-piercingly sad expression on his little face.

“S-sorry Sis, I-I’ve been a bother, haven’t I?” He looked down. “I kept asking you all those questions yet I never asked about how you’re getting by, so far away from home at the academy on your own…”

T-that expression… I-I couldn’t bear it anymore! It was far different from the puppy eyes that hobbit liked to pull off on me! This was the real deal! To ignore it would be to stab my own heart with a knife!

I immediately rushed over and gave him a deep hug, apologizing for teasing him like that.

_I really can’t win against my cute little brother after all…_


	18. A Little Brother’s Love

And just like that, I was able to make Marina help me with my training.

Honestly, I was taken by surprise when she suddenly announced how much she’s jealous of me from talking about Sherry in my letters. Well, I did remember how I kept praising how strong and amazing she was. I thought she would be glad to hear that Sherry was advancing really well in her lessons.

And yes, I did indeed not ask about her wellbeing—at least, not as much as I used to. I thought my letters were getting pretty long and I would bore her if I wrote too much. Not to mention that in her letters, she already started to mention her friend. Alincia, if I remembered correctly? Well, that’s only one but it’s progress nonetheless. I hoped with her around, she wouldn’t feel as lonely there.

I never knew that she could be this jealous towards Sherry however. I thought as she grew older, her bro-con attitude towards me would lessen. Apparently not. Now I couldn’t help but feel a little worried towards her future. She would need to get a boyfriend one day and start her own family without me after all.

It wasn’t all just acting though—the sad expression I just made. I indeed felt guilty of bothering her like that, especially since now I knew that she viewed my training as just an attempt for me to impress Sherry. She’s not wrong though. There’s certainly a part of me that wanted that. A pretty significant part, in fact. However, after a certain revelation I just received, the reason for my training had transformed entirely.

Marina had told me about the necromancer incident in her letters, and how it led to the death of several important seniors. I didn’t know why they decided sending a bunch of students, even if they were in their last year, to chase after a criminal dark mage was a good idea. Perhaps it’s because the criminal herself was also a senior in her last year. Not to mention how the leader of the student group was apparently already a Master-level mage, which meant she could already graduate.

_So she’s just like Marina, huh?_

And then, I realized something horrible.

A mage at the level of Marina, with several of her friends that weren’t slouches in magic either, were all killed by a single necromancer. And she wasn’t even a Master-level mage, or so Marina told me.

It meant that if it were Marina who had led those students, she would’ve lost her life as well. 

All this time, I had thought of her as nearly invincible. She was so good at magic that no one could ever hurt her.

And yet, it still happened. A mage the same level as she was had been murdered. By a mage that by all right should be weaker than her.

A chilling fear appeared on the back of my head. What if Marina ended up the same way? What if, even with all her knowledge in magic, she could not prevent her own death? In her letter, she said that they had been killed in a “cowardly” way. I could just imagine it—my big sister, while sleeping in her room, was stabbed with a dagger right on her heart. Or something like poison. That’s a coward’s way of killing to be sure. Just sneak in a drop to her drink or food and she would be dead without a single drop of blood being spilled.

This world was nothing like the RPGs I used to love playing. There were no save points. No do-overs. And certainly no status screens and levels that guaranteed someone much stronger couldn’t be killed by someone much weaker. With enough trickery and guile, it could be accomplished.

Sherry was the same way. No matter how monstrous her strength was, if she were to be caught off-guard, she would perish the same way.

...There was only one thing that I could do.

I had to become stronger.

If we three ever became a party of adventurers, I couldn’t just let them to most of the work. They would be times that they needed my help, and if I couldn’t deliver then, their lives would be at stake.

If any of them died under my watch… well, I would never be able to forgive myself. Heh, knowing my weak and pathetic self, I would most likely end up killing myself once again as I drowned in my own sense of regret and guilt.

And that’s why… that’s why I had to keep my training up. At the very least, I wanted to be equal to them—the superhuman swordswoman and the genius mage.

\----

“Tell me, Hugo. What do you think is the most important thing for a mage in a fight?” Marina asked me with a smile, beginning the lesson. We were now on the hill where we had always trained all this time.

“Hmm… time? To cast their spells?”

“Correct! 100 points!" As usual, she's really good at this teaching thing. "Then, Hugo. How would you give yourself that time in combat, as a mage?"

"Well, I could put a distance between me and my enemy. Maybe use faster spells to create environmental hazards that could delay the enemy further from coming closer. Oh, you can trip their feet too!" I answered with a grin.

"Hmm… a disappointing 60 points. No wonder you still can't beat Sherry," she replied with a smirk.

Ouch. That hurt. She destroyed my confidence just like that.

"First of all, that wouldn't work against a ranged enemy. And don't just think they're only archers and the like. Any swordsman worth their salt can also attack from a distance. You already saw Sherry doing it, right?”

Yep. I saw it alright.

"So, what am I supposed to do then?” I replied. I was starting to get exasperated. Without realizing it, my tone was starting to get pouty. Well, I suppose it’s natural for a kid my age, but as an adult, it would certainly make me look pathetic. And I didn’t want that, of course. Especially not in front of my big sister.

Thankfully, Marina didn’t seem to mind it in the slightest.

“What you’re supposed to do is think harder.” She put her index finger on her temple. “That is not the only way to buy time to cast your spells. First, there’s the obvious solution of just having someone else fight on the frontlines. Someone, or something, if you get what I mean.”

“You mean, using a summon?” I answered.

“Yep! Like this big guy here! Come forth, my loyal Owlbear!”

_W-whoa!_

I quickly backed away as Marina had apparently decided it was a good idea to cast a summoning spell before warning me first. 

The summoning circle that appeared was large—larger than the ones I had seen before. I immediately knew that this was a big one, that she had obtained an even greater summon this past year.

“Graaaaaaoorrrr!”

I fell down on my butt. It was a miracle I didn't wet myself on the spot.

It was a gigantic purplish owl-bear hybrid, far bigger than me or Marina or even Father. It towered over me. It was right there, not even three meters away. When it appeared, it let out a roar right onto my face. My poor ears were still ringing from that!

Oh God, it’s sniffing me now! S-Sis, you already tame this guy, right?

“Oh Hugo, don’t be afraid,” she said with a giggle. “This owlbear is actually quite friendly, you know. That roar is just his way of greeting people.”

S-since when she’s a lover of gigantic owl-bear chimeras?! Her summons previously were all cutesy stuff. But now, it’s a straight up monster!

A-argh, stop licking me!

“Hehe, I see he likes you, Hugo!” She ruffled one of its front arms. “How about it? You wanna try riding on top of him?”

“N-no thanks!”

\----

As I calmed down, Marina explained that the owlbear was also part of the Fey, just like the fairy and dryad she had summoned before. However, unlike the fairies and dryads, it didn’t really have enough intelligence to be able to talk and communicate like them. By all purposes, it was just a normal monster, though as all Fey were, they couldn’t truly die, as when they lost their life, they would just be reborn back in Fey lands, though with a decrease in power.

"And he's a perfect example of a summon you can use on the front line. Big, bulky, and threatening enough that the enemy couldn't just ignore it and attack you instead," Marina explained.

"But I can't summon something as amazing and strong as that, Sis! I only got the high fairy! And you never gave me the chance to learn more summons on my own!" I pouted again. This time however, it's intentional. Knowing that Marina definitely had a weakness towards cute young boys like me, I thought it might pay off, acting spoiled like this, so that she would finally be willing to lend me one of her summoning books.

“Hmm, perhaps it’s time for you to learn a new summon after all. Alright! We’ll get working on that later!” she answered with a smile. I sighed. Yep, still no intention of lending any of those books, I see.

Afterwards, she dispelled the owlbear, though not before giving him a large piece of meat first (that it swallowed in a single bite by the way). Like last year where she brought out my present, she used that spatial storage spell thing to make it appear out of thin air. I imagined it also came with a preserving effect, as the meat certainly still looked fresh to me.

After receiving his meat, he cooed happily before disappearing (wait, he could make that kind of noise?). Honestly, I think the whole reason he got summoned in the first place was because Marina wanted to stealthily brag to me about him. Alright. Fine. I’ll give you the praise you so desperately crave, my ever so lovable big sister.

"That was amazing, Sis! You really are a magic genius!"

Ha, I knew it! She immediately smiled ear-to-ear after I said that!

“You’re not getting any extra points by flattering me, you know!” She ruffled my hair, but still with that same glee on her face. Oh Sis, you really can’t fool me!

“Alright. Now summoning’s out of the way, we can talk next about pre-prepared magic. Do you know what that is, Hugo?”

“Hmm, it’s about how you can prepare a spell beforehand to be activated instantaneously later on, right? Using magic circles and runes that you’ll draw to the surface?” I had read about it in my magic books, though I never got around to really trying it out. Honestly, the diagrams displayed in those chapters just made my head spin. And Marina never really tried them out either.

“Correct! Another 100 points for you!"

"I don't think I want to use that though… it'll be unfair to her, I feel… in combat, you use them like traps, right? So you lure the enemy into the circle and then bam! You activate the spell! I dunno. That feels like cheating to me…"

Marina paused before giving me an understanding smile.

"I suppose it is. It's basically just a spar after all. However—" Her expression suddenly turned serious. "—In a real fight, there's no such thing as being unfair. There are many cunning and unscrupulous bad people out there that would use any method to achieve their goal, no matter how dirty it is. You remember my story about the necromancer?" I nodded. How could I forget? "She is one such person. Apparently, the way she killed those seniors was through a particularly powerful alchemical poison. She didn't bother facing them in a mage vs mage combat. She took advantage of their pride and took their life with the best tool that she had. Her alchemy."

Ah, that's right. I remember her writing how she had the best grade in the subject in the entire academy.

An alchemist/necromancer. An intriguing combination to be sure.

Marina's expression suddenly turned somber, and she looked away from me as she continued her tale.

"Their leader, Merinda—she used to be my tormentor, you know," she said with a wry smile. "She would do all sorts of unpleasant things to me, from humiliating me in public by lifting up my skirt with a wind spell or making my dress wet by a water spell or even stripping me of my clothes altogether. And occasionally, if she’s in a particularly bad mood, she would even hurt me, to the point of making me bleed. Nothing that I couldn't heal on my own, fortunately enough."

I froze.

The thought that I had stored in the back of my mind for so long suddenly resurfaced, hitting me straight at my chest.

_I was right. She_ **_was_ ** _bullied after all._

My face immediately contorted as I listened to her tale. First of all, doing that to a girl, even if you’re a girl yourself? Not cool. Not cool at all! I can’t imagine the sheer embarrassment Marina must feel when it happened to her! A pantyshot is one thing but outright stripping her off her clothes? That’s deplorable! I just hope that she still had her underwear on when that happened!

And that still doesn’t count all the perverts that must take joy in seeing her in that state. I don’t care if they’re ten or eleven year old boys! I was already aware of girls at that age back in my old life! And with how you’re considered an adult at fifteen in this world, they must have matured even more than the kids back in my world.

Grr, to think that a bunch of brats got to see my precious big sister half-naked… how dare they? I never even got such a chance! I’ve sworn to become a gentleman after all, so I never tried to peek when she took her baths. And whenever her dress blew up, I would always avert my gaze!

And when she talked about how that Merinda girl would actually dare to hurt her to the point that she bleeds from it, my blood boiled. Never before I felt this kind of anger. My palms were immediately formed into fists, and my body was starting to shake from the sheer rage that I was feeling.

In my mind, I imagined my big sister Marina, slapped and punched and pushed and even kicked while she was on the ground. Blood leaked out of her wounded forehead, and her face was completely black and blue.

Of course, at the time, I didn’t really know whether it really was that bad or not. But my mind immediately went to the worst possible conclusion. After all, I had been in a similar position in my previous life.

_She’s far stronger than me though. She wouldn’t cry like I did, or lower her head and beg for forgiveness to the bullies, no matter what happened. And she certainly wouldn’t soil herself either._

When she finished, there was only a single question in my mind.

“Why didn’t you tell me?! O-Or tell Father a-and Mother?!" I shouted. Without realizing it, my eyes had turned watery, and I started to cry.

“...Because there’s nothing you or them can do to help. She's part of the ruling class there. If I were treated terribly by the Princess of Marchen herself for example, would you still be running to her and 'put her in her place', as I imagine you would?"

"Yes, I would! No one treats Big Sis like that and gets away with it!" 

I didn't even think. I answered just as soon as she finished her hypothetical question. I was done letting me or anyone I cared about be stepped on by anyone, no matter how powerful they were.

"Hmm? Even if the king would execute you afterwards?"

"I won't get executed! I will save you and leave this country forever afterwards!"

"But if you do that, then Father and Mother and even Sherry might be the ones who get executed, you know?"

"Then we'll all leave! I-I'll work if we don't have the money!"

"That's quite selfish, isn't it? Just because of me, our whole family will have to—"

"There's nothing selfish about it! Letting your family helps you—it's not selfish in the slightest! And don't you dare think otherwise!"

At this point, I was panting. I was completely out of breath. I had been yelling all this time after all.

Marina wore a shocked expression on her face. Of course she would. This was the very first time I had ever gotten this angry—angry at that bully, for tormenting my sister, angry at Marina, for seemingly just accepting it and hiding it from me, and most of all, angry at myself, for not being able to do anything to help her.

But then, that expression soon softened, and I noticed a few tears trailing down her eyes.

Without a word, she gave me a hug.

“Oh Hugo… how fortunate I am to have a little brother like you…”

I could hear her sniffling. Now that I thought about it, this was the very first time I had ever seen her cry.

“I promise… I’ll never keep anything from you ever again… so please, forgive this big sister of yours…”

“T-there’s nothing to feel sorry about, Sis! I just… I just want to help you… the same way you’ve been helping me all this time…”

If only… if only I could tell her of my past life… But she’ll think of me as crazy if I did. She’ll never believe such an outlandish story.

Not to mention that my old self… wasn’t exactly someone I could be proud of. Not in the slightest. No matter how kind she is, she'll never be able to like a perverted, overweight loser who constantly masturbates to anime porn.

I… I don’t want her to stop loving me like this after all… This warmth… I’ve yearned for it for so long that it would break my heart and spirit if she ever turns to hate me.

Heh, I am still a selfish human being, in the end...

Sorry, Sis. Even though you just said you would be completely honest with me, I still kept secrets from you—secrets that I would no doubt carry to my grave.


	19. The Sword Girl and The Mage Boy

**Sherry**

And here I was again, facing him like this.

He had a really confident grin on his face too. Marina must have taught him some new magic to defeat me. She’s really clever at that stuff after all, unlike me, who can’t do any magic at all. Hugo had tried a couple of times to teach me, but I couldn’t do even the basic elementary-level spells.

All I could do was to swing my sword hard and fast. Harder and faster than Hugo or Marina could.

In that sense, I was similar to Hugo’s father—a raw and pure swordsman, with no other ability to his belt.

I wish I could use magic though. Just so I could be closer to Hugo.

Everytime he went away to practice his magic, I always secretly wished that I could follow him and train together with him.

Lately, he hadn’t been practicing his swordplay after all, with me and his father. He was completely focused in his own training that I couldn’t quite understand. But I suppose that’s just how a mage was supposed to train. Marina must have taught him his training method.

And all that, just so he could protect me.

_That idiot. Doesn't he get it that I'd rather have him spend more time with me? I don't care if he's weaker than me. I'll be the one to protect him. A mage like him should just sit back while a swordswoman like me keeps him of harm's way._

I should've said that to his face, instead of getting charmed by him and giving him a kiss on the lips.

After that day, he continued his training, until our second match where I won pretty handily. I thought it would be enough, that he would abandon this nonsense about getting stronger than me.

Instead, it only made him train even harder.

A couple more times we had our spar, with me still winning every time. And I only came out feeling bad from it.

And yet, he still worked and trained as hard as ever. I couldn't understand. Why didn't he give up or feel any sense of despair from his constant defeat? I would've given up if I were in his position.

And then, it came to me. He wasn't just kind. He was also strong-willed. He would not give up on his goal even after suffering numerous setbacks on the way.

And I admired him for it 

His father was right. This was good for him after all. And I was right to hold my tongue and not tell him to give up. I would betray his determination if I had.

At first, I thought it was because of his ego, that he didn't want a girl to be stronger than him. It made me upset, to the point that I wanted to punch him right on his stupid face.

But with how determined he was, relentlessly training himself for months on end, I knew that was far from the truth. He wasn't doing it just because of a stupid boyish pride. He was doing it truly because he cared about me.

And that made me happy beyond belief.

For me, who had never been loved this much before, it was truly like a dream come true.

_He really is my Prince in Shining Armor…_

Even so, as I stared across the field at him, I had no intention of taking it easy on him.

I would just be insulting him if I did.

"Ready?" I heard Hugo's father starting the countdown.

"Set…" I bent my body forward, gripping my sword tighter. It’s a real sword now, made out of steel. Hugo’s father gave it to me just this month, as he felt I was ready for it.

"Go!"

I launched myself forward, right towards him. Using my leg strength, I could jump far, enough to cross half of the field in a single second.

He responded by conjuring a wall made out of earth to block my path. I believed it was an advanced-level spell that he had trained to be able to cast quickly.

Nothing that I couldn't handle though.

"Hyaah!"

With a single swing, I split the wall apart.

Only to find that he was no longer behind it.

“Where did he—”

“Air Sunder!”

Above! He was above me all along! He must have jumped there with his wind spell when I was distracted by the wall!

Quickly, I moved my sight upward, raising my sword so I would be able to block his incoming spell.

However, it wasn’t just a normal wind spell. It was an Advanced-level one. Even me, with my strength, couldn’t withstand its sheer power. My feet lost their grip on the ground and I was thrown away by it.

_G-gah! He really is getting stronger and stronger everytime we fight!_

I was happy, but at the same time, I didn’t want to lose either.

I quickly recovered, standing up on my feet in no time at all. And, just as I predicted, he didn’t let up in the slightest. He now conjured a blast of cold right at my direction, no doubt intending to freeze me with it, thus sealing his victory. From the power, I imagined it was another Advanced-level spell he was throwing at me.

_Naive! I’ll show him a new technique I just learned recently!_

With a confident grin, I moved my sword backwards near my left hip. I waited patiently for the cold blast to come closer, just like Hugo’s father instructed me. And then, right on the perfect moment, I swung it horizontally, with a power and speed that you couldn’t even see the sword moving.

The cold blast was blown away by my strike—icicles flying on all directions as the spell dissipated entirely.

I took notice of Hugo’s surprised expression. I couldn’t help but smirk.

I immediately jumped again towards him, not wanting to let this opportunity go to waste. This time, he was much closer to me. There would be no time for him to cast another Advanced-level spell.

Only for a giant hand made out of rock to suddenly pop out from the ground and hold me from behind.

“W-what? B-but how—”

My question was immediately answered, as another figure appeared in front of him, forming out of a mud puddle that he had been standing behind.

She had the appearance of a small child, wearing a green and brown coat and hat. She had long, brown hair that reached down to her waist, and the coat’s collar was tall enough to cover her mouth, I could immediately tell that she wasn’t a human, from the pointed ears that she had, if the whole forming-from-mud thing wasn't obvious enough.

Another figure popped up. This time, she stood on top of his head. Ah, I remembered this one. It was his high fairy.

_I see it now. This little girl is his new summon. He had brought them up and I didn't even notice._

The rock hand gripped me even tighter, sending a surge of pain all over my body. I could tell that it was the new summon who was controlling it.

It was not enough to stop me however.

"Aaarghh!"

With all my strength, I pushed away the hand from my body. It shattered, and a flash of surprise was drawn on the girl's face.

"Hyaah! Take this, you stupid human!"

The high fairy fired off a water spell, which I promptly dodged by just a simple sidestep. Heh, too slow, little one. Too slow.

I quickly pivoted myself, aiming to close my distance with Hugo once again. He smartly had jetted away using his wind spell, putting more gap between us, using his summons to buy time.

_Tch, how annoying._

_Fine! You want to run away! Then I’ll go after your summons instead!_

I turned to face the high fairy, earning an “Eeeekkk!” from her. “G-go away, scary human!” Were all fairies this cowardly?

The other one, however, simply returned my glare with a neutral, almost uncaring expression on her face. Now this one seemed to be the more dependable amongst the two.

Which meant that I had to take care of her first.

“K-kyah!”

I suddenly felt what seemed to be a pair of hands holding my feet in place. I looked down, and there were indeed a pair of hands made up of mud doing so.

_It’s her working again!_

I quickly tried to shake them off, only to find that my feet were also slowly sinking to the earth!

“Hehe, good job, earth fairy! We got her right where we wanted her!” The high fairy cheered, her fear seemingly had vanished entirely.

Meanwhile, my legs continued to sink into the muddy earth. It was a truly unpleasant feeling as I could feel the mud slowly creep into the crevices of my shoes.

“Alright, you stupid human! Prepare to be humiliated!” The high fairy pointed at me. “This is what you get for bullying my master!”

Bullying? I had no idea what she was talking about.

I was glad that the little fairy was stupid enough to gloat around instead of actually attacking me and finishing me off (Hugo, you really needed better summons). It gave me enough time to free myself from the mud trap, by stabbing my sword to the ground, creating a below ground explosion that sent both me and the mud flying away from each other. It ended up raining mud, dirtying both me and the two summoned Fey with it.

“Aaah, stupid human! Now I’m all sticky!”

The earth fairy seemed to take it well, naturally, but the spring fairy was clearly disgusted by her current condition.

“Ptch.” I spat out some mud that managed to enter my mouth. I too was disgusted, but in a fight, getting dirty was only to be expected.

I didn’t realize that I had let my guard down.

From behind, I felt a wave of searing pain entering my body, causing every nerve in my body to jolt in shock. For a split second, I lost my consciousness, before regaining it back once my face already touched the ground.

And then, I felt it—cold steel being placed on the back of my neck.

I looked up, and saw Hugo’s exhausted yet smiling face.

He had won.

\----

**Hugo**

I-I can’t believe it!

I-I won! I-I just won against Sherry!

That was tough! Really tough! So many things could’ve gone wrong! I was just lucky that it went that way!

First, my Air Sunder spell didn’t do enough damage to her as I wanted. She was indeed sent flying, but she recovered quickly, jumping back up right after her back touched the ground.

_Wow, I couldn’t have done that for sure!_

I quickly shifted gear. Using the time I just made for myself, just like Marina had taught me, I cast a Cold Blast spell. Unlike the wind spell from before, I didn’t prioritize speed over power. I wanted it to be as strong as possible, as I wanted it to immobilize her completely.

I underestimated her. Even with a longer charging time, my spell was completely deflected, just by a single swing of her sword.

_Amazing! No doubt it’s a new technique Father had taught her!_

_Guess I have to bring out my summons after all._

Unlike normal spells, you could perform summoning spells in a pretty fast manner. Marina explained how the pact you made with the beings on the other side acted similarly to a pre-casted spell, meaning you pretty much only activated the spell, not weaving the spell itself every time you wanted to use it.

Of course, I had instructed and trained the two beforehand on what to do, especially with Miss Little Earth Fairy, who I believed would be a key to my victory.

\----

As she had promised, Marina helped me obtain another summon, specifically one that might help me in my fight against Sherry. She gave me several options, and at first, I tried getting the cool ones, like the giant wolf or deer or even an eagle. But none of them were willing to make a pact with me. Or, to be more exact, I couldn’t really finish the challenges they gave to me. Marina said that a Fey tend to make the requirements of a pact harder if they didn’t like the summoner, so I hoped it wasn’t me that was bad—it was them who intentionally gave impossible challenges. The wolf demanded that I rode him, but after ten times of being thrown off his back like I was nothing, he left, saying that I bored him. The deer wanted me to chase him through the forest, but after our race started, I ended up losing his tracks completely. The eagle, on the other hand, wanted me to chase him to the skies. I tried doing so with my Wind Step, but he just laughed and sent me flying back down with a mighty gust generated by his wings.

In the end, I had to settle with a fairy yet again.

She was an Earth Fairy, or to be more exact, an Earth Sprite. Sprites didn't have wings like their more common fairy sisters. I met her while she was swimming around inside what could only be described as a lake of mud. It was honestly quite the bizarre scene to see, especially since the mud was thick yet she could swim through it like it was water.

Jiiiiiiiii~

She gave me a stare when she took notice of my presence. She didn't approach me however. Unlike the spring fairy, she seemed to be the reserved, shy type.

_Guess I have to be the one to come to her._

I paused, looking at the mud lake again. I didn't know how deep it was, or even if I could really swim through it. I could end up being sucked in to the bottom, due to how soft yet thick the mud was.

_Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained._

I bravely entered the lake, recoiling at the disgusting feeling I felt from the act. It was all sticky and gooey. Urgh, I immediately felt a strong urge to take a bath. Using my Earth magic, I hardened the mud under my boots, helping me to cross faster.

I could've just flown above it with Wind Step, of course, but from when my eyes met with the sprite, I knew that if I did that, I would’ve failed her test. Yes, I believed the test was for me to drudge through all this mud to get to where she was. As an Earth Sprite, she would want to make a pact with someone who could like her mud, or so I believed.

It was a grueling hour long process, with me up on my neck in mud. She didn’t just wait for me in the middle. She would actually move around, getting away once I got close to her. I already shouted to her that I wanted to make a pact with her, yet she didn’t seem to listen.

Only when I slipped, drowning my entire body into the mud thanks to the fatigue I was having, she came to my rescue. She brought me out and hardened the mud, so that I could stand on it.

“Me. Pact with you. In exchange, hugs,” she said, as she did the latter.

And thus, I obtained my second summon.

\----

When Sherry charged right towards me, the Earth Sprite was already ready with her trap. Her rock hand would stop her mid-air while the ground around her could be turned into sinking mud at a moment’s notice. Such was the advantage of a fae’s magic. They lived and breathed magic, so they were really flexible with it. Just like a human could move his arms and legs without thinking, so could a fae do magic without needing any deliberations beforehand.

And it worked brilliantly. As the two fairies occupied Sherry’s attention, I was able to cast a fully charged Thunder Strike at her, right while her back was turned.

If she had been fast enough to see it coming, she most likely could have mitigated the damage, to the point that our fight would continue. It would be a messy fight, with her most likely going after the two fairies first, as they didn’t really have the mobility necessary to keep up with her speed. And once they were down, if I hadn’t been able to finish her off, I would most certainly lose once again. I would have nothing else that I could use to distract or buy time against her.

Such was the fighting style of a mage. Marina taught me that nice and clear..

The moment she fell down, paralyzed, I immediately ran towards her and put my sword near her neck, taking my victory. In retrospect, I hadn’t really used the sword at all. I only used my spells. Maybe I should consider just becoming a full time mage like Marina.

And with that, I took my victory over Sherry at last.

\--------

Marina immediately congratulated me with a bright smile on her face. She didn’t even try to hide the pride she had of me. She told me what an excellent fight it was, and how I had understood how a mage should fight against a warrior.

Father, on the other hand, consoled Sherry, cheering her up by lifting her up to the air, saying how she had tried her best and that there was nothing to be ashamed of by losing. And it seemed to work, as I saw Sherry laughing as he did.

Afterwards, Mother healed both of our wounds. Sherry especially needed that since thanks to my spell, I had left numerous burn marks all over her body. Ouch, that couldn’t be pleasant.

I wouldn’t apologize though. Sherry was a proud warrior, or at least I felt she had the temperament to become one. She wouldn’t want my pity, especially after I beat her fair and square.

Oh, and of course, I gave the payments for my two spirits before they left, after I praised them for their good work—a headpat for the high fairy and a hug for the earth sprite.

Haah, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, now having two summons that were practically little girls, asking hugs and headpats like this. Those weren't even costs to me. Who wouldn't want to give headpats and receive hugs from such adorable little girls?

Still, was it just me or was I getting glares from both Sherry and Marina as I was doing it?

Then, we were sent to the baths to clean up. Sherry was certainly dirty with mud all over her hair and clothes, but I too had been sweating profusely throughout the fight.

Mmm, I certainly deserved a relaxing rest in the tub. Though I had to wait for Sherry to finish up first. She got all those mud on her after all.

Or so I believed, before she pulled my arm with her as she entered the bathroom.

"W-we're taking a bath together, alright?"

Welp. So much for that relaxing rest.


	20. Marina’s Decision

_Well, this is awkward…_

The two of us ended up sharing the bath, sitting opposite to each other in such a cramped space. Naturally, both of us were completely naked, though most of our bodies were covered by the water. 

And Shirley, well, she had avoided looking at my general direction ever since we both stripped. Understandable. She was a nice and pure-hearted girl after all, unlike me, who’s a perverted bastard. And like the bastard that I was, I couldn’t help but take a peek at her nakedness.

Hmm, less exciting than I thought it would be. After all, she was still covered with mud all over, ruining her smooth white skin. And, conveniently for her, mud also covered her completely flat chest, as well as what was down there.

She was really quite thin, though not to the point that her bones were visible. Hmm, no muscles whatsoever? That’s odd. She had trained that much with Father. Not to mention her own super strength.

Looking at her like this, there were no remnants of her orphan life whatsoever. She looked completely like a normal, well-cared and fed child. In fact, she might even be able to pass as a noble’s child.

"Hey, umm… congratulations… on your victory. You must be happy, huh? Your hard work finally paying off at last?" She was still looking away from me. Really, what's even the point of inviting me in here if you're going to be like that? Just look at me if you want. I don't mind.

"Yeah…" I replied, smiling wistfully. "I can finally protect you, Sherry."

"Hmph, who needs your protection?" She huffed. "I should be the one to protect you instead. You're a mage and I'm a swordswoman. I fight on the front while you stay at the back. That's how it should be."

"That's true," I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "But still, I don't want to lose to you, Sherry. It's just that, well, Marina is already leagues stronger than me. And I don't want to be the weakest in the family. I guess I feel I don't want to get left behind."

"Left behind?" She suddenly turned towards me with an angry look. "Are you an idiot? None of us would ever leave you behind! Marina wouldn't and I certainly wouldn't either!"

I sighed, before returning to a smile. "I know, I know. You two are really nice people after all. It's really more about my ego more than anything. Since we're going to become an adventuring party in the future, I don't want to be the weakest chain in the link. And besides…" I paused, my smile disappearing once more.

"Besides what?" Sherry asked impatiently.

"If any of you got hurt or even died because of my weakness, I would never be able to forgive myself."

I didn't know how Sherry reacted to my confession. This time, it's my turn to avert my gaze away.

"... It's the same with me, you know. If you get hurt while I'm there, I will despise myself forever."

I looked up, and saw that her eyes had started to water. She folded her knees, resting her chin on them.

"...So don’t just think you’re the only one with that burden, alright?” She looked at me, with a tear trailing down her cheek.

I smiled. Without hesitation, I gave her a pat on the head. “Thank you Sherry. Hearing that makes me really happy.”

“Now, why don’t I be the one to give you a wash instead?” I grinned.

“E-eh? B-but I—”

“No need to be shy! It’s just the back after all! Gotta scrub all the mud of that body of yours, right?”

I didn't know what came over me at that time. I, being the terribly shy person that I was, should have never been so bold.

And yet, with her telling me that, it was as if a huge boulder had been lifted up from my chest.

I wasn't alone. I shouldn't bear the burden to protect all by myself.

Sherry too wanted to protect me, just as I wanted to protect her. And Marina no doubt felt the same way.

We're family after all. We would lay down our lives to protect each other.

\----

**Marina**

"Hmm… hmm hmm… gonna take a bath with my cute Hugo~ Gonna wash his back until he's all clean and nice~"

I was mumbling those words as I strode happily into the changing room, just before the bathroom.

He did it! He beat Sherry! And the way he fought, it was brilliant! I knew he could do it!

And so to celebrate, we're going to have a good and nice bonding time together in the baths!

...Eh?

He's not here?

Has he come inside?

Hehe, I'll just join him then!

I took off my clothes, leaving them in a basket nearby. Hmm, I wonder if I should give him my panties again… This teal pair is pretty cute after all…

Oh well, I'll think about that later! Now, I'm going to have so much fun teasing my little Hugo! I wonder how he will react if I just barge in completely naked like this. I bet he will turn as red as a tomato! Especially since my boobs have gotten bigger after all!

When I was about to open the door however, I stopped.

I could hear it—laughter coming from inside. Hugo’s laughter.

And another voice. Sherry’s voice.

“See! I can be gentle!”

“I-I really should be the one washing your back, you know…”

_E-eehhhh? Hugo and Sherry, they’re already inside, taking their baths together?_

Immediately I put my left ear onto the wooden door, wanting to get a better listen on their conversation.

“Nope! Maid Sherry is taking a break today! Young Lady Sherry is on the menu!”

“Y-young Lady? B-but I—”

“And I, Hugo Greenwood, is your loyal butler. So, I ask you, Miss Sherry, are you enjoying my back scrubbing techniques so far?”

“Y-yes… J-just don’t go too close to my armpits, alright? I-I’m quite ticklish there…”

_I see… So that’s how it is..._

With a bitter smile, I slowly took a few steps backwards away from the door.

_If I enter, I would only disturb their own bonding session._

_Well, this is good. If Hugo is really going to marry her in the future, this is exactly the kind of thing they should be doing. He's learning how to be a good husband, all on his own._

_There's no need for me to coddle him anymore._

\----

**Hugo**

"Father, Mother, I would like to spend this summer doing quests for the Adventurer Guild."

I nearly spit out my milk when Marina announced that at our dinner table.

"W-what? What comes over you all of a sudden?" 

"YY-yes! Don’t you have your usual magic training with Hugo?” 

Father and Mother were clearly taken by surprise as well, with the former spitting out his water and the latter dropping her fork.

“Oh, he doesn’t need it anymore,” she answered. “You saw it yourself today after all, Father—how he fought and won against Sherry. I feel there’s nothing much for me to teach him anymore.”

“What? But that’s not true!” I immediately protested. “I… I still don’t know how to cast combination magic! Not to mention reaching Master-level stuff!”

“That… you learn on your own,” she replied, looking towards me. _Wait, is it just me or does she look a little more irritated than usual?_

“I already have my adventurer card by the way. Registered myself in Mira this year. You can gain credits by completing quests there, and I really have nothing else better to do in the weekends, so I thought, why not?”

Oh, that’s right. You only needed to be ten years old to be registered as an adventurer. Marina, who’s already twelve, certainly could register.

She put down what looked like an ordinary card to the table. Curious, I picked it up and read what was written on it.

Name | : Marina Greenwood  
---|---  
Gender | : Female  
Race | : Human  
Age | : 12  
Rank | : E  
  
Those were what was written on the front in big letters, while there were still more words written on the back, in a tiny font, describing a bunch of rights and duties associated with being a member of the guild.

Father then took the card of my hand and gave it a good look as well. Then he gave it to Mother, who also gave it a thorough look.

“I can’t believe it… my little Marina… already an adventurer…” Mother said, covering her mouth in disbelief.

“...Alright. Fine. You can go.” Father took the card from her hands and returned it to her. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? I don’t believe you ever talked about being an adventurer in your letters.” He crossed his arms, looking all stern.

“I simply do not want to worry you, that’s all,” she replied, as calm as ever. “I only did quests that I believed I could handle. The Academy actually gave us students guidelines and advice on what kind of quests we should take. Really, it’s more like the Academy giving us extra homework on top of the ones we already had.”

Wow, she really is the honor student type, isn’t she?

“Not to mention that I don’t go on the quests alone. I have a friend with me.” She’s most likely referring to the “Alincia” girl she had mentioned in her letters. Two mages are kind of a bad party composition though.

“But you’re going to do it alone now, aren’t you?” Father replied with a concerned look. “Neither Hugo or Sherry is old enough to join the guild after all.”

“That’s fine. I’ll find someone to party with once I’m there.”

“Oh no, definitely not,” Father quickly rebuked her. “Do you know how many bad adventurers out there who would take advantage of new adventurers like you? Not to mention all the other shady folks out there in the city. Aarom might be not that big of a place, but it’s still a dangerous place for a little girl like you to be out on your own.”

Aarom was the nearest city from Karha, the village Father was in charge of protecting (and the one we’re currently living in, though technically we’re at its outskirts, separate from it). You would go down the hill region that we’re in, and right in the middle of the large road that could take you either to the capital or the border towards the Magocracy. If you walked at a casual pace, it would take around an entire day to get there from here. Yeah, still pretty far, isn’t it? It can’t be helped. We’re in the boonies after all.

“Fine. Then I won’t be joining any parties. I’ll just do the quests on my own.”

“That’s even more dangerous!”

At this point, Father was starting to yell at her. But she kept her composure, not showing a single sign of fear on her face. 

_Is she getting to that age where a child starts to get all rebellious to the parent? Well, twelve is already pretty close to that teenage age range…_

“Father, do I have to prove myself to you first? I’m fine with doing a spar with you if you want,” she said with a cold expression.

_W-whoa! Scary!_

The two stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, glaring at each other. The tension—I could cut it with a knife! Mother just looked all worried while Sherry continued to glance towards me, as if questioning what we should do. Hey, don’t ask me!

“Fine. You may go.” He let out a defeated sigh, relaxing back on his seat. “Really, you’re just like me when I was young. I started out when I was ten, you know. And I was certainly as stubborn and confident as you.” His frown turned into a proud smile.

“Alan, you can’t—”

“It’s fine, Renee,” he replied to his wife. “She’s grown up after all. And you always say how she’s more mature than she looks.”

“But—”

“It would be a good experience for her,” he added. “There shouldn’t be any terribly dangerous quests in Aarom. The monsters around here are weak, and there are no dungeons around. The quests she'll get will most likely be just herbs and monster parts gathering quests."

Eventually, Mother seemed to relent, though her expression clearly said she was still not 100% onboard his decision.

"Thank you Father, Mother. I'll only be doing it for a month, so don't you worry. I've spent most of the summer teaching Hugo after all."

I glanced towards Sherry. She nodded. It seemed she had the same idea as I did.

"Sis, take me with you! Me and Sherry! Sure, we're not old enough to become an official adventurer but we can certainly—"

"No, Hugo." In an instant, she shot my idea down. "You stay here and take care of Erika, alright? You're his big brother after all. Give more attention to her, would you? I heard from Mother how she loved being coddled by you. This month, take a break from all your training and go play with her instead. Can you do that, Hugo? For me? And for her?"

That smile. Even if I wanted to refuse, I simply couldn’t.

She was right. I had somewhat neglected her, as I was too focused with my training, not really giving any time for her. I would train from morning to dusk, and afterwards, I would take my bath, eat, and go straight to bed, as I was too tired to do anything else.

Just recently, she could walk on her own. We could take a walk around the house then. Maybe we could even go to the village! If Mother allowed for it, of course.

Though I couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong. Knowing her, the bro-con wouldn’t miss a chance spending more time with her little brother, especially if she could brag while she was doing so, which I imagined she would do as I knew nothing about being an adventurer while she was already experienced in the matter—relatively speaking, of course.

But now, out of the blue, it’s as if she suddenly wanted to put a distance between us. Did I do something wrong? Or was it just her feeling she was finished with teaching me after I beat Sherry? I wouldn’t blame her. She had spent so much of her own time teaching me that It wouldn’t be odd for her to feel burned out by the whole thing.

“And besides,” she added with a slight smirk. “Let poor Sherry catch up with you a little.”

That’s right. After our bath, she declared that she would one day defeat me again. She would train even harder with Father, and challenge me once she felt she was ready. I accepted her statement with a smile, of course, telling her that I too wouldn’t stop my training. A healthy competition. What’s there to lose?

“Alright, Sis. I’ll do it,” I answered with a slightly sad look. “Aaah, and I was so looking forward to the trip too. I haven’t been to Aarom after all.” I put my hands behind my head, pouting a little.

“It’s… nothing special…” Sherry spoke up with a pensive look.

Oh, right. Her orphanage was there after all. I nearly forgot. Judging by her expression, she probably wasn’t that fond of the city.

“Marina, please be careful of pickpockets, alright? Some of the more unruly kids in my orphanage… they’d like to steal the purses of unassuming travelers just so they could get some coins to buy stuff with.”

That look on her face… she most likely felt a sense of shame from what those kids were doing. And possibly guilt as well. Yep, definitely guilt.

Hold on, she’s not one of those kids, is she?

Hmm, no. She’s too honest of a person to do that. So it’s just guilt by association, which I always found to be a pretty silly concept, if I were to be honest.

“Nicole would always try to stop them, but they would just shove her aside. And if she told on them to the nuns, they would cruelly bully her in retaliation. If not for me, I wouldn’t know how she could survive them…”

I could just imagine Sherry angrily beating up a bunch of kids bigger than her, just to gallantly save her friend. Yep. That’s the kind of person she was, after all. She would do it even if that meant perpetuating her “title” as a Demon Child, ostracizing her even more as a result. Not to mention the punishment she probably got for resorting to raw violence like that.

Oh those poor kids… I would never dare facing against her when she’s angry. Not in a thousand years.

Well, they deserved it anyways. What can I say? I hate bullies with all my might.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Marina returned with a smile. “That’s another reason why having a spatial storage spell is so convenient.”

“Couldn’t they steal your wand though?” I asked. “Don’t you still need it to use that spell?”

“Oh, they certainly could,” She turned to face me. “But how many ways do you think a mage could stop a running pickpocket without her wand?”

“Umm? A lot?”

“Exactly. I’m not one of those beginner mages who could only cast straightforward spells with their long chants after all. I’ve shown it to you, right? How you can manipulate wind to snatch things from a distance?”

Before I realized it, my fork flew right off my left hand, straight into her right. Twirling the utensil on the tip of her finger, she smiled. “Like this.”

That level of finesse… I wasn’t sure if I could do it myself. Not to mention that she did it without her wand.

“So really, there’s nothing to worry about. I won’t be bested by mere pickpockets, especially if they’re just kids like you say.” She looked back at Sherry.

\----

The next morning, right after breakfast, Marina departed. That way, she would arrive at Aarom right before night fell. We all said our goodbyes to her, with Mother giving her a hearty hug and a boxed meal for her to eat on the road. I stood there with little Erika, who was holding onto my left hand. As promised, I would start paying more attention to her, starting from today.

“Be careful, alright, Sis?” I gave her a reassuring smile. Oh, I was definitely worried for sure, but at the same time, I knew how clever of a person she was. For example, she wouldn’t be caught off-guard by an unscrupulous person slipping some sleeping medicine into her drink in a bar to kidnap and sell her as a slave, right?

...Aaaarrghh, I'm worried after all!

I nearly decided to just follow her once she left, stalking her for the entire month without her knowing.

Thankfully, Father told me that he would be the one doing that instead.

Yep, that was the only reason he agreed. After the dinner last night, he immediately told his plan to Mother. If he hadn't, he probably had to sleep somewhere else that night, hehe.

I, on the other hand, was only told this morning. Damn it, Dad! I spent all night worrying for nothing!

Well, with him on the lookout for her, there's really nothing to worry about. I could send her off with a genuine smile.

_Aah, I can’t wait until I’m old enough to be an adventurer myself! Just three more years!_


	21. Miss Little Hobbit

**Marina**

My journey to Aarom was smooth-sailing, all things considered.

Sure, I was attacked by a giant eagle and a pack of mountain wolves, but they were nothing that I couldn’t handle. They barely caused a delay in my journey.

I arrived at the city faster than expected, as the sun was still up on the sky when I did.

When I entered the large gates, I was greeted with a crowd, enough to give the impression that it was a busy city indeed. Not as busy as it could’ve been perhaps, seeing how it was already almost night, but there were still people walking to and fro, with carriages and stagecoaches passing through occasionally. Naturally, I walked on the side of the large road, to avoid getting run over by them.

_Those people carrying around axes and swords… they must be adventurers…_

The group currently walking in front of me drew my attention, as they dressed differently compared to the merchants and ordinary travelers. There were four of them—one man wearing what looked to be leather armor, with a sword sheathed and secured on his belt, and three women, each wearing the stereotypical clothing associated with their vocations. One was a warrior, with a large axe slung to her back. She wore a series of skimpy armor that exposed a lot of her skin with a mini skirt that barely covered her rump. The cleric wore a long white robe, while the mage—obvious from her pointy hat and the staff that she carried—wore a mage’s robe with a long yet high-slitted skirt.

_Two front-line fighters, one healer and one mage. I say it’s a pretty balanced party._

I looked around and saw there were other folks walking around wearing similar outfits. However, the mage's long ears were unique as she seemed to be the only elf around.

Elves. She was already used to their presence from her times at the academy. Though there were certainly not that many of them compared to human students, there would always be one or two in every class. And just like the common myth said, they were all good-looking, with unblemished skin and slim bodies. Back at the academy, every elven student seemed to have at least one or two admirers going after them.

I followed them for a while, thinking that they might be heading to the Adventurer's Guild building that existed in the city. I had overheard them talking about how they wanted to hand over a quest there. I thought I would go there and take her own quest before resting at an inn for the night.

"You filthy Hobbit!"

_Huh?_

A loud, crass yell broke her out of her reverie. It came from across the street, where there seemed to be a crowd forming.

I glanced back at the group of adventurers. Well, whatever. I could just ask around for directions later.

Crossing the road, making sure to look both ways beforehand, I walked over to the scene.

"You think you can trick me, you little shit? Just because you look like a little girl doesn't mean I'm going to just let you go! I know how your kind works, deceiving people with your looks!"

I waded through the crowd, and saw a little Hobbit girl sitting on the ground, while a clearly angry man stood in front of her. The Hobbit was teary-eyed, and she seemed to be apologizing profusely about something.

"I-I don't know, Sir! I swear! I-I'm not trying to sell you fake jewelry! I-I don’t even know they were fake in the first place!” She pleaded.

The girl was dressed in a green knee-length skirt with a white long-sleeved shirt under a yellow shirt. She had auburn hair and blue eyes.

Hobbits. There were also a number of them in the academy. Even rarer than the elves, they seemed to always avoid the spotlight, shrinking into the background where no one would notice them. Well, except for that one Hobbit… Ah, I had forgotten to tell Hugo about him completely… Or to be exact, I had forgotten about him until now…

And, just like the man demonstrated, they had a certain prejudice associated with them. Like how elves were supposed to be arrogant, Hobbits were supposed to be untrustworthy tricksters and thieves, using their youthful appearance to deceive others 

"You little brat!" To my horror, and the crowd as well, judging by the gasps, he slapped her right on her face, hard enough that blood gushed out of her nose. "I was about to hand you over the guards, but I think I got a better idea! I'll give you to those slavers so you could spend the rest of your life as a slave!" He now held her up with her hair, making her scream in pain as tears and blood ran down her face.

"Enough!"

Without hesitation, I blasted the man's hand with a wind spell, making him drop her to the ground. Then, I ran over and stood in front of her, giving the man the most angry look I could muster. It was quite the easy feat, seeing how I was already absolutely furious towards him

"What? Who is this? Another little brat coming to the rescue?"

"I'll ask you to stop, Sir. She is clearly already sorry for her actions."

“Hmph, you don’t seem to be a Hobbit. You’re just a human girl.” His eyes looked at me all over. “Hmm? Wait, that wand… and that wind blasting my hand… you’re an adventurer, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Sir.” I replied. “And I had to ask once again to let this Hobbit girl go.”

“How old are you? Twelve? Don’t you have school to attend instead?”

“Yes, Sir, but I’m currently in my—”

“Hah! Of course you don’t! Your parents can’t afford it! And that’s why they let you become an adventurer in the first place!”

To my disgust, he started to laugh at his own joke—his belly bouncing in the process.

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

Our confrontation was interrupted by the arrival of a squadron of guards, who immediately shooed the bystanders away. Each of them were clad in their armor, and their leader, a middle-aged man who looked terribly bored by his job, took the lead.

“Oh good Sir! Please! This Hobbit, Sir! She tried to scam me by selling me fake jewels! And not just one or two, but a whole box of them!”

Just like that, his personality completely transformed. Now he was a perfectly good and honest citizen, not someone who would slap a child so hard that she bled out of her nose (well, she might not be but judging from her reaction, she acted just like one). 

“And this human girl, right here! She’s her accomplice! While I was distracted with her Hobbit friend, she tried to steal from my shop! I was fortunate enough that I noticed her and stopped her before it’s too late.”

...Wait, what?

The guard sighed. “Alright, you two. Come with me to the station.”

“Wait, no, please! I was the only one in the wrong! She hasn’t done anything wrong!” The Hobbit pleaded, tugging his arm with her hands.

“I’ll hear your words there, okay? Not here. Street’s too busy to really listen to anything you’re saying.”

That wasn’t true however. After the crowd dispersed, it had gotten quiet enough that we could nicely hear each other just fine.

But judging from his disinterested face, he clearly wasn’t interested in that.

“It’s alright,” I bravely told the Hobbit. “We’ll go.” I then told the guard. At this position, the best thing to do would be to keep calm and explain our case nicely to him, or whoever would end up interrogating us. Then, we would surely be released in no time at all. Well, the Hobbit might get a fine or something though. Ultimately, she had a part of the blame for the incident, as much as it displeased me to think so. If she had sold the jewels to an inexperienced trader or customer instead, they would still end up with fake jewels, even if she didn’t know that they were fake.

Hehe, if Sherry’s here, she’ll probably have beaten up the man to a pulp. Just a single punch from her to his face would send him flying with all his teeth knocked off.

Hugo though, he probably would have run with the Hobbit instead of confronting the man (he’s pretty fast on his feet after all), which was what I should’ve done in the first place. Sometimes I felt he had a clearer head than even me, who’s five years older than he was.

I just couldn’t help myself. Such an act of cruelty… how can someone do that to another person? Even if she really was a con artist who tried to scam him on purpose, he had no right to do that to her, especially after she had apologized like that.

Not to mention the fact that he just lied so that I would get arrested as well. Now that was the definite proof 

As we left with the guard, I gave another glare towards the man. “Benedict’s Beautiful Jewelries” was written on the nameplate above him. Ah, so that’s his name. Only from a distance that I noticed how big his store was. So he must be pretty well-off. No wonder he insulted me by saying that my parents were poor. Merinda used to say that too. She would brag about having a large mansion employing many servants, while saying how I was just a country bumpkin from nowhere. So I was already used to it, in a way.

"I-I'm so sorry! B-because of me, you—"

"Shh, I don't want to hear that. I did it because I wanted to. That's all." I gave her a smile. “Oh, and let me heal that wound of yours.”

I pointed my wand to her nose. “Oh blessed light! Heal my wounds!” It was just a simple beginner-level healing spell. Minor Heal was its name, I believed. For any actual combat wounds, it wouldn’t be enough, but to fix a bloodied nose, it worked like a charm.

“O-oh! It feels better already! Thank you!” She smiled.

"Stupid brats… they don't know who they're messing with," the guard leader mumbled under his breath. He was clearly not happy by the relatively calm way she and I were taking the situation.

“Who are we messing with exactly?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“Oh, nothing important. Just one of the richest and most influential merchants in town, that’s all.”

My heart sank. Did I just bite into something that I wouldn’t be able to chew?

\----

**Alan**

Goddamnit, Marina. You just arrived and you already got yourself arrested? And it has to be Newt Benedict too that you pissed off.

I thought you would be fine after you took care of those monsters on your own without breaking a sweat. But here we are now, with you getting arrested, just because you wanted to play hero with a Hobbit girl you don’t even know about.

Well, that’s just what I would expect from a child of mine. I’m proud of you, my daughter. But still, couldn’t you have handled it a bit better, somehow?

Knowing Benedict, that bastard would definitely try to get you jailed for real. And with his influence, he certainly can.

Argh, I have to pull some favors with Eriol then. God, I hate meeting that guy.

Hang on Marina. Father’s going to get you out real quick, alright?

\----

**Marina**

I can’t believe it. They’re actually keeping us for real.

No matter how many times I tried to correct the story, they still kept with the official version that the shop owner told them, that the hobbit was genuinely trying to trick him with her fake jewels and with myself being her thief accomplice.

As a result, I was now kept inside a holding cell, with them telling me and her that we should wait until they finished their investigation.

I had a feeling that they wouldn’t actually be doing that though.

The cell was damp and dirty, with only a single bed inside and a hole on the floor that we could do our business with. It was easily the most unpleasant place that I ever had the unfortunate fate of being kept in.

And yet, I was still fortunate that I was kept on the cell in the station, and not in the dungeon below the castle. I still had a window—albeit a tiny, barred one up, that kept the circulation of the air going. Or else it would smell even worse than it already was.

Of course, I could just break out if I wanted. They took my wand, yes, but I didn’t need it to escape from such a lightly guarded place. But that would truly make me and her be an actual criminal, wouldn’t it? So I decided to be patient, at least for now. I had requested that I would be allowed to send a letter back home, so I could ask for Father to help. He worked under the Baron, right? Maybe he could persuade him to set me free.

Urgh, I hate having to do that though. This was supposed to be me proving that I could become an adventurer on my own. But now I’m in this mess that I can’t get out with my own strength. How humiliating.

When I was in Mira, I got Alincia who acted as my guide, telling me where I should go and where I should not go. And there were certainly no evil shop owners around that I had to stand against. Or at least, I was fortunate enough not to meet any.

“S-sorry... Again, because of me…” the hobbit spoke.

I was now sitting on the bed with her beside me, looking all sad once again.

“I told you not to apologize, didn’t I?” I gently grabbed her hand, giving her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll get this sorted out soon enough.”

“Uwaaaaaa!” Without warning, she hugged me, before sobbing right into my stomach. “I knew there was something fishy about that dwarf! Those jewels shouldn’t have been that cheap!”

And then, she told me who she was and why she decided to start on her journey.

Her name was Sophie Bramblewood, and she had departed from her homeland Hobbiton two months ago, starting her journey as a traveling merchant.

Hobbiton. The land of the Hobbits. Located to the southeast of Marchen, it was always considered to be somewhat of an unimportant, even irrelevant land. Technically, it was a vassal of Marchen, but it was usually left alone by the kingdom’s higher-ups, seeing how they had better things to worry about like the other kingdoms to the west. As long as they paid their usual tributes, mostly in the form of wheat, potatoes, and fish, they had basically what amounted to full independence.

“I… I thought I could be like grandpa. He’s a brave merchant and an adventurer as well. When he returned back home, he brought so many riches our family immediately became one of the wealthiest in the land. But I… I’m just a failure… I should just go home and get married like my father and mother wanted…”

_So she’s already at a marriageable age… How old is she really? Well, I suppose it would be rude to ask…_

_And one of the wealthiest in the land… The Bramblewood clan… Hobbits have clans, right, if I remember my books correctly…_

_Hmm… I don’t recall anything ever written about them… If it’s her grandfather who lifted her clan to fame and fortune, then there should be enough time for the information to be entered in history books..._

_Then again, not a lot of books seem to write about them in the first place… They’re basically an irrelevant race. They never have great empires or strong warriors or mages… They’re just kinda there, I suppose..._

I gently pat her back, wanting to comfort the poor girl. She might actually be older than me, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t just leave her be. Not like this.

“Being tricked once doesn’t make you a failure, you know.” I told her. “Or twice. Or thrice. Or even the fourth time.”

Sniffling, she looked up to me. “I-if I get tricked for the fifth time?”

I smiled. “The only thing that makes you a failure is if you give up. At least, that’s what I believe.”

“...You know, I have a little brother back home. And just recently, he had been training his swordplay and magic, just to beat his older sister, who’s far stronger than him. And it took him several tries and an entire year of diligent training to do that. He never gave up, not even once.”

“That’s amazing!” She brightened, her eyes sparkling. All of a sudden, she sat up, wiping her tears away. “I would never be able to do what he did! Training to fight like that… urgh, not for me at all…”

“You have a dagger with you though,” I pointed out. Just like my wand, it had been confiscated by the guards.

“That’s just for self-defense! I’m not intending to go around slaying monsters like normal adventurers!” She fumed. “Us Hobbits don’t enjoy doing stuff like that you know!”

Thinking about it, she might be right. I don’t believe that there had even been any period in history where their race started a war with another. They never had any military either. If an invader ever manifested, the best they could muster were militias and any mercenaries and adventurers they could hire.

That made them a weak nation, unfortunately. Throughout history, they always had to become a vassal to another, stronger state, even migrating far, far away if need be. Such was the nature of this world where the strong ruled.

“Oh, that’s right! I never asked for your name! Oh how impolite of me!”

“Marina. Marina Greenwood. Pleased to meet you, Sophie.”


	22. The Hobbit-Loving Baron

**Alan**

“Alan, my old friend! Long time no see! Here, come! Sit!”

I now stood face-to-face with the man himself, Baron Eriol Fitzgerald, the Lord of the entire Sheffield region. The bastard still looked as youthful as ever. He should already be pushing to his thirties.

“I don’t have much time, Eriol. My daughter, Marina… your guards have arrested her.”

“What? How could that happen? In your letters, you always say that she’s a good and studious little girl. Don’t tell me now that she’s older, she suddenly turns into a delinquent! Though I suppose all children go through that phase… even my own daughter keeps saying how she hates me all the time…”

_That’s your own fault, isn’t it?_

Ordinarily, I would have respect for this man. He was a good ruler, well, decent enough anyway. He paid me well and he seemed to care about his people, at least compared to the other nobles that I had met.

There was just one problem though—one big problem that made him lose any respect that I might have for him.

“Aaah, Minny! Why can’t my daughter be more like you?!”

Without any shame, he grabbed the hobbit maid that had been serving his tea and hugged her as if she was his pillow.

And that was the problem.

His perverted obsession towards female Hobbits.

Ever since I first met him, he was already a big lecher who would chase after their skirts. Whenever we went to a red-light district to wind off after a hard quest, he would only look for a Hobbit prostitute. And when he took the reign of the territory from his father, that hobby didn’t diminish. In fact, it would only worsen, as he would surround himself with Hobbit maids and flirt with them, while ignoring his human wife completely. Sure, he didn’t really want to marry her in the first place, as their marriage was one of political convenience, but still…

I sighed. It wouldn’t be my place to criticize his marriage. But the way he kept being so lighthearted about it… it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Then again, I couldn’t hate him either. The man’s been good to me. He gave us a home to live in when Renee and I decided to retire from a life of adventuring when she was having Marina. He even gave a well-paying job as his knight.

We went way back, before I met Myrilla even. We used to go on quests together as adventurers, before I knew that he was actually a noble. Because he certainly didn’t act like one—uh, no offense to him. We eventually separated though.

"Aaah, you're so soft as usual, Minny!"

"M-Master, please, not in front of a guest…"

My eyebrows were raised even higher as he started fondling the poor girl—uhh, woman… you really can't tell with how they looked…

She wasn’t really that distressed by it however. Many of the Hobbit maids that he employed were either slaves or prostitutes that he picked off the streets. To them, this new life was much better than what they had before. And Eriol certainly wasn’t the abusive type. Just a pervert with questionable taste in women.

"Hey, don't give me that look!" He suddenly snapped at me. "You don't get the right to judge when you love fondling boobs as much as I do!"

He's right. I would go to those seedy places just so I could grope the biggest breasts that I could find there.

I stopped doing that once I was with Myrilla of course. The cold look that she gave me when she saw me going there… brrrrr, scary.

And naturally, not a word of this to Renee.

“Alright, fine.” I sighed, taking my seat in front of him. We were now inside his study. I had been granted a private meeting with him, just by saying my name to the front guard. “I’m just here to ask for a favor.”

“A favor?” His eyes perked up. “Oh oh, let me guess! Your wife kicked you out because you cheated on her!”

“No, nothing like that. I'm offended that you would even think that actually,” I returned with a frown. I would never cheat on her. Not in a million years.

"Ha! You really have changed, haven't you, Alan? What's so good about that wife of yours that she made you be this boring? Is her chest really that good?"

"The best," I answered matter-of-factly, without a doubt.

"You can't know that if you haven't fondled every woman in the world, can you?!"

I sighed again. This conversation was clearly going nowhere at this rate.

"Look. Like I said, my daughter has been arrested by your guards and I need you to release her at once.”

I then explained what I witnessed—how she gallantly defended the hobbit girl from the shopkeeper, before being accused by said man of a crime she didn’t commit and then escorted by the guards from it.

Or I would, if he didn’t just stop my story midway once I got to the part where the hobbit girl got slapped. He suddenly slammed his hands onto the table with a furious look on his face. Standing up, he shouted, “Unforgivable! Treating a Hobbit girl like that! Who does he think he is?!”

“Eh, nothing special. Just Newt Benedict, one of the richest and most influential merchants in the city.”

“Oh, it’s that fat bastard who did it? That’s it! I’m going to have him hanged at once! I have suffered his machinations for so long and now he dares treating my precious Hobbits like that?! I won’t have it! I won’t have it at all!”

He immediately made his way to the door, but I stopped him by pulling on his coat. “Hey, hey, let’s not get all hot-headed here. Didn’t you remember? You said it yourself that he’s connected to many powerful people in the capital. If you just execute him like that, wouldn’t they come after you next? You already are disliked by those capital folks. They’ll use his execution as an excuse that you’re not fit to rule then you’ll get the boot.”

The reason for his unpopularity was mostly one thing and one thing only. And it was the same thing that I disliked him for as well, ironically enough. The nobles in the capital considered hobbits to be a dirty, uncivilized race that was lower than humans. To keep a hobbit company, let alone having multiple of them as your maids like this, was practically considered blasphemy by them. If Eriol had his way and married a hobbit instead of a noblewoman, he probably wouldn’t be in this position right now, since only thanks to his link to her family that he could survive this long. Or so he said to me.

Hmph, he too had changed. Slowly, he’s turning into a scheming politician, just like the other nobles. Well, he needed that if he wanted to keep his position and this way of life of his.

“...You’re right, friend. I apologize.”

With a sigh, he returned and sat back down again, with his Hobbit maid giving him a worried look from the corner of the room behind him. She had scuttered there after he released her.

“The two would have to stand trial. I can’t just release them that easily, or else he would have a valid case against me to the King. Of course, behind the scenes, I’ll tell the judge to pass a not guilty sentence for them. And of course, I’ll hurry the trial as well. Two days from now should be the quickest.”

Due to his well-known bias towards Hobbits, the king had forbidden him from taking the role of a judge in criminal trials or even simple business dispute ones. Of course, this was done because of a hard push from the other nobles in the capital. Still, he managed to retain some of that authority anyway, as he quickly befriended the judge the capital appointed to him.

“Thank you for that,” I returned. _He really is becoming a scheming nobleman._ “Though that means they would have to stay captive there for a little longer.” I sighed. “Poor Marina. That kid always loves cleanliness you know. Her room is never messy and she takes her baths every day. It must pain her to sleep in a dirty cell like that.”

“Now that’s settled…” His serious expression suddenly turned into a grin. “Can I go see this cute Hobbit girl with you? Please?”

I sighed again. _It’s not like I’m in any position to say no, aren’t I?_

\----

**Marina**

“Psshh… Hey, Marina… Marina, wake up!”

I slowly opened my eyes. Urgh, it seemed I had fallen asleep while sitting. I remembered not wanting to disturb Sophie that had fallen asleep on my lap.

“Huh, Father?”

I rubbed my eyes. Surely, I must be dreaming.

No. That big, well-muscled figure…. It could only have been him.

“Father!” I whispered loudly. I didn’t want to wake up Sophie. “Why are you here?”

“Well, I… sorta followed you when you left…”

“Followed me… you mean from when I left home this morning?”

“H-hey, don’t get mad, alright? It’s a Father’s right to make sure his daughter’s safe, you know!”

I certainly was irked enough by the revelation that I sent a glare towards him. But I couldn’t blame him. After all, I ended up in this situation. I was being childish and stubborn. Just because I got upset, I ran away from home in a guise of wanting to be an adventurer.

“You’re alright in there? Did you give you anything to eat for dinner?”

_Oh Father. You won’t even scold me or anything? Or say “I told you so!” at the very least? You really should be a little more stern to your kids._

“They did,” I replied with a smile. “But I wouldn’t call it food to be honest.”

“Ha! I see you’re still as cheerful as ever! Good, good! My daughter wouldn’t lose her wits just because she’s in jail!”

I wasn’t sure whether that was supposed to be a joke or not. 

“Ooooooo! Cute! So cute! Sleeping Hobbits really are adorable!”

He wasn’t alone however. There was another man with him. And he seemed to be looking straight towards Sophie. No, leering would be the more accurate expression. Instinctively, I blocked his view by bending forward, covering her face with my body.

“Father, who is that?” I said coldly, glaring towards him.

“A-ah, that’s Lord Eriol. You know him, right?”

“The Baron of this region?” I raised my eyebrows, looking back at him.

He was still leering, even with a little bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. He was now looking at Sophie’s bare feet. Like most Hobbits, her feet were hairy. Personally, I thought it wasn’t very appealing.

Not him though. He clearly loved the sight.

“Cute Hobbit feet found! Hmm, nice, nice! Just the perfect amount of dirtyness to them!”

_...This man… is an absolute, 100% creep._

“N-now, now, don’t give him that look! He’s helping you out, you know!”

Father then quickly explained about the trial, and how we would be exonerated from our supposed crimes there. Oddly enough however, instead of feeling relieved or happy, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Here was a Lord blatantly abusing his power and influence, and he didn’t give a single remorse about it. Is this how the law in this country is? Just an advice instead of a binding thing that even the nobility cannot manipulate or escape from?

“And there you have it!” The young-looking Lord ended Father’s explanation. “Just sit tight and rest easy. You’re in good hands! Just take care of my cute little Hobbit, alright?”

I’ll take care of her alright. And that includes keeping her away from you.

Father then offered if I needed him to sleep there outside the cell for the night. I told him no, saying that I would be fine on my own, and that he should just find an inn to sleep instead.

“Why don’t you stay with us, Alan?” The Lord patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “We have so many empty rooms it’s almost a crime!”

“No need. I’m never comfortable sleeping in a fancy place like yours, to be honest.”

And with that, the two left, leaving me and Sophie alone in our cell once again.

_Haah, I’m glad that she doesn’t wake up through all that. Poor girl would no doubt be scared terribly by that lord._

_I’ve heard anecdotes about how a lot of nobles are secretly deviants behind closed doors, but he doesn’t even try to hide it._

_...Oh dear, I shouldn’t have sent that letter then. Now I would only worry Hugo and Mother needlessly._

\----

**Hugo**

“Uwaaa! Flowers! Flowers!”

I watched from a distance as Erika walked around the field of dandelions, with Mother near her side. She had approved us to take a trip to the village, with the condition that she followed along as well. Thanks to us now having Mary as our permanent maid (which she was completely ecstatic about as that meant bringing good money to her family at the village), Mother could safely leave the chores to her. 

We were now in the wild dandelion fields just outside the village. Luckily for us, we got our own secluded spot, with no other children playing around.

“Careful now, dearie! You don’t want to trip, do you?” She giggled, taking her little arms to keep her up after she wobbled a little.

I must be smiling ear to ear as I watched that scene. It’s just so heartwarming, seeing my little sister like this. She had learned to walk and speak faster than most other babies, at least according to Mother, though she still wasn’t very good at both. Aah, I can’t wait to see her be another genius like Marina in the future!

“Haaah…”

Beside me however was Miss Grump herself, Sherry, taking a tired-sounding sigh while looking all dejected.

“Hey, what’s with the long face?” I asked with a concerned look. It’s not like her to be like this.

She turned to face me. With a wry smile, she answered, “I think your sister hates me.”

“What? Marina? But that’s—”

“No, silly! I’m talking about Erika.” She looked back at my little sister. “She never lets me play with her like that…”

Her somber expression sood returned. Damn it, now that I saw her like this, I had to make Erika play with her!

“Big bro! Flowers!”

She walked towards me, with a dandelion in her tiny hands. I crouched down to be on the same level as her before taking the flower off her hand.

“Thanks, Erika!” I patted her head.

“Yay, flowers!” She laughed.

_Aah, so cute!_

_I wonder if Marina felt this way as well when I was first born…_

I stood up and gave another glance towards Sherry. Wew, she was biting her lip, and with a honestly pitiful look on her face. She **really** wanted to be close to Erika that badly, huh? Alright! Here goes nothing!

I picked her up and placed her right into Sherry’s arms.

“H-huh?”

“Here! Hold her for a while, would you?” I said with a smile.

“B-but…”

“It’ll be fine!” I reassured her. “Erika! Be good to Sherry, alright?” I gave her another headpat.

“No! Want big bro! Not Sher-Sher!” She punched and kicked, causing Sherry to have to put her on the ground. And then, she started to sniffle. 

_Oh boy, here she goes again. She would always cry whenever she doesn’t get what she wants._

_But Sher-Sher... that could be a cute nickname for her if I were to be honest. She probably wouldn’t like it though..._

I decided to do something unthinkable. I crouched down again and stared her right in the eyes. With a scary expression, I said to her, “If you don’t want to play with Sherry, then I won’t play with you either. Got it?!”

And then, she immediately calmed down.

Heh, it was effective after all. I was scared she would just cry even more from that.

I gave a little thumbs-up with a grin towards Sherry before taking a few steps backwards, waiting with bated breath to see how this would progress.

“Sherry?” She turned, looking upwards to her face.

“Y-yes?” Sherry quickly lowered herself.

“Big bro is mine! You can’t have him!”

Later that day, I knew from Mother that those were the longest words she had ever uttered so far.

Welp, guess I’m really going to have another sister with a brother complex.

\----

The next day, I was woken up by an uproar. Or to be more exact, it was Mother, yelling on the top of her lungs.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HE DOING? HOW COULD HE LET THAT HAPPEN TO HER?!”

Quickly, I left my room to see what the fuss was all about. When I reached the living room, Sherry was already there. We exchanged confused looks with each other. Mother was still in her nightgown, walking back and forth furiously while holding what looked like a letter in her right hand.

“Mother, what’s wrong? Why are you—”

“IT’S MARINA! SHE’S BEEN ARRESTED!”

My heart sank.

“I have to go! I have to go right now over there and set things straight right away! Mary, you stay here with Erika!”

“Y-yes, Ma’am!” The poor maid yelped. She had been standing in a corner of the room, looking absolutely terrified like she was seeing a ghost.

Mother immediately went to the front door, but Mary stopped her, reminding her that she still hadn’t changed yet. She quickly rushed back to her and Father’s room as a result.

I looked at Mary and asked what happened.

“W-we got this letter really early in the morning, you see. The courier said it was really, really important so I brought it immediately to Lady Renee as she woke up. And when she read it, she immediately went ballistic like you just saw.”

“And the contents of the letter—what did it say?!”

“I-I don’t know! I wouldn’t dare to open any letters without Master or Milady’s permission!”

I stopped pushing her, as she was seemingly already on the verge of tears. 

There was only one thing that made sense. Marina had been arrested in Aarom, and that was her letter asking for help.

“Sherry, you’re going?” I turned to ask her.

“Of course.” She nodded. We didn’t need to say anything. We both knew that we wanted to save Marina just as badly as Mother did.

Without even having breakfast, we decided to depart as soon as we could. Not by walking, like how Marina did it, but by horse. We had two horses, one each for Father and Mother. Mother took hers, and told me to sit on the front while Sherry sat on the back. I thought she would tell us to stay but it seemed she was too angry to care.

“Hold tight, you two!”

And thus, with a kick of her right boot, we left.


	23. The Truth of The Case

We rode as quickly as we could. To my surprise, Mother was quite the daring rider, not even hesitating on dodging or even jumping any rocks or bumps that she met in her way. In fact, she was so daring that I was starting to feel sick. I used to have a terrible motion-sickness in my old world. I couldn’t ride a car or a bus for long before I felt I had to puke. I had to constantly take medications to counteract it, and even then, it didn’t always work. Don’t tell me that I have it too in this world?! Damn, I thought my new self is perfectly healthy without any allergies or illnesses in the slightest!

There was one silver lining though. Mother’s soft breasts—they were pressing and bouncing to my back all the while through. It felt really nice to the point that my motion sickness was thwarted. I managed to last all the way without throwing up.

Oh, and a couple of monsters actually tried to attack us on route there, but they were easily dispatched by me and Sherry. While I defeated them through my ranged spells, Sherry had to do some really amazing acrobatics in the process, like standing on the horse, jumping off it, attacking, landing on the nearby cliff, and then jumping right back on the moving horse. Damn, she’s just getting better day by day, isn’t she? I still managed to see her panties in the process though. Get faster at it so I won’t be able to see them, alright? 

I couldn’t help but wonder though. Could Mother take care of them on her own? She didn’t help in the slightest at the fight. She just told us to fight on our own while she kept on the horse’s reign.

Silly me, of course she could. She’s a seasoned adventurer after all. Even if she’s a cleric, and she didn’t carry her staff with her, she could still probably blast some holy magic towards them with no problem whatsoever.

Once we arrived at Aarom, Mother immediately went to the nearest stable and stored our horse there. Travelers could use the facility with just a handful of coins upfront, though you would have to pay again when you took out the horse, depending on how long you left it there.

We then walked through the busy street in a hurry. If only we were on a more leisurely trip, I could definitely enjoy looking around a genuine medieval fantasy city like this.

As we half-ran towards our destination, I saw some shady-looking guys staring at Mother. Oh goddamnit. I just noticed how her boobs were bouncing every step she took. I even caught some male adventurers stopping just to stare, before their female companions stepped on their foot or elbowed them on the side.

Mom, your boobs are really too big. I think they got even bigger after you got pregnant with Erika.

Urgh, I couldn’t imagine how Father handled it when they were still traveling together, having other guys leer at her like this. But knowing him, he might just be part of those guys who leered.

We soon arrived at the address Marina told in the letter. It was one of the several buildings used as outposts where the city guards could patrol from. The city was large, so there was a need for such an arrangement.

Qngement.

Mother shifted gear into a full sprint once the building was in view, lifting the hem of her ankle-length dress so she could run better.

“Good afternoon, Ma’am, what can I do for—”

“Get out of the way!”

Without any hesitation whatsoever, she shoved the guard standing in front of the door like he was just a mannequin. Whew, for a split second there, I thought she had obtained super strength like Sherry. We quickly followed, ignoring the guard downed on the ground, struggling to get back up under his heavy armor.

Once inside, Mother didn’t hesitate to speak with the receptionist in front, slamming her hands on his desk, demanding a visit to Marina Greenwood at once. Poor guy looked so shocked I almost feared he would just faint at the spot. Though later on, as he went through his books, I noticed him stealing glances at Mother’s breasts who were now dangling in front of him thanks to her bending over him at the glass window. _That pervert!_ I gave him a glare. No one can give Mother perverted looks except for Father and me!

Afterwards, a different guard led us deeper inside, straight to the jail cell where Marina was being kept.

“Marina!”

The moment she saw her, she immediately ran to the bars and grasped at them with both of her hands.

“Oh, Marina! You’re safe! Oh thank you, Saint! Thank you very much!” she said with teary eyes.

“Mother! You’re here too?” Marina exclaimed with surprise, standing up from the bed she had been sitting on. “I thought only Father followed me here. And Hugo and Sherry as well” She gave a smiling glance towards us.

_Wait, hold on, who is that other girl with her?_

“I-it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am!” She spoke with somewhat of a high-pitched voice. “I-I’m Sophie! Sophie Bramblewood!” She bowed as deeply as she could.

_That’s a Hobbit, isn’t it? I’m sure of it! That small body… those slightly pointed ears… and those hairy feet… she’s definitely one of them!_

I couldn’t contain my excitement. I had read about them before—how they were a race that lived predominantly in Hobbiton, the country to the southeast of Marchen. When you’re reborn in a fantasy world, of course you would want to see the nonhuman races. Alas, such a chance only came today, as there certainly wasn’t any back home in the village.

Hmm? Sherry? If she really was a non-human, then she certainly didn’t look like one. No pointed ears, no horns, no wings, no tails, and certainly no hairy feet. Surely if she really was one, then there should be a big obvious tell that she was one, right? I’m starting to doubt if Mother’s suspicion was even correct in the first place.

And speaking of the hobbit, why was she here with Marina? Did the letter say anything about her? I didn’t get to read it so I wouldn’t know if it did.

“And I’m so sorry, Ma’am! It’s all my fault that your daughter ends up in this situation!”

Her fault? What did she mean by that?

“Let me explain, Mother.” Marina interrupted.

She then explained everything that had transpired, how she protected the Hobbit from a cruel shopkeeper and how it ended up landing her in here. And she ended said story with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I was reckless. I should have just stayed home like you wanted me to.”

I looked up to her and saw how stern her expression had become. It was hard to describe. If I had to try, I would say it's a mixture over anger, sadness, worry and even a little pride mixed inside.

"Don't lie to me, my daughter. If you can do yesterday all over, you would do it all over again, would you?"

Marina paused for a moment, before answering, "Yes, I would, Mother. I do not regret saving her. Not in the slightest.”

Hearing Marina’s statement, the hobbit considerably brightened, before she started hugging and thanking my big sister again with tears in her eyes.

Mother simply smiled in return. If I had to guess, she was mostly proud of Marina taking the role of the hero like that.

Well, me too, Mother. I’m glad I have such a brave and heroic sister like her.

I just hoped that one day, it wouldn’t backfire on her. If it did, and it killed her in the process…

Another chill came into me. Even after what Sherry said, I still couldn’t completely accept the fact that Marina was her own person, and that she could protect herself just fine. I should really start trusting in her strength more.

_I just… I just don’t want to lose her or anyone else in this family. Like I did with my old one…_

\----

After our visit, we went to our next destination.

That shop of that bastard who dared sending our Marina to prison.

Marina had told us how he had accused her of being a thief. Ha, Big Sis? A thief? Never in a million years! And how tomorrow, there would be a trial to decide her and the hobbit’s innocence. Father had told her that everything would be perfectly fine, seeing how we would have the judge on our side, but I couldn’t help to worry nonetheless. If this Newt Benedict guy was as influential as he was, he should have his own connections that he could use to turn this court case in his favor.

Then again, maybe he could change his mind. Maybe he would decide it wasn’t worth it to waste his time and resources sending a 12-year old child and a hobbit to the gaol from a simple incident. So we got an easy trial and everyone’s happy.

But knowing how petty he seemed to be from Marina’ s story, I doubted that. Which was another reason why we should pay him a visit.

I was angry of course. Scum like that existed whether in this world or in my old one. Worthless trash that used their power and influence to bully the weak and defenceless.

However, looking at both Sherry and Mother’s expression, they might even be angrier than me. Sherry looked like she was ready to snap his neck in two, while Mother was displaying a facial expression that was so scary no one dared to stare at her chest like before.

_Oh boy, I think I have to be the calm one in this scenario. It would be really bad if we ended up killing him in broad daylight. Then we would actually be real criminals._

When we arrived though, the shop was closed. And we could tell that not just because of the door being shut, but also because of the large CLOSED sign hung on the front.

And Marina certainly didn’t know where he lived.

BANG

Sherry, not satisfied with what we found, decided to punch the wall beside the door, shaking the entire establishment and creating little cracks on the heavy and thick large glass window. And of course, a large crater appeared where her fist had landed. Hey hey, that wall was at least three meters thick and she still could do that! 

I sighed. Even though trashing his shop was something I could certainly get behind, this could reflect badly on Marina at court. Using my Earth magic, I repaired the wall. I couldn’t do anything to the glass window though.

_Oh, that’s right. There’s something I want to check._

_Now this is something that will definitely backfire if my suspicions are proven wrong._

_But, I can’t be satisfied just by getting Marina out. I want to punish this man as well._

“Hey, Sherry. Can you force open the door? But don’t break it. Just… push at it hard enough so it would open.”

“You want to break in?” She raised her eyebrows, before a flash of realization came to her face. “Oh! You want to mess up the inside of his shop instead! Alright! We can certainly do that!”

With a simple push, she bent the metal that kept the door locked. She even snapped the other steel lock that was placed inside.

“Hey, what are you two doing?” Mother hurriedly came when she noticed what we were doing.

“I want to check the hobbit’s jewels, Mother!” I replied with a smile. “She said the man didn’t return it even after knowing that they’re fake, right? So I figured there must be something fishy going on here.”

“You mean… Don’t tell me—” She gasped.

“Yep!” _Good job, Mom! You catch on quick!_

_Sherry though… she still doesn’t get it, it seems…_

We then did a search inside the jewelry store. Thankfully for us, we didn’t have to stay long and risk being caught by the guards. We immediately found the box the hobbit had brought to be sold that contained the jewels. Thanks to its distinctive design that the hobbit had described in detail when I asked her, I was absolutely sure that this was it. But just to be sure, I opened it, and looked at its contents. _Yep, the numbers and colors match. This is definitely it._

“Off to an appraiser, right?” Mother smiled.

“Correct!” I smiled back.

Oh, poor Sherry just blinked at us two, still not understanding what we’re talking about.

Hehe, why ruin the surprise and tell her right away?

\----

“All of these are real.”

“All of them?”

“Definitely. No doubt about it. High quality too. These are worth a lot. I couldn’t buy them off you even if I wanted. They’re **that** expensive.” The appraiser finished his explanation.

I exchanged looks with Mother. And we both smiled.

“S-so that Newt guy…”

“...is even more awful than we thought,” I finished Sherry’s sentence.

Sherry’s expression slowly turned from one of confusion to one of rage. Now she understood what Mother and I were suspicious about.

Sophie Bramblewood never made a mistake. Her jewels were all legitimate.

And this Newt Benedict guy faked an outrage just so he could rob her of them.

“Unforgivable!”

Sherry stomped her right feet, sending a tremor to the entire shop.

“T-that man… that man is evil! Pure evil!”

“W-whoa, Sherry, save your anger for him, alright? Please don’t destroy this poor man’s shop.” referring to the poor appraiser who was trembling in fear, thinking a small earthquake just happened.

Apologizing, I quickly fixed the floor that Sherry had broken with my Earth magic before leaving.

We went around doing the same with other appraisers. And all of them had the same exact opinion. After the fifth one, Mother decided it was enough evidence that the jewels were indeed real.

“It’s clear what we have to do next then,” Mother declared. “But before that, we should go check with your father first.

\----

Marina had also told us where Father's inn was so it was easy for us to find. It was an adventurer inn, not too cheap yet not too expensive either. We talked to the innkeeper there, asking if there was anyone there staying under his name. 

"And who are you exactly?" She lowered her glasses.

"I'm Renee Greenwood, his wife. And these two are our kids." She put her hands on Sherry's shoulder and mine.

“Hmph, yet another adventurer leaving his family behind…”

_Umm, she might have gotten the wrong impression there… she probably thinks we’re chasing after Father for leaving us behind to have his own adventures…_

She then told us where his room was. “He’s not in though. He left early in the morning. I suggest just waiting in his room until night.”

Mother nodded and thanked her from the information. “Also, one more room please, for these two.” Ah right, we can’t all stay together in one room for the night after all.

 _This means I’ll be sleeping with Sherry, just like that one time… Hoo boy…_ _Let’s just hope nothing like that happens again…_

I threw a glance towards her. No complaint from her, it seemed.

No complaint from the innkeeper either. She must think we’re actually siblings like Mother said. It’s not odd for siblings to sleep together if they're still as young as we were after all.

The innkeeper then accompanied us to said room. Luckily for us, the room beside Father’s room was empty, so we could have it for me and Sherry’s room.

The room itself wasn’t much. The bed was definitely softer back home but it was clean and well-kept, albeit quite small.

Once the innkeeper left, Mother turned to us with a smile. “Well, I guess we’re doing it without your father after all.”

“We’re going after him, right?” Sherry asked with a determined look. I could tell that she would definitely just run off on her own to hunt him if Mother decided to refuse.

“I’m sure we can find where he lives if we just ask around,” I chimed in. “He’s a famous guy, right? Then there should be some people who know where his mansion is.” I just assumed he lived in one since he’s supposed to be this rich guy and all.

“Oh Hugo, do you think I don’t know that? I used to be an adventurer, you know, and doing investigative work like that is part of the trade,” Mother replied with an annoyed yet smiling look. “Really, you sometimes are too smart for your own good.” She ruffled my hair. “But you did manage to pick up on that man’s trick before any of us did. Good job on that!”

_Hehe! Feel free to praise me as much as you want!_

“One rule before we go though. No killing, got it? His mansion would no doubt have guards in it and they would try to stop us from getting to him. Just incapacitate them. We’re going there just to scare him after all.” As she said that, a smile was drawn on her face. But instead of giving me warmth, it only sent chills to my entire body. Whatever counts as “scaring him” to her, I don’t wanna know. “Though if the guards actually let us in nicely, then that wouldn’t be necessary.”

A thought then suddenly came to my mind.

“Hey, Mother. Don’t you think it would be bad for us to just barge in like that though? What if he still insists on accusing Marina and Sophie in the end? That would be bad for us in court, right?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she replied, still keeping the same scary smile. “What he did to the hobbit, that’s a serious crime, you know. If we bring up the matter to court tomorrow, then we would definitely win the case. And the hobbit would receive a generous amount of gold as compensation from him as well. And by ‘generous’, I mean enough that it stings.”

“So the plan is to blackmail him then?”

“Yes. But just until Marina and Sophie are freed. Ideally, he would just retract his accusation and they would be freed without a need for a trial.”

“And after that?”

“After that, we’ll give the box anyways to the authorities.” She smirked. “That, or return it to that poor hobbit girl. It’s up to her. She’s not going to get the gems back if she chooses to launch a counter accusation towards him.”

Ah, that makes sense. But since when Mother is this cunning of a person?

With her explanation done, we immediately departed.

_Just you wait, Newt Benedict! The Greenwood family is coming after you!_


	24. Assault on The Mansion

**Renee**

Ah, it's been a while, isn't it? For me to return back to my adventuring self.

Forgive me, Alan. You might have your own, more cooperative plan to save Marina, but I can't just let that man go without at least punishing him a little. Not even after all the things that he did, not just to Marina but also to that poor hobbit.

You would have to indulge my selfishness, just this once.

\----

First, we had to store the box of gems that we had with us in a secure place. So we went to the Adventurers’ Guild. I stored the box in their safe as a merchant, not wanting to divulge my adventurer past. And it wasn’t like I brought my card with me either. Oh, and I also added a small Barrier spell over the box, just as extra precaution.

It was easy for us to find where the man’s house was. All we had to do was ask a few people where the Benedict estate was and we were immediately given the directions to go there. 

The man had a lavish state in the corner of the city—a large mansion complete with a fancy garden and a water fountain. They said that his place was even more lavish than the mansion owned by the current Lord. We even heard rumors talking about how extravagant he was in the spending of his money.

_The people sure love to talk about him…_

_But if he has that spending habit… could it be that he’s in some sort of a financial difficulty that forces him to try and scam that hobbit for her gems?_

_...No matter. Financial difficulty or not, there’s no excuse for what he did._

When we arrived there, there were a pair of stern-looking guards posted in the front gate. And the moment they saw us approaching, they crossed their spears together, blocking our path.

“Halt! What business do you have with the Benedict estate?” One of them asked with an authoritative voice typical of a guard.

“We come here to meet the master of this mansion,” I answered unflinchingly. “Is he inside?”

“Hmm?” The other one suddenly walked forward. “You… are you one of Lord Benedict’s girls?” As he said that, I could tell that he was leering at my chest. Disgusting. Why must so many men be this attracted to my two mounds? This is why I don't like to leave home that much. Even Alan is guilty of that.

_Well, if it's him, it's alright, I suppose. Even though he's a giant pervert who loves boobs too much, it's_ **_my_ ** _boobs that he likes, and not some other women. So I let him fondle and play with them every night all he wants._

"Ha, why would a whore bring a bunch of brats with her?”

“Maybe they’re his illegitimate children,” the other one replied with an amused grin.

Wonderful. He thought I was one of his prostitutes. And of course a man like him would habitually use such services, even though he probably had a wife already. _Unlike my sweet Alan, who’s completely faithful to me and me alone, of course._

“So, is he in or not?” I asked again.

“You’re a cheeky one, aren’t you?”

“Why don’t you stay with us for a while, eh? We'll show you a good time. Better than what that fat bastard can give you for sure."

He then reached his arm around, no doubt planning to wrap it around my waist.

"Ugaah!"

He was blasted away like paper, crashing to the steel gate behind him.

I smiled at Hugo, who had his wand pointed at him. _Aww, good boy. You want to protect Mother, don't you?_

You don't need to worry though. Mother has this all under control.

The other guard, aghast at what just happened to his partner, immediately pointed his spear towards us. And this time around, it was Sherry who sent him flying with a kick. And right on his crotch too. Ouch.

With another kick, she threw open the gates. It stood no chance against her strength.

"Alright, you two. Stay close to me, alright?" I told them with a smile.

_Now let's see if I still get it._

"Barrier!"

A dome-like transparent structure appeared around us, with me at the center. It was an Advanced-level Holy magic—simple enough that I could cast it without my staff and still keep a decent integrity on its protection.

“And another one!”

This time, I created a barrier that enveloped the entire estate. It was not going to be used for our defense, so I made it really thin and barebone. As you might have guessed, I would use it to keep anyone from escaping. And by anyone, I meant our target, Mr. Newt Benedict.

He might have his goons try to break it, but when he did, I could just fortify it immediately. But for now, no need to waste mana for no real reason. That’s one of the very basics of being a good adventurer after all. If you could get by using a weaker spell, then use it instead of the stronger one. Being flashy for no reason would only get you killed.

“Let’s walk inside, shall we?” I told the two, before moving forward.

The commotion we caused didn't go unnoticed. The other guards there immediately went after us, shouting "Intruders!" and such as if we were an invading force from another kingdom. Arrows were fired at us, but they only bumped impotently to my barrier. The melee fighters all swung their swords and spears at us but my barrier blocked every single one of their blows, sending them flying by the reflected impact.

Then there were the mages—four or five of them. It really didn't matter how many they were, as their pitiful attempt at spellcasting we're all blocked by my barrier with ease. They only cast Intermediate-level magic, all with chanting. Ha, my seven-year old son can already do that without it! And speaking of Hugo, he quickly countered them with an earth spell that tripped all of them on their feet, flipping them over. They were all standing on one nice single line after all.

A pair of horse-riding knights then appeared, each ramming their armored horses and lances at my barrier. Nope, still not good enough.

And then, I noticed it. A barrier, similar to mine, had been raised over the main building. _So they must have a cleric inside._

_Hmph, amateur. The consistency is all wrong. Whoever made it must not be a very skilled cleric._

"Sherry, can you break through this barrier please?" I asked her calmly. We weren't in any rush. Those noisy guards outside my barrier couldn't do anything to us after all.

She nodded, and unsheathed her sword. Holding it with both hands, she yelled before swinging it downwards.

She didn’t even need to make contact with the barrier directly. The wave emitted from her sword was enough to absolutely shatter the barrier and break open the front door at the same time.

“Kyaaaahh!”

A high-pitched scream could be heard coming from the inside. There, who I could only assume was the cleric who had cast the barrier, was laying down on the ground, unconscious.

_Haah, that’s what you get for making such a shoddy barrier. And do you even need to put it around the entire building like that? If you only need to guard the front door, you can just concentrate the spell there, you know. She’s probably the type that just does whatever her holy spellbook says without any capability in creativity whatsoever._

“You! How dare you harm my Liliel!” The teenager in front of her shouted, drawing his rapier. 

Oh dear, looking at him, and the mage-looking girl behind him, I believe we’re now up against an adventuring party.

_And this party composition…_

“Hey, Hugo. Sherry. Why don’t you two each fight them one on one? None of you ever got to fight strangers like them before, right?” I suggested with a small smile.

Both of them nodded, with Hugo having quite the confident grin on his face. Sherry took the lead, running straight towards the swordsman, leaping at him with her sword. Hugo on the other hand only stepped outside my barrier a little bit, before he started casting his spell towards the mage.

_Heehee, even though he could cast it just fine inside the barrier. So he wants it to be a fair fight, huh?_

The mage decided to chant an Advanced-level spell. Hmm, I see she’s counting on the swordsman to protect her. Their position was pretty good as well, with the swordsman blocking the pathway inside the house, thus any spells that Hugo might fire would have to go through the swordsman first.

That is, if he had used an ordinary, run-of-the-mill spell that is.

Hugo, the clever boy that he was, decided to send a blast of wind that curved right around the swordsman, hitting her before she could finish her chant. She was sent flying and crashing to the pillar behind her, knocking her unconscious as well.

As for the swordsman, well, he was too busy trying to fend off Sherry’s relentless attacks. Judging by the terrified expression on his face, I knew he was completely taken aback by the strength she was displaying. He might be skilled enough to parry her blows, with him using that defensive style that allowed him to offset the difference between their strengths, but he couldn’t do a single counterattack against her.

Yep, sure enough, he made one mistake, and immediately Sherry took the opportunity to cut through his blade, before kicking him right on the gut, sending him flying as well.

_Well, that was quick._

We marched inward, though not before I cast a barrier on what remained of the front door. _Now this is how you do it. Those guys shouldn’t be able to enter._

Looking at the three unconscious adventurers, who I could only guess were hired to be bodyguards for our illustrious opponent, I couldn’t help but feel bad for them. What rank were they in, I wondered?

_A swordsman, a cleric, and a mage. With the swordsman having a relationship with the cleric. Hmph, what a funny coincidence._

\----

The only remaining staff that was inside were the servants, and naturally, they all ran away once they spotted us. I managed to grab one maid though, to ask her where her master might be hiding.

“I-I don’t know!” She squeaked. “I-I haven’t seen him since you guys barged in!”

“Alright, you may go.”

She immediately bolted as fast as she could the moment I released her arm.

“Hey, the front entrance is blocked, dear!” I shouted, seeing how she seemed to be heading in that direction.

_No loyalty at all. No one here really likes him, most likely. Well, with that personality, I’m not surprised in the slightest._

Eventually, we managed to find him at last. It turned out he was hiding in the servant’s quarters, inside one of the maids’ rooms. Inside the wardrobe. That he couldn't even close all the way due to his size.

“O-oh please s-spare me!” He begged immediately when I dragged him out. “I-I’ll give you anything you want! J-just please spare my life!"

A strong, acrid smell suddenly entered my nose. I looked down and saw that he had wet his trousers.

Disgusting. This pathetic, slime of a man was the one that did that to my Marina?

I threw him on the floor. My hands no longer wanted to be anywhere near his proximity.

"Oh, don't worry. We won't kill you. This is just a little friendly visit, to remind you of the two girls you had sent to prison yesterday. You see, I happened to be the mother of one of those girls, with him being her little brother and her the little sister." I motioned to Hugo and Sherry. "And we are all quite mad from what you have done to her."

"You… you're the Greenwoods? I knew it! I knew you people would come after me! Ooh, what are those adventurers doing? They're supposed to be B-ranks yet they can't protect me at all! I've paid a fortune for them too! And right when I'm short of money as well…"

_B-ranks, huh? Heehee, to think that my children are already strong enough to take them on…_

_And now my suspicion was confirmed. He's having money problems, so he becomes desperate enough to do that to Sophie._

_Doesn't excuse his actions in the slightest, of course._

"Indeed we are." I smiled, which seemed to make him flinch, oddly enough. "And we would like to ask nicely for you to let my daughter and her Hobbit friend out and forget all of this ever happened. Or else, we would expose the fact that you had scammed a poor Hobbit merchant out of her jewels. I’m sure Lord Eriol would take kindly to that revelation.”

“Y-you.. You know?!” His eyes widened.

“Of course.” I continued to smile. "Even my seven year old son could figure out your dirty trick." I patted his head.

He turned speechless for a few moments, before he retorted, "Y-you don't have any proof!"

"Oh, it's not like I don't have the box with me or anything." I smirked, twirling the loose hair on the side of my face. "You really should put more security in your shop."

"You… you broke into my shop? H-ha! I can get you arrested for—"

"Oh, you're not going to get anybody else arrested," I replied calmly. "It's over, Newt Benedict. You know you've lost. So why don't you just give up and do as I say?"

And then, I took out two parchments from my pocket. I had prepared it early on, before we went here.

“Sign this. It’s a paper that states you’re withdrawing your charges over the two of them. And another paper, saying that today’s breaking and enterings are all done by thieves not related to the Greenwood family—both here and at your shop.”

“Oh, and one more thing. The gems… I’ll be handing them back to Miss Hobbit, naturally.”

\----

**Hugo**

And with that, our excursion in the Benedict Mansion was over.

I was glad that it went as well as it did, even though Mother did all the work. And to think that I just won my first fight against another human! What a pleasant feeling!

I felt somewhat bad though, just sending her off blasting with my wind spell like that.

Sherry won her fight as well, though she took a little longer than me to do it. Her opponent could parry her attacks decently enough, until he just crumbled under her pure strength. To think that a nine year old girl could overwhelm what looked like a seventeen year old young man like that—I’m so proud of you, Sherry!

But Mother—she was easily the most amazing fighter that we had today. That barrier of hers—to think that it could block all those attacks without flinching in the slightest—she really was an ex S-rank cleric like she told me she was. And she could do it without her staff too, which was even more amazing! A staff or wand boosted your magic considerably that it would be foolish to cast magic without them after all.

And the way she intimidated that Newt Benedict guy… she gave him no chance at all to retaliate. I felt bad for Sherry though. The only chance she got to hit him was the slap she gave at the very end. I knew from her expression that she wanted to beat him up even more.

Me too, Sherry, me too. But I’m already satisfied enough, seeing him cower in front of Mother like that to the point of wetting himself.

If I ever got to that point, well, I would probably consider myself a complete failure and kill myself. Again. I mean, he’s not even rich anymore, with the money problem he might have, judging by what he said.

Hmph, if I had that kind of wealth, I would never squander them like he did. 

I wonder why Father wouldn’t just do this from the very beginning though. In fact, what’s he doing now? I would have to ask when he got back.

Mother took the box back before returning to our inn. She told them that it would be safer with her instead of at the Guild. I’ll take her word on that, o ex S-rank adventurer.

When we got back, Father was already there. It seemed the innkeeper had informed him of our arrival when he got back.

After receiving some tongue lashing from Mother for letting this whole incident to happen in the first place, she then told him what we just did.

“And there you have it. One letter that you can give to the judge to secure Marina’s release.” She handed the parchment over with a satisfied smile.

He took it and gave a quick read of its contents. To my surprise however, instead of being happy about it, he instead had a frown drawn onto his face.

"That was reckless of you, Renee."

"What? Reckless? Are you telling me that—"

"What if he had hired stronger adventurers? You didn't even bring your staff with you. And you might think Hugo and Sherry are strong, but there are many far stronger people out there."

"Oh, are you saying that we should just let go of that dirtbag? I wouldn't be satisfied if I don't get him to beg and whimper for what he did to Marina."

"I know," Father replied. "I'm really angry as well. But doing that… at the very least, you should wait for me to return first."

"I can't do that! Marina's trial is tomorrow, remember?"

The two argued like this for a while, with me and Sherry exchanging uncomfortable looks at each other. It's never fun to see your parents argue after all. At the very least, they're doing it in our room and not in public.

I got two things out of it though.First, Mother was far more vengeful than Father if anyone dared to harm her kids. Or, another way to look at it was that Father was a calmer man than he looked. I always thought that he would be the hothead with Mother having to hold his reins, so to speak. But it turned out that it was the opposite. She really was the definition of a Mama Bear.

Another thing that I got was that Father had been investigating Newt Benedict’s connection to the underground market while he was gone. He wanted to find a solid proof to link him to it, so that Lord Eriol could arrest him for good. And he got what he wanted, as he had obtained proof that he funded an abduction ring that kidnapped vulnerable people to be sold as slaves. Slavery might be legal but abducting people like that certainly wasn’t.

Even so, after their argument, we ended up switching our rooms around. I would sleep with Father while Sherry would sleep with Mother.

_Haah, sleeping in separate beds, huh? Just like arguing couples in my world…_

_Well, I just hope that they will make up immediately the next day. I really can’t see them not getting along like this…_

_And so much for sleeping with Sherry… Aah, I kinda want to play with her hair while she’s asleep too… Now I have to sleep with a big, muscled guy instead… This is the worst!_

Even so, I fell asleep quite nicely that night. Knowing that terrible man was definitely going to jail for what he did, it felt me with a sense of relief. There is justice in the world after all.


	25. The Strange Visitor

As we had hoped, and expected, the trial next day went as smoothly as it could.

In fact, it went so smoothly, we pretty much only sat in the court for ten minutes at the very most. Our opponent didn’t even bother coming. Heh, he knew he had no chance to win in the slightest.

Of course, Father had given to the judge the documents both him and us had obtained yesterday. It was enough for him to declare an innocent verdict for both Marina and Sophie immediately. He also said, in his own words, “Sir Newt Benedict shall be tried on a different occasion for his crimes.”

Complete victory. We all exchanged grins as we heard the judge slam his gavel. Even Marina had a grin in her face as she accepted Sophie’s hug. Of course, little miss hobbit immediately thanked us as well afterwards.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! I will be forever indebted to you all!” She bowed as deeply as she could.

"Here. Your jewels." Mother handed over the box with a smile. She and Father had opted not to tell the judge of the scam, just so the box and the gems inside wouldn't become evidence that the court would have to keep.

"They're all real. Every single one of them. You didn't make a mistake," Father grinned. "That bastard had lied just so he could get his grubby hands on them for free."

Her eyes widened in shock. "R-really?"

"Yes, really," I spoke up next with my own smile.. "We went to multiple appraisers in the city and all of them said the exact same thing. You have done nothing wrong, Sophie. Your judgment as a merchant was completely correct.”

She paused, taking off the box from Mother with trembling hands. She opened the lid, confirming that the gems were indeed all there. Ruby, amethyst, diamond, and many others—every single one of them were accounted for.

Mother then walked over to her and put her hands on her little shoulder before kneeling over to look at her in the eyes. “Let this be a lesson to you, Sophie. As a traveling merchant, you must always be wary of unscrupulous bastards like him. There are many others like him, you know, and no doubt this wouldn’t be the first time someone would try to cheat you like this.”

Father nodded with agreement with his arms folded, while Sherry was just smiling with a satisfied look in the background. I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for her, having nothing to add to the conversation. Just like Sophie, she barely got any life experience on her. But don’t worry Sherry! I’ll teach you all sorts of stuff when we start adventuring!

Marina, on the other hand, let out a sigh. “I should’ve seen that trick. If I did, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.”

“Hugo was the one who figured it out first, you know!” Mother remarked with a proud smile. “Even faster than me, his own mother! Ah, what a clever boy he is! Clearly, he takes it from me!” She added with a smirk.

“Hey, are you insinuating that I’m stupid or something?” Father protested.

“No, I’m just saying that you were nowhere as smart as him when we first met. So the brains must have come from me.” She patted her chest.

As the two had their little playful argument, I noticed Marina looking back at me with a proud smile of her own.

She didn’t need to say anything. Just that look immediately filled me up with an almost overwhelming warmth that nearly made me jump with joy.

_Aah, I do like being praised after all! Please praise me more, Sis! Mom!_

\------

We watched as Sophie departed. As you would expect from a merchant, she had her own carriage that she no doubt used to store her goods, complete with a pony to pull it. Hobbits aren’t good with normal, large horses, so they had those ponies that they used as their beast of burden. Just like their owner, they could never grow up to become as big as normal horses.

She was lucky that this incident only took two days to be resolved, or else the stable owner might have just decided to sell it (and the pony) to some black market for a quick and easy cash. At least, I could imagine a less principled stable owner to do so, especially if he heard that she had been thrown in jail.

She wasn’t leaving from the north gate like we would however. She was heading east, to the Magocracy. She wanted to sell and buy some magical items there, she told us.

Hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to meet her again on my travels. And next time around, I would surely tower over her as I would be more of a grown-up there.

But hey, maybe Marina would meet her once she returned to the academy.

\------

For the rest of the month, Marina decided to return and stay with us, feeling a bit gloomy that her plan of becoming an adventurer here was dashed. Not wanting to bother her, I decided to still respect my promise with her and not ask about more magic lessons with her; using my time to play with Erika instead. Slowly but surely, the girl seemed to be warming up to Sherry, though never to the extent that she warmed up to me, unfortunately. Now her favorite thing to do when I hug her was to pull and play with my hair. I’m not sure what she finds so amusing about it, but if she’s happy, then I’m happy too.

Without me to teach, Marina ended up teaching Sherry instead, who was still determined to catch up back to me after her recent defeat. Of course, she wasn’t teaching her magic. Marina was acting as my stand-in as a fellow mage, though her fighting style differed considerably than me. If I had to dodge around in combat, she instead stood her ground, using her spells to create what was essentially an impregnable fortress around herself. Her owlbear would be the big guy that protected her from Sherry’s direct assault, with the fairy (which she had evolved into a high fairy by the way) healing said owlbear. The dryad on the other hand would create roots to hinder Sherry’s movements. The way the four worked in sync (including Marina herself, of course), Sherry could not land a single decisive blow on her.

Oh, I hadn’t talked about summons evolving yet, hadn’t I? Basically, the more the summon got along with the summoner, the stronger it would get, until it would evolve into the next rank of its evolution line. For a fairy, that would be becoming a high fairy. The exact science behind it was never clear, and once again, it seemed like one of those things that depended more on the summon itself.

There was a magic spell you could cast to forcibly “rank up” your summon for a short period of time, but you could only do it if the summon trusted you enough to give you its name. Not to mention that the more powerful the summon was, the larger drain it would be on the summoner’s mana. Many summoners ended up unconscious after doing the spell—the main effect of using too much mana more than the body could produce.

And then, Fall came, and it was time for Marina to leave once again.

As she rode the express carriage that would take her there, I took a glance at Sherry’s determined look and smiled. _She really wants to get stronger, just like me._

\-------

A series of months passed since then, and now, I could happily declare myself as an eight-year old boy. Just two more years until you could start adventuring, Hugo! Keep it up!

Sherry, on the other hand, was already old enough to register. But when I asked if she was going to, she shook her head, telling me that she was going to wait until I was old enough to go with her.

I see. So she wants for us to start together and party together and possibly even sleep together in the same inn room as we both start our adventuring careers.

_This girl… she can be too cute sometimes._

I noticed however that there was also a look of fear in her eyes. If I were to guess, she’s probably too scared to interact with all those strangers that she would have to do if she became an adventurer. Taking quests, reporting quests, and cooperating with other people in general… she was nervous to do it.

Was she always like this? I remembered meeting her as this really confident girl who wouldn’t be afraid to punch you in the face if she didn’t like what you said.

...No, that was just a mask, wasn’t it? A front she put up to protect herself from the harshness of the people around her.

But now, after being accepted to our family, that mask had disappeared. She had to cling to my family and me specifically for comfort and reassurance. No wonder she didn’t want to pay a visit to her orphanage when we were in Aarom back then.

Behind her tough exterior, and her superhuman strength, she was just a fragile, love-starved girl who wanted to be protected.

 _Alright, don’t worry, Sherry! I’ll be your knight in shining armor!,_ I declared selfishly inside my mind.

But clinging to me like this… I couldn’t help but think that it was unhealthy for her. As much as I loved having a cute girl around to play hero with, I wanted her to grow as her own person. At this rate, she would always need me to function. And I didn't want that for her future.

_Is there a way to make her be less attached to me? There are other girls her age in the village, but they are too afraid of her to make her their friend. Same with the boys. And the rumors of her being a demon in disguise has only entrenched itself over the years._

I sighed. _Oh well. I can make her be more independent once we become adventurers._

Little did I know that my problem would soon be solved by a certain strange visitor.

\----

It was around Spring when she came.

We and Sherry were just finished from our spar. And just like the other times we had fought against each other, I still remained the victor. Ever since I won over her, I still hadn't lost a single time.

We were now relaxing under a big tree, resting our backs on its large trunk, with me cheering up the disappointed-looking Sherry, telling her that she was definitely getting better at her swordplay.

"Sloppy. That could've been better."

I looked up and saw a woman staring down at me.

Immediately I stood up in attention. I was shocked, mostly because I never saw her before, but also because of her exotic appearance.

First of all, she had brown skin, something that I only saw on her ever since I was reincarnated to this world. Then, there was the fact that she got two protrusions coming out of her head that looked like a flower’s stamen, or a slug antennae—I’m not sure which if I were to be honest. Not to mention the two bat-like ears also attached to the top of her head beside them.

She had a long and strangely shaped mass of light magenta hair that went all the way under her waist. There was no way it was in any shape and form natural, as it cascaded in a series of “hair clumps”, for a lack of a better term.

And then, there was her outfit. She wore a combination of dark and light brown long dress, with the top being decorated with golden lines and shapes, opposite to her completely plain skirt. And she had a large staff with her, signifying that she was no doubt a mage of some sort.

She was beautiful, no doubt about it. But it was a kind of beauty far different than that of Mother's. It was a mysterious, yet lonely beauty, like a flower that only bloomed at midnight with no one to see.

When our eyes met, I was immediately paralyzed by her piercing emerald eyes. It was as if she was staring right at my soul

I immediately understood. This woman… was definitely not human.

She looked at me for a short moment, before moving her gaze to Sherry, who also had stood up in response to her appearance.

“Long black hair, and an impressive display of strength… you must be the kid.”

Without warning, she grabbed Sherry’s arm, causing her to reflectively yank it off her grasp.

“W-who are you?” She shouted, drawing her sword towards her.

She let out a long sigh. “Of course. I haven’t informed my arrival beforehand after all.”

“I am Myrilla. Myrilla of the Nerthus. And I am here to examine whether you are just like me, a demon."

Sherry froze, her eyes widening in disbelief of what she just heard.

My heart nearly leaped out of its chest.

This was it. This was what Mother mentioned so long ago that I had completely forgotten about.

Myrilla. Father and Mother's old friend. She had come here at last like they had asked to.

To see whether Sherry really belonged to the Demon Race as they had suspected.

"M-me? A-a demon?" Her voice shook.

She didn't reply. Instead, she just took a strand of hair from her head.

"I shall return tomorrow to present my findings. Tell your Father and Mother that I’ve arrived."

Without another word, she left. Halfway down the hill we were on however, I snapped out of it and decided to stop her.

“H-hey, wait!” I chased after her. “Sherry? A demon? That can’t be right, can it? She doesn’t look like one!”

“Does a demon have to look like one to be one?” She answered, while still walking ahead, refusing to stop or even slow down. “Don’t you know of the Black Slime race? And what about her exceptional strength?”

“I-isn’t that just her talent?”

“Talent doesn’t work like that. You don’t become strong from the start right away. You still need to put a lot of effort and training to polish it. Only us from the demon race are already strong from birth.”

She was right. I was just fooling myself, thinking that Sherry was in any way or sense “normal”.

“That expression—” She suddenly stopped, turning around to face me. “—You’re just like the others, aren’t you?”

“I’ve decided. If that girl is truly what I believe she is, I shall bring that girl with me. Back to her homeland in the Demon Continent.”

Before I could say anything, I was knocked out by a gale of wind created when she struck her staff to the ground. When I opened my eyes, she was already gone, vanished like she had never been there in the first place.

And when I looked back, Sherry had disappeared as well.

\----

I quickly made my way home, as fast as I could. Don't tell me that Sherry has been kidnapped by her! However, when I arrived, Mother and Father were already waiting on the front door. 

And they looked like I had just murdered someone.

"Hugo~" Eeek! Mother's smile! Oh, she's definitely angry! "What did you do? Why did Sherry return home crying and sobbing like that?"

I took a sigh of relief. Sherry had simply run ahead back home before me after all.

"I'm ashamed of you, Hugo!" Father joined in with a stern yell. "I never taught you to treat a girl like that!"

"N-no! It's not like that!!" I quickly replied. "It was someone else who made her cry." I had to clear this misunderstanding ASAP.

I then explained everything as fast as I could. When I was done, their expression switched from that of anger to surprise.

"Myrilla? She's here?" Father spoke.

"She didn't come along with you?" Mother asked.

"...That silly woman. She probably thought she would impose on us. She didn't even bother saying Hello? After all these years?" Father said with an angry look. "Renee, cook her favorite meal. I'll go fetch her for dinner."

“W-wait, Alan!”

No response. He simply ignored her as she ran to the direction where I had come from.

_That dejected look on her face... There was no doubt that she still holds some jealousy towards her, doesn’t she?_

_An old rival in love… And one with more history with Father and her…_

_I understand her feelings completely._

\-----

No matter how many times I called out her name, Sherry refused to come out of her room.

The door was locked, and I could hear muffled sounds of sobbing coming from the inside.

I was about to just kick the down door, but Mother stopped me. She said that it would be better if we left her on her own for the time being.

“Really, that Myrilla… she doesn’t care about other people’s feelings at all… She has always been like that, you know, ever since the first time I met her,” Mother said with a huff as we left the front of Sherry’s room.

“...Mother, maybe it might be better if we had told her that she could be a demon earlier.”

She stopped in her steps, before taking a deep sigh.

“...You’re right, Hugo. Perhaps we should have.” She ruffled my head. “To hear it from a stranger like Myrilla, it probably hurts more from her.”

She then kneeled down and looked me in the eyes. “Listen Hugo, you have to cheer her up once she calms down a little, alright? She must be afraid that you would reject her, after knowing that she might be a demon. Out of our family, you’re the closest to her after all.”

“...Of course, Mother.” I nodded.

I didn’t tell her about Myrilla wanting to bring Sherry with her to the Demon Continent.

That can’t be true, right? Sherry wouldn’t want to go there just because she’s a demon? That place is really far away from here after all. Not to mention dangerous, filled with hellishly strong monsters and dungeons and all that. It was a lawless continent, where the strong thrived and the weak perished. At least, that’s how my books described it.

_But if she can meet her people there… her real family… who am I to stop her?_


	26. A Dinner From Hell

In the end, Sherry didn’t come out for the rest of the day. Only around the evening, near dinner time, she left her room, heading straight to the bathroom. Before I could catch up to her, she already closed and locked the door behind her. I was pretty sure she intentionally sped up her walk just so she could avoid me.

She then appeared in the dining room as we were preparing for dinner, taking her usual seat there as if nothing had happened. Mary was currently not here, as she had asked for a short one week leave. Of course, Father had no problem with that.

_Might as well use this chance now!_

I took a seat beside her, and put my right hand on top of her left, earning a surprised gasp from her.

“Hey, listen to me,” I said to her with a serious look, grasping her hand tight. “I don’t care if you’re a human or a demon. You’re Sherry, and that’s all that matters.”

For a split second, I thought she was going to start crying once again. But she quickly regained her composure, making her reply with a smile instead.

“Thanks.”

It was the only word that she said, but I knew a huge weight had just been lifted from her heart.

Seeing Sherry sitting there, Mother decided it was the opportune moment to explain how she had sent for Myrilla after recognizing the possibility that she could be a non-human.

Immediately I saw a flash of hurt on her face. Mother did as well, and she quickly added, “Oh dearie please don’t take it the wrong way. We simply wanted you to know about your heritage. No matter whether you’re a human or not, you’d always be our daughter, alright?” She smiled warmly at her, before lifting her for a hug.

“S-so I could really be a demon? Like she said?” Sherry whispered with a low voice.

“We suspected that you might belong to a certain demon race—so rare that barely anyone knew they even existed. Have you noticed how you would get stronger when you’re angry, my dear?”

Sherry paused for a few seconds before nodding.

“That’s another trait of their race.” Mother smiled. “Superhuman strength that grows stronger if the demon gets angry, a slim and slender figure that doesn’t show any muscles whatsoever, and a beautiful long black hair is always shiny and smooth for the females. Don’t you think all that describes you pretty well, my dear?”

My eyes widened. That explains everything! It wasn’t just her strength that was out of place, the beauty of her hair had struck me as odd as well. When I first met her, when she was still under the terrible care of Old Woman Tennyson, she was unkempt from top to bottom like the other village kids. Except for her hair. There was no blemish on it whatsoever.

The person herself however didn’t seem to be overjoyed by the revelation.

“Oh… so I really am a demon after all…”

“Perhaps you are,” Mother replied, combing said hair with her fingers. “But it’s nothing to be ashamed of, my dear. In fact, you should be proud of it. You’re not just any ordinary demon like a harpy or a lamia. You’re rare enough that for most people, your race is just relegated to myths and legends. Don’t you think that’s at least a little cool?”

“B-but that means all those kids that have teased me… they’re right after all!” Sherry started to shout with tears in her eyes.

Mother sighed. “Such is the state of demonkind unfortunately. Since they were on the side of the Demon God a millenia ago, they remained to be vilified by humanity and even the other races that sided with the Hero.”

“But don’t worry!” she quickly added. “Your race looks perfectly humanlike after all! No one will know that you’re a demon just by looking at you! You can mingle with other humans just fine!”

“And if anyone tries to bully you because you’re a demon, I’ll blast them with my magic until they beg for forgiveness!” I chimed in with a confident grin.

That’s right. The past is the past. They might just be a bunch of evil races then, but now, I can say without a doubt that Sherry is nothing like that. Sherry is innocent, whatever vile deeds her ancestors might commit.

“We’re home!”

Oh goddamnit Dad, you just ruined our moment!

\----

Mother and I quickly went to the front to greet him, while Sherry hurriedly wiped off her tears with her sleeves as she stayed behind, watching over young Erika.

To my surprise, Father actually managed to return with Myrilla in tow. He told us that she had been camping in the nearby forest, and that he had persuaded her to join them for dinner.

_I guess she isn’t as hard-hearted as I originally thought._

“H-hello Myrilla.” Mother spoke awkwardly, clearly forcing herself to start a conversation. “Long time no see!”

“Mmm.”

She merely nodded to Mother in response, and then entered the house as if she wasn’t there at all. At the dining room, she put her staff on the wall behind her before taking one of the chairs (we were lucky that we had an extra unused chair that Mother had brought out).

When Sherry saw her entering, she gasped and immediately tried to flee. But Myrilla wasn’t having any of that. Her antenna lit up, and Sherry was pulled backwards like she was being pulled by a magnet, before she was placed nicely on the chair in front of her.

“Don’t flee. I have questions to ask of you,” she then said to her, as if she was a stern schoolmistress scolding her misbehaving pupil.

_Whoa, was that telekinesis? I don’t feel any wind blowing so it couldn’t have been a wind spell she just used! Her antennae thing shone for a brief moment there, so it must be some racial ability of hers!_

Before I could think much about it however, an all-too-familiar noise burst forth inside the room.

“Uwaaahhhhh!”

It was Erika, and it seemed she had been staring at this new strange-looking lady for the good five minutes, and then decided that she was a scary lady instead of a friendly one.

Before Mother could come over and comfort her however, once again, Myrilla’s antennae lit up. In response, Erika seemed to freeze for a few moments, before closing her eyes, with her body resting backwards on the all-too-tall chair for her.

She had fallen asleep.

_It’s hypnosis now? So she really does have psychic powers!_

“You have no right!”

I nearly jumped out of my seat. Mother, who had been placing down plates across the table, suddenly shouted, before coming over to Erika, picking her up.

“She’s my daughter! You can’t just—”

“Don’t worry. She’ll be awake once dinner is over. She can have her meal later, right?”

The two then exchanged glares with each other, though Mother was clearly the angrier of the two. Myrilla simply stared at her back with the usual expression that she had been wearing throughout the evening, that is, one of a calm and unblinking stare.

To my surprise however, she ended up being the one to break eye contact first. 

With a sigh, she turned to Father and said, “This is why I told you there’s no need to invite me here,” before rising on her seat and grabbing her staff, clearly intending to leave the premises.

Once again, Father had to be the one who calmed her down and persuaded her to stay.

I sighed as well. It seemed like I was getting the first seat ticket on a guy trying to make his ex-girlfriend get along with his current one. I’d rather have the furthest seat available, thank you very much.

\-----

Afterwards, Mother took Erika to her bed before returning to us and serving the rest of the food we would have for dinner. Just like Father told her to, she had cooked a special dish just for Myrilla. And that being a plate full of green leaves and vegetables, with no meat or bread or anything else. It was practically just a big bowl of salad. There was also a different plate with several roasted corn cobs on it, which was the only thing that she had cooked in her meal.

_Is she a vegetarian or something?_ _That trait is usually only reserved for elves in fantasy stories._

I, of course, preferred meat much, much more. And Sherry as well. In fact, she had the biggest portion of the bacon we were having for the night.

As she ate, she bombarded Sherry with all sorts of questions, mainly relating to her past. Where did she come from? Did she have any idea who or where her parents could be? All that kind of stuff. I could tell that Sherry didn't really like answering them but she answered every single one anyways.

“So you really have no idea,” she commented while munching on one of the corn cobs. “An abandoned baby… simply dropped on the steps to the orphanage. At the very least your parents didn’t sell you to one of those slavers.”

“Myrilla!” Mother looked daggers at her.

“That’s the truth, is it not?” she retorted, wiping her mouth with the napkin provided. “How many parents do you think have sold their children into slavery out there?”

“But you don’t have to say it that way! Sherry already suffered enough in the orphanage as it is!’

“Oh? Pray tell. What happened to you there?” She turned her attention back to her.

I looked at her as well, and noticed the terribly reluctance drawn on her face.

...No. I can’t just let her answer this one.

“She’s bullied there,” I interjected. “Called a ‘demon’ by the other kids who feared her supernatural strength.”

...Wait, was that a tiny laugh I just saw on her face?

“I see. That’s what you would expect from humans, I suppose.” She now started to munch on one of the larger leaves. She would look positively ridiculous, if not for her intimidating presence.

“Myrilla…” To my surprise, Father, who had been staying silent through all these conversations, suddenly spoke up. “...You have grown even more bitter in the years we haven’t seen each other, have you?’

And then, something even more unexpected happened.

The demoness, who had been keeping a relatively calm expression all this time, suddenly returned a sharp and furious glare towards Father.

“What do you know about bitterness, Alan? While you were happily living here playing family with Renee, I have witnessed so many terrible things in my wandering, done by humans to the other races. That’s why I decided to return to my home in the first place. I was sick of all the things I saw.” She crossed her arms. “And don’t you dare giving me that look of pity, Alan!”

Wow. The way her reaction changed when it was Father she was talking to—that’s a big tell for her liking him.

Heh, this woman… she's just a cute tsundere under all that scary exterior.

Honestly, she’s not bad-looking at all. I do know why Father didn’t choose her though. Her boobs. She simply couldn’t compete with Mother in that department. And seeing how Father is a big lover of them, she never had any chance once she came to the picture.

“So, if I had to guess, you still haven’t found a new party to join up with, have you?” Father continued.

"I don't need one," she replied matter-of-factly. "I am strong enough on my own."

Father sighed. “That’s not the sole function of having a party, and you know that. I told you when our party disbanded, didn’t I? That I wanted you to find new companions to travel with, ones to share your joys and sorrows with.”

“...There’s only one person and one person only that I would like to do that with. And he already eludes my grasp forever.”

She didn't need to stare at Father like that. I already knew who she was talking about.

"Final question." Suddenly, she switched her attention back towards Sherry. "Would you like to meet with your parents or relatives if you could?"

My heart dropped. _This is it. This is the question._

"Y-yes," she answered, looking straight towards her eyes with a resolute look. "Yes I would."

The demoness smiled, before finishing her cup of tea that had gone cold.

"Tomorrow morning. My analysis would be finished then."

_So Sherry does care about her actual family then…_

_Makes sense. We’re only adopting her after all. I would care too if I were in her position. Blood is thicker than water after all, if I’m using that expression correctly._

_Would she leave us then? To go where her true relatives could be?_

\------

After dinner was over, Myrilla excused herself, refusing Father’s offer for her to stay for the night. “My research tools are all at my camp. I’m not going to carry them all here,” she said to him.

When she left through the front door, I couldn’t help but take a huge sigh of relief.

“Well, that’s Myrilla for you.” Father sighed as well. “She really has grown more reserved since twelve years ago.”

“And more rude as well,” Mother added with a huff.

Father laughed. “Well, she’s never the polite type from the start. I still remembered when she gave you hell for messing up your positioning in a fight.”

“Oh, that,” Mother replied with a wry smile. “That was the first time I realized she might have feelings for you, by the way.”

“W-wait, you already knew then?”

“Of course.” Mother smiled smugly. “I’m a woman too after all. I messed up and I put you in unnecessary risk, and it was the first time I saw her being that angry. For someone who normally never responded to anything other than with her blank expression, I then knew that you were someone special to her, more than just a traveling companion.”

...

“I still felt bad to this day, you know, for stealing you from her like that.”

And then, without any warning whatsoever, Father turned around and grabbed Mother, kissing her right on the lips. Mother’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly relaxed and repicropated.

When he released her, he had a stern look on his face. “Don’t, Renee. Never think like that. You’re the only one I have ever loved. Myrilla might have feelings for me, but I couldn’t return those feelings. To me, she had always been my partner and my mentor only.”

“It’s because of her lack of boobs, isn’t it?” Mother suddenly frowned.

“H-hey! What do you think I am, a boob fetishist?” Father quickly denied, before Mother burst out into a laugh.

Wow, Dad. Did you really mean that? You really have no feelings whatsoever for Myrilla? You’re not just saying it to win Mother over?

Now I can’t help but feel bad for her. Imagine nursing feelings for someone for that long only to see him being snatched in front of your eyes by a newcomer.

This is why I never could really get into those harem stories I used to read. The protag would choose one amongst all those other girls, leaving the rest brokenhearted.

And if it's a harem ending, I would worry even more. Even though the girls were usually portrayed as not being jealous with each other, I couldn't really accept it. It's completely unrealistic. After all, if a girl I liked ended up having other guys that also vied for her attention, I would be madly jealous for sure.

In an ideal world, one guy would only be loved by one girl. Soulmates until the end.

I wouldn't lie though. I would love to have a harem of my own. Being fawned by multiple girls like that, it's Paradise for any sexually healthy male for sure.

And seeing how I had been reincarnated into a fantasy world like in those isekai stories that always had harem elements in them, maybe I would eventually end up with my own after all, hehe!

I won't ask for it though. All I want is for me to be married to a lovely, beautiful girl, raise a wholesome family together, and then die surrounded by my children and grandchildren, feeling completely content with the life I have led. That’s what I promised myself I would achieve when I was reborn into this world.

If I were to have multiple wives, I feared I wouldn't be able to be fair to them. I would grow bored with some of them, breaking their hearts in the process. Most men would look for the newest and freshest pleasures after all, even in the women they bed. I am nowhere near the virtuous type who could remain faithful to all his wives until the day he died, if such a person even existed in the first place.

I gave a glance at Sherry. Two years had it been since I brought her into the family. Would she truly become my future wife like I had always imagined? Or would Fate throw me a cruel twist and make her fall in love with another in the future, just like how Mother suddenly entered Father’s life?

_...No, it’s selfish of me to demand that of her. She’s her own person after all._

_...Maybe it would be better if she leaves with Myrilla. That way, she wouldn’t be just stuck with me until she grows old enough to marry. She would meet other people—other guys who she might end up taking a liking on._

Just then, an arrow seemed to have pierced my heart.

Heh, so this is how jealousy feels.

But if even after that, she still wanted to be my wife…

Then I would know that her love for me was the real deal indeed.

\-----------

I barely had any sleep that night.

I was nervous; of Sherry’s true identity, and whether she really was going to leave us or not.

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to tell Father or Mother.

Maybe I simply wanted Sherry to choose as independently as she could. Or maybe I was just afraid I would get the answer I wouldn’t want to hear from them.

What that answer could be, I didn’t know either.

_Sherry’s probably feeling the same thing right now…_

I also thought of going into her room and had a talk with her.

But if I did, I was afraid I would end up breaking into tears and begging her to stay.

If I did, she would no doubt stay for sure.

I didn’t want that. I wanted her to be selfish and choose her own path for once. I might be her benefactor but I was not her master. She had the right; the freedom to choose.

Before I knew it, dawn had already arrived.


	27. Sherry Izurdia

Myrilla didn’t come at breakfast, so at the very least, we could have a relatively peaceful meal early in the morning, even if my tongue couldn’t really taste anything Mother had cooked. I noticed that Sherry was just as nervous as me, just from the fact that she didn’t ask for an extra omelette like she usually did.

Just after we finished, the demoness arrived. She told us to all gather outside, refusing to say anything else until we did.

"Alright, now that we're all here…"

_Dammit, she really knows how to put the tension, isn't she?_

"Sherry, step forward please."

I could easily tell that she was the most nervous out of all of us. Her entire small frame was practically shaking, with her hands balled up into fists.

 _Gulp._ Just tell us already goddamnit!

"Congratulations, Sherry.” She smiled a little. “Or, should I say, Sherry Izurdia.”

Sherry’s expression then was an expression I would never forget for the rest of my life.

\-----

She then explained everything there was to know about the Izurd race. About how they were a demon race feared for their monstrous physical strength and their rage-filled bloodlust. They would cut and skewer their opponents without mercy. At their peak, you could send other monsters running just from the knowledge of you being an Izurd. But over the years, they had declined severely in numbers, after the knowledge of their weakness, their Kryptonite, so to speak, was spread all over the Demon Continent.

Humiliation, especially that of a sexual nature.

If rage increased their strength, sexual humiliation decreased it, to the point that they would just be like a normal human.

Once the other demons knew that fact, the Izurd stood no chance. The pride they once had in their power disappeared overnight, and they were humiliated to the ground, figuratively and literally. Demons skilled in that kind of stuff like the incubi and the succubi were key to their destruction.

And now, they had to live under the protection of the Fey, with their numbers so much lower from where it used to. 

My mind immediately went to an image of Sherry being wrapped around by black tentacles, helpless as her strength had left her. And then, an incubi would stand in front of her. With a lecherous grin, he would—

_Aaah! T-that’s bad! Really bad! Ooh, I have to make sure to make her stay away from perverted monsters like that as far as possible!_

It didn't help that their hair was a prized item. Apparently, you could use it as material to forge powerful swords and armors. And they said that the hair of the strongest Izurds was even better than the legendary Mythril at the job.

It was all thanks to the fact that an Izurd could use their hair as a weapon. They could manipulate it at will, using it as sharp blades that could cut even steel.

Their hair was their horns and tails. It was their demonic trait; a smooth and glossy black hair that could move on its own.

When Myrilla finished her explanation, Sherry was completely silent. She was staring at the ends of her hair that she had bunched up together with her hands.

"I can take you there. To the Demon Continent, and to the hidden village where most of the remaining Izurd live. They're a long-lived race. 500 years isn't odd for them. You would surely find your relatives there, even if your father and mother aren't there."

And there it was. The offer.

Sherry looked up—fear, confusion, and disbelief drawn on her young face.

"T-truly?"

"Yes, truly. The Nerthus, the race I belong to, we’re quite good friends with the Izurd. So I know the way there, and the way through the Fey enchantment protecting the village.”

“I wouldn’t say it would be an easy journey though. It would be a long and tiresome one, especially for someone as inexperienced and young as you. We would have to cross to the Holy Continent first, then take another ship from there to go to the Demon Continent. And after that, it’s another long walk to where the village is.”

“You wouldn’t return here for years to be sure.”

Sherry’s eyes widened. And me as well.

_Years of not seeing her? That’s..._

“Of course, that is, if you still prefer living here amongst the humans instead of there with your own flesh and blood. I’m sure once you’re there, they would take care of you really well. Their numbers are small after all, so every new Izurd child is precious to them.”

“I have no idea how you could end up in a human orphanage all the way out here. And it wouldn’t be in my place to speculate. Ask your relatives there. They would surely have some insight to give you on the matter. Oh, and they would also be able to train you to control your hair. You still can’t do it, can you? Most Izurdian kids your age are already able to do it by the way. Alan certainly wouldn’t be able to teach you in the matter.”

She paused, seemingly judging Sherry’s reaction to her words.

“Think about it. If you still want to live with humans after you meet with your relatives, then I'll be willing to take you back here straight away. It’s not like I got anything better to do after all,” she added with a wry smile.

To my surprise however, she looked at me afterwards. "So, you’re the boy she likes.” 

_Wait, how did she—_

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. Being a Nerthus, I can also read the minds around me.” As she said that, her antennae lit up. “And I certainly sense a strong adoration radiating from her towards you. And a terrible feeling of guilt and fear when she thought about leaving you behind to go with me to the Demon Continent.” Looking back at her, she continued, “You don’t want to be separated from him, do you? And you’re afraid of being seen as ungrateful if you just leave the family that has adopted you?” 

Sherry nodded to both. 

“And yet, I also sense a feeling of desire. And exasperation as well. You want to be strong, don’t you? You hate how the gap between you and the boy you like is only growing more and more as the days pass.” 

Sherry nodded again.

“Hah, to think a little girl such as you could already possess such a feeling… This world truly is getting more absurd at each passing day.”

“I-it’s not absurd at all!” Sherry suddenly yelled. It seemed she thought Myrilla was mocking her. “Hugo saved me! It’s not odd at all for me to like him for it, is it?!”

“...Saved you, huh?” Myrilla replied, now with a full-blown smirk. “I too saved your adopted father a long time ago yet he never fell in love with me for it.” She gave a look towards Father, who only responded with a regretful look on his face.

At this point, she had transformed into a completely different person than the one I had met yesterday.

“Then all the more reason to go there. Who else is better to teach an Izurd like you to control her hair than another Izurd after all?”

Sherry remained silent, looking away from her. I couldn’t tell what her expression was.

“I will wait for your answer. A week from now, I shall pay another visit before I depart back to the Demon Continent.”

And with that offer, she ended her speech. She turned and began to walk away, but not before Mother stopped her with a furious look on her face, pulling at her shoulder with her right hand, forcing her to turn around.

“You! What are you trying to pull off?”

“Oh, is it wrong for her to be with her family? I simply gave her the opportunity, that’s all. It is up to her whether she would take it or not,” she replied, returning once more to her calm demeanor, though I could still definitely sense the cheekiness behind her words.

“Are you saying that we’re not her family? She might be an Izurd but she’s still my daughter! All these years I’ve taken care of her as if she’s my own and now you’re telling her that she should leave on a dangerous, godforsaken journey with you just so she can be with her distant relatives that she knows nothing about? Have you lost your senses, Myrilla?”

“You’re the one that has lost your senses, Renee,” she replied coolly. “She’s a demon. She can never truly get along with your kind. Even if she gains their respect and adoration, or even love, she will eventually realize how different she is from them. As her husband and children and neighbor grow old and die, she would still be as youthful as ever. She would have to suffer many separations, breaking her heart to little pieces in the process. No, it would be much better for her if she lives with her own kind."

_The “Tragedy of Long Life” trope… It’s something that keeps popping up in various fantasy romances, though naturally only in the more serious and drama-oriented works._

_I used to be somewhat of a fan of it. There’s just something deliciously tragic about being separated by time, having to watch your lover die wrinkled and old while you’re still young. Or even the tragedy of being a mother who has to bury her own aging child._

_But now—now I’m actually in a fantasy world where it can very much happen…_

_I-I don’t know… And I don’t want to think about it…_

_What would I do if I were in Sherry’s position… if I was a long-lived demon and I had fallen in love with a human woman… Would I avoid her and keep my love only for my own kind? Or would I start a family with her anyways, even knowing the unavoidable tragedy that waits at the end?_

Before I could finish my thoughts, I was brought back to reality by Mother replying to Myrilla with another shout.

"Ah, I see it now! This is because of Alan, isn't in? You think he rejected you over me because you're a demon? Don't project your own close-mindedness into him! It's exactly this sour, somber personality of yours that he dislikes!"

_Mom! You can't just—_

Too late. Just as I feared, Myrilla immediately snapped the moment Mother finished her speech. She slapped her with her left hand, leaving a notable redness on Mother’s right cheek.

"How dare you! You know nothing about Alan! I traveled with him far longer than you! It's only because of you that he… he…"

Her voice trailed off. The always composed woman… was now crying. Her tears dripped down her cheeks, as she looked away, trying to hide it from everyone, especially Mother.

Quickly, she wiped herself with her robe. Looking towards Father, she said with a bitter smile, "This is why I am so reluctant to come. For a demon, twelve years is just a blink of an eye. The ache in my heart… it still refuses to heal."

With another glance towards Sherry, she left for real this time. Using a wind spell, she blasted herself away from the scene. _Wait, isn’t that my spell she’s using, only she’s better at it?_

I turned back and saw Father putting his hand on Mother’s shoulder. My attention then switched to Sherry, who was clearly still shocked by all that information that she just received.

_I have to comfort her!_

Before I could do so however, our eyes crossed, and immediately, she bolted, not to chase after Myrilla, but to another direction entirely.

_Goddamnit she’s running away again!_

I had enough of this! I decided to chase after her. Using my own Wind spell, I should be able to keep up with her speed.

I didn’t say anything as I left Father and Mother, only giving them the look that pretty much told her that I was going to chase after her.

\-----

Sherry eventually led me to the nearby forest. She was even faster than I thought. I couldn’t catch up to her, only able to tail her from behind.

Thanks to the thick woods, I immediately lost her. Not for long however, I heard a familiar yell coming from right in front of me between the trees.

When I arrived, Sherry put the last finishing blow to a giant wolf with her sword, decapitating its head from its body with a single swing. Around her were several other giant wolves in a similar state.

Blood. She was covered with blood from top to bottom. I could only imagine that it all came from the wolves she just killed. Her black hair was stained with it as well, making her bangs fall forward.

When she noticed me, she turned to face and let out a dry laugh.

“Hello, Hugo! Like how I look? This is how demons should look, aren’t they?”

I couldn’t help but flinch. The sight in front of me… was it even the Sherry I knew?

“Oh, I never told you, have I? Whenever I got really angry, I would come here and slaughter the monsters here. Like this. I haven’t done it in a long while though. Not ever since you kindly took me in.” She now smiled wryly, before looking at her bloodied sword. “Ah, I need to clean this. Your father always told me to take care of my sword well. Can’t sheathe it when it’s all bloody like this.”

Using the remaining clean part of her skirt, she rubbed the blood from the sword. “Well, I have to clean it better later. But for now, this will have to do.” She then put it back on its sheath at last.

“You know, I always think it’s odd for me to like killing monsters like this. But now I know that there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m a demon after all. An Izurd. Monstrous beings that enjoy slaughter and carnage.”

“T-that’s not true, you’re not—”

“What am I not?” She interrupted me. “My violent temper. It’s also part of my heritage. I grow stronger because of it, so I should have been cultivating it, instead of trying to dam it inside my heart.”

She paused, now looking away from me.

“I am not the poor, unfortunate girl that you think I am, Hugo. I am a demon child, abandoned by my own parents at birth. If you ask me, they should’ve just thrown me into a river instead.”

Hearing her say that, for some reason, my blood immediately boiled.

I walked up to her without hesitation, and slapped her right on her face.

“Don’t you ever say that again!”

Anger had completely overtaken me. Tears were starting to fall from my eyes.

“Your life doesn’t just belong to you, you know! So don’t you ever say you’re going to just throw it away like that! So what if you’re a demon? You’re still my friend and family! You’re Sherry! And nothing will ever change that!”

I now knew why I was so angry—she talking about wanting her parents to drown her like that, it reminded me of my own attempt at taking my own life. How many times I hoped I hadn’t been born when I was still in that pit of despair?

Sherry was nothing like my pathetic old self. She’s just a nine year old kid with a bright future ahead of her. To hear her talking like that, I couldn’t forgive her for it. I couldn’t just let it slide.

_If she starts to think like that, then she will slide into the same hole that I couldn’t escape from._

“Uuuu-uwaahhhh!”

She threw herself onto me, hugging me as she sobbed on my chest.

I didn’t let go until she did. I didn’t care that she was covered in monster blood, or that she smelled absolutely terrible. I even gently rubbed the back of her head.

_Even when covered in blood, her hair remains as smooth as ever._

She needed me, and I would be here for her.

_Really, a kid like her shouldn't act so tough. So let it all out, Sherry, let it all out._

\-----

When she finished, it must have been a good ten minutes or so. She really could cry a lot when she let go of her tough facade.

"Now, let's go back, shall we? We both clearly need to take a bath now." I let out a chuckle.

"S-sorry about that…" She smiled sheepishly in return. "I really shouldn't have hugged you like that.

"Oh, don't worry," I returned. "If you need a hug, I'll always be willing to give one.” I grinned. “Who wouldn’t be happy receiving a hug from a cute girl like you after all?” I decided to add a little flirting to lighten the mood.

“C-cute?” Yep! She immediately blushed. “Y-you still think I’m cute, even after knowing I’m not a human like you?”

“Of course! Cuteness isn’t bound by race after all!” I grinned. “In fact, it’s your demon heritage that makes you even cuter, Sherry. Your silky smooth long hair that always looks and feels good no matter the situation… many girls would kill to have such a hair on their heads, you know.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, really! Many guys would love to play with such hair! Including me!” I admitted proudly.

_Now that I think about it, I’m kinda starting to sound like a hair fetishist here…_

_It’s not a lie though. Her hair really is pleasant to play with…_

“H-hmph! Alright then! If you like my hair so much, then I’ll let you play it with more! So come! We’ll take a bath together!”

She took my hand and dragged me back home, all with a blush on her cheeks.

I smiled once more. _Now this is more like the Sherry I know!_

_Still, I feel bad for slapping her like that. I’m certainly not into doing that to girls! I just feel I need to do it to send the message to her, you know._

_I just hope that this would be the last time I did it to her._


	28. Sherry’s Choice

When we got back home, naturally, we received a scolding from Mother, for returning covered in blood from top to bottom. To my pleasant surprise, it wasn’t as long as I expected it would be, knowing her. She scolded me more than Sherry too, which I found unfair at first, until I realized it’s because she didn’t want to treat Sherry even the slightest bit harshly, after what she just went through. Afterwards, she told us to go clean up immediately, which was exactly what we were already planning on doing.

However, I also noticed a sad look on her face as we left.

_Mother… you’re thinking what I’m thinking, aren’t you?_

\-----

Our bathing time together went smoothly at first, with Sherry insisting that she should be the one doing all the scrubbing, still feeling guilty for smothering all that blood onto me. Of course, Sherry being Sherry, she was still too shy to scrub my front, opting to only scrub my back. Hehe, it’s okay if you want to, you know~

And, as promised, she also told me I could play with her hair as much as I wanted. I only ended up just admiring how glossy and smooth it looked and felt though. Could something this lovely be turned into a weapon? I find it hard to believe.

…

Ah, what am I thinking? I’m just trying to forget the elephant in the room, aren’t I?

_Is Sherry going to leave?_

That’s one of the two questions that had occupied my mind ever since Myrilla made her offer.

The other one being, _should I persuade her to stay?_

Of course I wouldn’t want her to go. Just like how I wished Marina could stay all year.

However, if going with Myrilla would result in a better outcome for her, then I had no right to force her to stay. Just like Marina studying magic in the academy would make her be a skillful mage once she’s an adult, securing a bright future ahead of her. A high-skill mage was always in demand, and the Magocracy, and other countries for that matter, would pay her handsomely either to act as part of their military or just to foster the prosperity of their domain. After all, a high level mage could do all sorts of useful things like controlling the weather and turning a wasteland into a lush farmland. Or so Marina told me. And I had no doubt whatsoever that she would be one of said mages.

However, for Sherry, what future would she be able to earn if she went with Myrilla now? Wouldn’t it be better if she waited until she was older then we three could go to the Demon Continent and to her homeland on her own, with me, Marina, and her? Does she really need to know how to manipulate her hair like the other Izurds?

Once again, I had yet to come up with a satisfactory answer. I didn’t even know whether I should ask her on the matter.

Mother felt the same way. I knew just by looking at her expression then. Father probably too as well.

“Hey…” Suddenly Sherry spoke, breaking the silence. “You’re thinking about me leaving, aren’t you?”

_Welp, she hit the jackpot right away._

I sighed and nodded.

“Do you… want me... not to go?”

 _This question… it’s exactly what I feared._ _And that sad, hesitating expression on her face only made it harder for me to answer._

“...If you want to, I won’t stop you.”

Such was the answer that escaped my mouth.

It wasn’t me telling her not to go, or how much I would miss her if she did.

It was me telling her to do as she pleased. To go if she wanted to go, or to stay if she wanted to stay.

I forced a smile and added, “I'll miss you for sure. But if you want to meet your relatives, then who am I to stop you?"

To my surprise, her reaction was not of relief, but that of sadness, before switching to anger entirely.

“Hmph, stupid Hugo!”

“H-hey Sherry, wa—”

SLAM

Before I could say anything, she already jumped out of the bath and slammed the bathroom door behind her.

\--------

**Sherry**

At first, I didn’t know why I got so angry.

Only that I was, and that I wanted to hide back in my room and cry myself to sleep.

I took my towel and wore it in a hurry, before also taking my clean clothes with me. Then, I immediately bolted there.

I didn’t want Hugo to chase after me.

...No, I **wanted** him to chase after me. In fact, I wanted him to apologize, begging to me not to leave.

That’s what made me so angry. His answer—it’s like he didn’t care about me leaving at all!

I knew for a fact that wasn’t true however. With everything that he had done to me, and with how nice he had been to me, there was no way he wouldn’t be hurt if I decided to leave.

But my heart was greedy. It wanted more. It wanted him pleading with tears for me not to leave.

If he did, I would’ve decided to stay to be sure. I wouldn’t leave him just for some relatives I didn’t know about, no matter how curious I was to meet them.

But if he acted like this… how would I know what to do?

Once back in my room, I locked the door behind me before throwing off my towel. I then looked at the mirror in my room.

_So this is how a demon looks… how an Izurd looks…_

_My real father and mother… even if they have abandoned me, I still want to meet with them…_

_And I want to get stronger too… strong enough to beat Hugo, just like I used to be able to…_

_The gap between us… I know it’s only getting bigger and bigger…_

_Before I know it, he would be just as strong as his big sister, whom I couldn’t land a single blow on…_

_And then, if we really become a party of adventurers as he wants, I would just be a burden… The weak link in their party…_

_It would be better if I don’t go with them after all…_

My training with Hugo’s father had plateaued. He said that I should be patient, and I would eventually become strong if I just kept up my training, but I knew if I only improved at this rate, I would only be left behind by Hugo and Marina more and more. The immense Izurdian strength I was born with, and whatever talent I might have in the sword, it’s nowhere near those two’s level of talent in magic. They were true geniuses, while I was just a girl who got lucky that she was actually a demon and not a normal human.

…

I want it.

I want more power.

I want more strength to protect Hugo.

And if I have to go all the way to the Demon Continent for that, then I will, without hesitation.

Then, I will return to Hugo as a proud woman, who’s worthy of becoming his partner and party member.

And even…

Even his wife, if he still would have me…

\-------------

**Hugo**

When I met Sherry again at lunch, she was back to her usual self, as if nothing had happened.

...No, there was just one difference.

Her eyes… there was fire behind them. 

She had made her decision.

“Father… Mother… I have decided. I will go with Myrilla to the Demon Continent.”

Those were the words that first came out of her mouth the moment she arrived and sat on.

Mother gasped, dropping the fork and spoon she had been holding with a loud clang. Father, on the other hand, looked as if he already saw this coming.

“S-Sherry, you can’t seriously think of—”

“I am serious, Mother,” she replied without flinching. “I am already ten years old, remember? I am perfectly qualified to start traveling around and being an adventurer. Father, you left your home at the same age, right?”

“Yes, that’s true, but—”

“Then there is no problem, is there?”

“There is a problem!” Mother suddenly slammed her hands to the table. “Do you have any idea how dangerous the Demon Continent is, young lady? Your father nearly died once there! If not for Myrilla, he’d be—”

“And that’s why Mother shouldn’t worry. Myrilla is going to be with me after all,” Sherry quickly retorted with a sharp look.

“You would trust someone who you just met with your life?”

“That’s enough, Renee. I trust Myrilla with my life, so for Sherry to do the same, there’s nothing wrong in doing so.”

Father finally interrupted, and judging from his expression, he most likely didn’t appreciate the tone Mother had taken on mentioning his ex-partner.

“Sherry, are you serious about this? The journey there would be tough, tougher than anything you have ever encountered in your life. Even discounting the harsh environment and the strong monsters of the Demon Continent, you would be out there with only Myrilla guiding you against the rest of the world. The hardships on becoming a wandering adventurer is not just from the quests you have to do and the monsters you have to fight. You will no doubt encounter people who would try to harm you, just like Marina did back at Aarom. You would be swindled, cheated upon, and even hurt, and the worst part about it that you wouldn’t always be able to fight back. You might think you’re really strong but there are many stronger folks out there. And if you pick fights with every single one of them, well, you’ll end up dead in a ditch sooner or later.”

Father folded his hands, looking fully serious. He was eyeing Sherry, no doubt looking whether there were any doubts displayed on her expression.

“I know,” she replied. “But I have to do it. Not just because I want to know who I really am and why I was abandoned, but also because I want to become stronger. You know very well how my progress in swordplay has been slowing down lately. No matter what you say, I don't have as much talent in it as Hugo and Marina do in magic. If I stay here, I'll never be able to catch up with them. I want to go there, and learn how an Izurd is supposed to fight."

Father didn't even try to rebuke her. Instead, he simply let out a deep sigh.

"It indeed might be best for you to continue your training there."

"Alan!" Mother glared.

"I remembered some tales on how the Izurd fights. They certainly aren’t using the same style that I have been teaching you all this time. To them, their hair is also a weapon, and they can combine it with their actual weapon to unleash a devastating barrage of attacks against their opponents. They could even use it in a defensive way, forming makeshift shields and armors at will. So I cannot lie and say that you wouldn’t get stronger if you train with them instead.”

“Then—!”

“You might go. But in one condition.” He leaned forward, looking at Sherry straight in the eye. “You will obey whatever Myrilla tells you to do. With no questions asked, alright?”

“Alan, you can’t really be saying that she should—”

“I see no uncertainty in her eyes, Renee,” he returned, looking at her. “If we forbid her, she would just run away on her own. I have no doubt about that.”

And with that, Father had given his blessings.

\--------

For the rest of lunch, Mother continued to tell her not to go, each time sounding more and more desperate to change her mind. Until eventually, Sherry was fed up with it and finished her lunch earlier than normal. She then left the house afterwards, most likely to train, judging by her statements before.

“Hugo, what do you think?” Father asked me once she left. “Do you think she should go? It’s not like you to be all quiet back then.” He gave me a small smile.

“I-I don’t know…” I answered honestly, sighing in the process. “I certainly don’t want her to go, but on the other hand, if she’s already that determined…”

“You know you would be able to convince her to stay, right? She likes you after all. Just give her some earnest tears and beg her to stay. That would surely convince her,” he answered with a light smirk. “Women like it when their men show off a little weakness once in a while. It triggers their motherhood instincts, making them want to comfort and even coddle them. If you read those female romance novels, you'd see it over and over."

"...Wait, you read those kinds of novels, Father?"

"N-no! I-I just want to see what your mother's into, that's all!" He quickly denied with a little blush on his face. 

Heh, even someone like him could get flustered by just a simple thing like that.

My thoughts quickly returned to Sherry however, wiping the little smirk I had.

Father then sighed, ruffling my hair with a smile.

"You're too mature for your own good sometimes. If you're like any other eight year old boy, you probably would have run to her and beg her not to go. But you're thinking of the bigger picture. You don't want to become Sherry's impediment. So you keep your feelings in check, hiding it behind a smile."

I paused, looking at Father with a shocked expression.

He was right. He was absolutely right.

"Ha! Of course I was right! I'm your father after all! What kind of a father who can't tell what their son is thinking?"

Our conversation unfortunately was interrupted by Mother who slammed our desert on the table. She was clearly exasperated by Sherry running off like that.

I spent the rest of the lunch in silence, deep in my own thoughts.

\----

Afterwards, I immediately went out to look for Sherry.

I had something really important that I wanted to say to her.

…

I found her a ways away from our house, on the grassy hills. And just as I expected, she was busy swinging her sword around. It seemed she was training her precision, as she was cutting the small leaves on the tree above her one by one into two, without cutting a branch or another leaf in the process.

_Amazing…_

_Would Father even be able to do something like this? He doesn’t look like the precise type in the slightest._

When she sensed my presence however, her movement became sloppy, ending it her cutting a whole branch off and then it landing right on top of her head.

“Oww!” She said as she rubbed her head.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the comical scene.

“Oh, it’s you, Hugo.” She looked at me. “What do you want?” It seemed she wasn’t pleased that I had interrupted her practice.

At first, my thought was to apologize to her, to tell her that I was sorry for becoming too strong too quickly to the point that she couldn’t catch up.

But I knew that if I said that, it would only wound her pride. She wouldn’t be happy hearing me saying that. She would feel insulted. Gravely, I might add.

I would feel the same. I saw how my siblings all grew to become successful people, with only me being the failure. If they started apologizing for their accomplishments, I would end up disliking them even more. Kindness could become condescension to an insecure person after all.

So there was only one thing that he could say to her.

“Do you want to win over me and Marina that badly?”

She returned an annoyed look, as if I had just asked something stupid.

“Of course I am. Like I said, I don’t want to be left behind by you two.”

“Then, how would you know when you’re good enough? You can no longer compare your strength with mine or Marina’s if you go there after all.”

She paused, averting her gaze away. She probably hadn’t even thought of that.

“...I’ll return when I feel I’m strong enough.”

“That’s no good! What if you always feel you’re not strong enough? Or what if you train too much and you end up being the one to leave me and Marina behind? You would make us feel bad then,” I said with a smile.

She smiled as well. She knew I was trying to humor her.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be there for long. Just until I could learn how to control my hair. I’m an Izurd after all. I have to learn that stuff, you know.”

Judging by her happy, almost proud face, I knew that she already accepted the fact that she wasn’t human. And I felt relieved for that. 

_You will never devolve into that kind of self-hate again, would you, Sherry?_

“How about this? You come back when Marina finishes attending the academy. Perfect time for us three to start adventuring, no?”

“Eh? You’re not going to go there as well?”

“Hmm, I dunno. I think I’m already good enough just having Big Sis as my teacher,” I replied with a small smirk.

I really couldn’t imagine myself wasting six years of my youth just being a student in a boarding school like that. I would be bored out of my mind quickly, after the pleasure I got from being the best student there disappeared. After all, Marina always said that I was already better than a lot of the students her age. And I would only get even better. When I was old enough to enter, I would be far and beyond my peers. Or so my cocky self believed.

I just want to become an adventurer. And that’s that.

Sherry went silent for a few moments, looking away as she thought of my request.

“Alright!” she replied with a confident grin. “Since you want it so badly, I promise I’ll be back by then!” 

She offered her hand. I readily shook it without a second thought, smiling back at her.

“Now, why don’t you train your sword skill with me for a change, Hugo? See if you can cut those leaves like I just did.”

“Eeh, I can’t even do the ranged cutting thing you’re doing!”

“Oh, don’t complain already! You just have to swing your sword fast enough!”

And so for the rest of the week, I obliged her, playing and training with her as much as I could. I didn’t get much out of it, but Sherry was easily the happiest that I had ever seen, so I was happy as well.

And then, came the day of her departure.


	29. Thomas The Pervert

Myrilla came early in the morning, before breakfast. One look at Sherry was enough to tell her that she had accepted her offer. "Get ready," she told her. "We'll depart after breakfast."

Sherry then came out with a bag filled with her clothes from her room, putting it in the corner of the room as she had her breakfast.

Mother had given up trying to convince her not to go. And now, like a worried parent, she nervously checked and rechecked and rechecked again Sherry's bag, making **absolutely** sure that she already got everything she would need. And before that, she demanded Sherry to sleep with her for the last few nights, kicking poor Father out of their bedroom in the process. I can just imagine her being smothered by Mother's big boobs as she hugged her in her sleep. Ever since she became her adopted daughter, she kinda took her as a replacement to Marina who's away for most of the year.

Speaking of Father, he gave another speech to Sherry, though this time around, it was just a string of advice relating to adventuring. But just like before, what's most important was for her to obey Myrilla.

I of course had sent a letter to Marina, informing her on what was happening. Though it would be far too late for her to do anything once the letter got into her hands.

Erika was also there, and like her usual self, she's all jealous on the attention Sherry was receiving. I had to calm her down by letting her sit on my lap.

"Is Sherry leaving?" She suddenly asked me with a curious expression, turning herself around.

"Yes, she is," I replied with a wry smile.

"For long?" she asked again.

"Yes, for long."

"Then, I can have Big Bro all for myself!" She giggled, before wrapping her little arms around my neck.

_Oh boy, don't tell me she would be one of those hyper-possessive girlfriends that would get jealous at the slightest drop of a hat in the future!_

Myrilla was also there of course, sipping a cup of tea as she munched on the bread Mother had cooked. Her gaze was fixed at Sherry all the way through. Even I could tell that she was made uncomfortable by it. She remained silent all the way through, seemingly satisfied just by examining her closely like that.

And then, the time came for her and Myrilla to leave.

\-----

There wasn’t a carriage outside waiting for them, as there would be for Marina. They were of course heading to the same direction as she would go—in fact, they would have to pass through Mira before they could go to the port town for their ship. But Myrilla had opted not to, saying how they would have to save money, as the ticket price of their ship would be quite expensive.

“And besides, I can move faster than any ordinary carriage could, if it’s really necessary,” she stated. “And I’m sure Sherry could too, if she’s truly an Izurd.”

_That’s right. Using that Wind spell of hers, she could definitely do that. And I already saw how fast Sherry could run._

_They would spend their stamina doing so though._

“Hey, Sherry, say hi to Marina for me, alright? If you got the chance to stop by in her academy, that is. It’s fine with you, isn’t it, Miss Myrilla?” I asked the older woman, hoping to soften her cold heart with my charming smile. Father already told her all about Marina and how he had decided to give her an education in Mira’s Academy of Magic.

“...I suppose it’s fine,” she answered. _Yes, I did it!_ “We can take some quests there as well. We still won’t have enough money to cross over to the Holy Continent as we are now, unfortunately. And no, Alan. I won’t take your charity,” she added. “It would be a good experience for this girl too.” She patted Sherry’s head. “Part of being an adventurer is to manage your funds after all.”

“So, you two would be staying for a while in Mira?” I asked again.

“Perhaps,” Myrilla replied. “It depends on the quest we got. It would be nice if we could get an S-rank quest that wouldn’t take us too far off our route to Tulpio.”

“Tulpio… that’s the port town where you can cross over to the Holy Continent, right?”

“Correct. I see Alan hasn’t been neglecting your geography studies. Unlike himself, who can barely even read a map,” she let out a small smirk.

“H-hey! I’m not that bad anymore, you know!” Father protested.

“Actually, Miss Myrilla, I learned it from Mother. Father really doesn’t seem to care about me learning anything that isn’t swordfighting. Mother had to be the one to teach me math (not that I needed it), writing, and all that stuff he probably finds tedious,” I shrugged.

“Hey, Hugo, don’t say that!” Father turned to me. “I care much about your education, you know!”

“And by that, I mean how he could swing a sword around like you could,” Mother chimed in with an obviously fake disappointed look.

My gaze returned back to Myrilla and, wait, did she just giggle? That's a giggle, isn't it? She covered her mouth with her hand and everything.

Seeing her like that, my heart skipped a beat.

_C-cute!_

That little giggle completely eliminated the gloomy, intimidating aura that she had been sending off all this time. For a split second, I saw the charm that lied beneath.

Mother was right. If she would act less gloomy, she could have completely won over Father's heart.

She's a long-lived demon. Eventually, she'll forget about him and move on to another man. And he'll be someone that can make her open up and relax.

_And what a lucky man he is! He'll get to be with a beautiful woman like her! Her boobs might be small but I have a hunch she's the kind of woman who would squeal really cutely if you grab them! And her dark skin certainly only adds to her exotic charm…_

My mind started to imagine a perverse sight of her laying down on the bed with a sexy pose. Her dress was pulled down, just so that you could almost see her naked breasts. With upturned eyes and a blush, she would say, "I already know what you're thinking. So just get it over with, you pervert…"

Suddenly, I felt a searing pain on my left arm, kicking me out of my fantasy immediately.

"You're drooling."

It was Erika. She was glaring after pinching me right on my skin.

_This brat! She’s not even two years old yet she’s already this sharp?_

“I doubt your big sister would be able to help us do our quests however. Wouldn’t she be busy with her assignments?” Myrilla continued.

“Hmm, that’s true... “ I had to agree. “She said she would only do adventurer work if she got free time.”

“Then we shan’t bother her. Sherry, you can just go on your own and greet her if you want.”

I sighed. _She’s just being shy, isn’t she?_

After a couple more minutes of Father and Mother saying their goodbyes to Sherry, with the latter all teary-eyed as she did it, before bombarding her with advice like “Don’t stay up too late!” and “Make sure you eat three times a day!” before Myrilla stopped her, it was finally really the time for their departure.

I walked up to Sherry and gave her the biggest smile that I could muster. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I told her, “Take care, alright? I’ll be waiting for your return every day, you know. Oh, and send letters. I want to know how the world out there is like.”

“Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to do that,” Myrilla suddenly interrupted. “The further we got from here, the more expensive it would be to send even just a letter here. When we reached the Demon Continent, the cost would be astronomical. We couldn’t afford to spend our money on such frivolous things. We Adventurers are never rich, even us S-rank ones.”

My smile dropped. “W-wait, you mean—”

“There would be no contact between you two until she returned,” Myrilla continued, completely unfazed. “Not to mention the fact that there certainly isn’t any courier service in the Izurd village. It’s a hidden place after all, far away from any civilization.”

I looked back at Sherry. A clear display of distress was drawn on her face. Even so, I knew that she wouldn’t back down on her decision, even after knowing of this setback.

“I see,” Myrilla smirked, seeing Sherry’s reaction. “You really have raised your children well, Alan, even one that is not your own.” She turned towards Father.

“Now, it’s time to say your goodbye, Sherry. And make sure it counts. You won’t be seeing him for a long time after all.”

This is it. What will it be, Sherry? A teary-eyed hug? Come on, hug me as hard as you can, though I probably won't be able to take—

Chuuuuuuuu~

Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss right on the lips.

And not just any light kiss, as she pressed herself even closer to me, deeply and greedily giving me a smooch.

If I wasn't so taken aback, I would hear the gasps of Mother and Erika. 

We stayed there for what felt like an eternity, though it's probably only around ten seconds or so, before she released me. Naturally, her face was now as red as a tomato. Looking away bashfully, she mumbled, "T-that's to remember me, alright? D-don't go kissing any other girls while I'm gone!"

I froze in the spot, no doubt just as red-faced as she was. I was still too flustered to notice ce that Erika was now hugging my arm, giving a glare towards Sherry, while Mother was grinning ear-to-ear.

“Come.”

Myrilla didn’t say anything, or even react in any shape or form. It was as if she already expected this to happen.

And with me being dazed from Sherry’s passionate kiss, the two left at last.

\--------

**Marina**

When I read Hugo’s letter telling me how Sherry was leaving, I nearly choked on my tea.

Naturally, it was news I was not expecting in the slightest.

I always suspected that Sherry wasn’t actually human, knowing how unnaturally strong she was. But to think that she would leave us in this manner…

Well, I wouldn't stop her. If it's what she wanted, then I would only wish the best for her.

I would miss her though. She's a lovely girl. I had enjoyed her company all these years.

_I just hope that Hugo isn't too heartbroken from it. Ah, if only I could be there to comfort him..._

Though knowing the route they would take, they would surely pass through this city. I wonder if they would make a visit here. Hmm, maybe I should tell the guards, just in case, so they wouldn’t be kicked off the premises.

Now, how should I write my reply letter to Hugo? Of course, I would have to send some words of comfort to him, but other than that? I suppose I could tell how I was advancing in my lessons as usual.

Hmm, should I tell him about what I recently discovered about that hobbit boy? Hehe, he seemed to be all concerned about him after all.

When I told him how I had this one hobbit who was bothering me, he immediately went into an uproar, angrily saying that if he could be here with me, he would tell him to go take a hike and never get close to me again. Aaw, how sweet. And was that a hint of jealousy I sensed from him? As your big sister, I was really glad to hear that, Hugo.

But he really shouldn't worry that much. He would never endear himself to me. Especially after what I saw of him this last Sunday.

\----

I was there, doing a quest to make and deliver a medicine. Even though I wasn't any good in alchemy, I still could manage to create such a basic drug.

The delivery's destination however took me to the red-light district of the capital, where you could find the usual business being done in such a place. Ignoring all the scantily clad women standing on the sides of the street, trying to attract any customers that would visit. I just happened to finish the potion at nighttime, so the place was absolutely bursting.

I wasn’t a coward that would just decide to come in the morning though. I pressed on, wanting to finish my quest as fast as I could.

“Whooooaaaa, look what we have here! What a cute little girl you are! Here, come to Papa and I will—”

With a roll of my eyes, I grew a vine under his feet, tripping the drunk over to the hard stone street where we were walking on. Judging by the scream of pain coming from him, he probably had broken his nose from that.

This is why I despise drunks. Especially when they’re perverts as well.

\----

I soon arrived at my destination. “Heaven’s Dreamer”. _What a gaudy name. But I suppose it matches the gaudy sign as well._

I entered without delay, to the front section of the building which acted as a tavern where patrons could get all drunk before they moved on the main course.

That was just my assumption though. It’s not like I knew how this kind of adult thing really worked.

What greeted me was overwhelming loudness, as the place was absolutely crowded. There was not a single empty table in sight.

“Oi, Missy! One more round over here!” One bearded, gruff-looking man shouted. He was surrounded by three beautiful girls, all fawning over him. Judging by his stature, he was most likely a dwarf. Hmm, I certainly had seen a couple of dwarves before around the city, but they were certainly a rarity. The girls on the other hand were all elves. _So he’s an elf lover, huh?_

I pulled my attention away. Why should I be paying any attention at the debauchery going on? 

I looked at the far end of the room. _Ah, I should go there._ I saw the bartender, busy pouring drinks after drinks into what could be described as a full row of beer mugs in front of her.

_Oh, a succubus?_

There was no doubt about it. Her horns, her tail, and her wings… it was all there. And of course, her voluptuous bosom as well. I don’t think you can be a succubus without a fully mature body like that.

I walked over to her and said, “Miss Kyleli?”

She nearly dropped the mug she was holding.

“W-what? Who? W-who are… a-a girl?”

“I have a delivery for you. You posted a quest asking for a medicine for a sprained ankle, correct?” I popped out the package from my dimensional storage with a wave of my wand. “Here it is. I would like you to sign this paper as well as a sign that I have delivered it to you.” I popped out a sheet of brown paper as well.

“R-right… of course you wouldn’t be visiting a place like this as a customer. And we don’t offer young girls as companions as well.”

As she opened the package and signed the paper, I looked around the room. As expected, all the patrons there were male. Most of the brothels here were naturally aimed at them, though I saw one or two that were female-oriented instead on my way here, with male workers tending to the female customers.

Not that I would ever be interested in such places. I would never get that desperate for companionship. I’d rather end my own life rather than degrade myself that way.

And then, I noticed him.

The hobbit boy that had been bothering me nearly every day, asking to be my friend over and over again.

He was in the far corner of the room sitting on a sofa, with four scantily clad girls all attending to him. Two squished his head between their boobs, while the other two were rubbing his chest.

_He's here?!_

I walked closer out of simple morbid curiosity, far enough for him not to notice me but close enough for me to hear what they were saying.

“What’s the matter, Tom? You want to touch Big Sis' chest? You have been staring at them all this time, you know." One of the girls giggled, poking him on the cheek.

"Aww, no fair! My chest is bigger than yours! So he should be touching mine instead!" Another girl pouted, squeezing her two mounds with the sides of her arms.

"Oh dear, I see something rising up down here. I didn't know that you're such a naughty boy, Tom!"

"Getting turned on by your big sisters… that's real naughty indeed!"

"Ehehehehe! All of you are just so beautiful I can't help myself! I'm the luckiest boy in the world to have four beautiful big sisters like you all!"

With a lecherous grin on his face, he began to grope two of the four girls, each responding with lewd moans that were clearly faked.

"Mmm, you really are one naughty little brother, Tom!"

"And naughty boys need to be punished~"

The moment one of the girls went down on his crotch, I decided that I had enough and returned back to the bartender.

_I knew it! His whole innocent act is just a lie! This is his real self, a pervert that makes prostitutes pretend to be his big sisters!_

_And to think that he calls me "Big Sis'" as well! Urrghh, who does he think he is?_

‘Hmm? What’s the matter? That disgusted look on your face… Is this the first time you’ve been in a brothel, little girl?” The bartender giggled. I gave a little nod in return, impatiently waiting for her to return the proof of delivery. I just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. “Please don’t be too harsh on our customers. They’re just lonely souls that come here to unwind and relax from the harshness of the real world.”

“Hmph! All I see are perverts! Nothing more!” I retorted.

“Hehe, you’re still young so you wouldn’t understand. Maybe when you’re older, and you realize you can’t get any boyfriends to cuddle with and warm your bed in the night, then you’ll see the value of our establishment. Though with how cute you are, I doubt that would happen.”

She then handed over the paper back to me, signed with her signature.

“There! Thank you very much, by the way! One of our girls sprained her ankle and it made her unable to do her job properly! This way, she could get back in action in no time at all!”

As I left the building, her words echoed inside me.

_The value of a brothel, huh? I doubt I would ever be able to see it._

_I do know one thing though._

_Hugo would never use such a service._

_He would get a girlfriend, marries her, and then uses her for his comfort. And in return, he would give comfort to her as well._

_And if I were ever to get married, I too would try to be my husband’s comfort as best as I could._

_That would still be a long time away though._


	30. A New Friend? Enemy? Frenemy? Who Cares! Bubble Girl Makes Her Appearance!

**Sherry**

Our first destination was Mira, the capital of the Magocracy. We alternated between walking and running, me with my feet and her using her wind spell. I knew however that my stamina was no match compared to her mana capacity. When I got tired, she clearly could still get going. But she was patient with me, telling us that we're going to take a break everytime it occured.

I could tell just how powerful of a mage she was, to the point that I didn't dare to ask for a sparring match to train. She would just mop the floor with me. And it wouldn't even be close.

_Yet another reason why I must get stronger…_

I noticed another thing that bothered me. That is, how much Myrilla was drawing attention everywhere she went.

People in the villages we passed by would openly stare at her ears and antennas, with some children even asking their mothers about it, only to be responded by a harsh whisper on how she was a demon.

I don't know how she could bear it. If I was her, I would never be able to show myself in public again.

When I asked her about it, she replied that her race was also quite rare, though nowhere near as rare as mine. Many people would live their entire lives never seeing a Nerthus, so she completely understood why people would stare at her like that. She also told me that it would get better the more we got closer to the capital.

“When we reach the Holy Continent however, expect it to get worse. Much worse,” she warned. “They don’t take kindly to any demons in the slightest.”

My heart sank. If it’s already this bad here, how bad would it be there?

Noticing my distressed look, she put her hand on my shoulder with a smile and said, “Don’t feel bad. They won’t bother you, just me. You don’t look like a demon after all.”

I knew she meant to comfort me by those words, but I didn’t feel any relief whatsoever. I didn’t want to see her being treated badly after all. Now that I knew I was a demon, just like her, I felt a certain sense of camaraderie towards her. Or perhaps I was simply projecting myself on her place.

“I see. You’re worried about me, aren’t you? Don’t. I’ve been used to it for many years now, ever since I departed from my home all those years ago.”

...There really was no hiding from her, huh? She could read minds after all.

Or maybe it’s just my expression that’s too obvious. I’m never good at lying after all.

We rested in the cheapest inns we could find along the way. We naturally shared the same room and bed, both to save money and for safety. At the very least, she would always keep to her side of the bed, and not hug me like Hugo’s mother always did every time we slept together.

It’s not like I hate it or anything, it’s just that… it’s really quite embarrassing, you know...

And if Myrilla starts doing it as well, I wouldn’t know how to feel or react...

I expected her to be like that though. Unlike Hugo’s mother, she was far less open with her emotions. She would only rarely show any expression on her face. So I imagined she’s the kind of woman who wouldn’t show her affections openly either.

However, I was still bothered by one thing and one thing only.

The fact that she would freely change her clothes in front of me.

It wasn’t because it was an unpleasant sight. The opposite, in fact. She was beautiful, and that beauty was hidden under the heavy robes she always wore every day. Her chest was actually decently sized (though still nowhere near Hugo's mother, obviously) and her bottom was tight, only enhanced by the skimpy black panties she was wearing (to think that she wore those under her modest robes). The hourglass figure was certainly there.

I blushed at sight. I wondered if I would have an amazing body like hers when I grew up.

_Hugo would like me more if I do for sure…_

That night, I secretly prayed to the Saint to grant me a figure just as attractive as hers.

I didn't ask much. I didn't dare to ask Her to give me a big and voloptous chest like Renee's, though I knew Hugo would love it for sure. I just wanted a body that could attract him.

And then, before I knew it, around two weeks later, we had arrived.

\--------

_Whoaaa…._

My jaw opened as I saw the city in the distance.

It was large, much larger than Aarom, which was already a large city of its own right. Or maybe Aarom was the small one, and this was how a large city was supposed to look. I wouldn’t know. I never went anywhere after all. Only now I saw a city as large as this one.

_Mira, the City of Magic… they say the strongest mages in the world gather here…._

“Or so their citizens would claim.” Myrilla snapped me out of my reverie. Once again, she was reading my thoughts freely. I certainly could’ve protested the invasion of privacy, but I decided I didn’t really care. It made our communication easier and less awkward.

As long as she’s not reading any embarrassing thoughts, that is.

“You think they’re mistaken?” I asked back.

“Strong mages don’t just belong to the Magocracy,” she answered, before walking away, cutting the conversation short.

_Like her, I suppose. She’s a strong mage, but she doesn’t work for them._

\------

When we reached the gates, I felt as if I was an ant looking at a giant.

In front of us was a tall and large pitch-black double leaf door that looked like it was made out of iron—the same color as the rest of the walls. When I got closer, I noticed the odd patterns and symbols written on it, barely noticeable on the pitch black door. They were opened all the way.

"Those patterns and symbols are runes," Myrilla immediately explained, reading my mind once again. "They enchant the gates and walls with magic."

"Oh, I see…"

I never asked Marina or Hugo to teach me anything magic-related, knowing that I had no talent in it whatsoever. And now I couldn't help but regret it a little.

"And that isn't iron. That's obsidian. It's quite conductive to magic so if you're going to create enchanted gates or walls, it's a good choice to take," she explained further.

_Would Hugo know this kind of stuff?_

_Of course he would. He's really smart after all. Unlike me, who can only swing a sword around…_

\----

As promised, after getting a room at an inn, we immediately went to the Magic Academy to pay Marina a visit.

The academy was located in the southeastern corner, away from the four large roads that converged on the center of the city. It’s located in its own complex that was secluded from the rest of the city, separated by a series of greenery that made it look as if the academy was in the middle of a forest. In fact, you could almost say that there’s a tiny forest inside the city walls.

“All these plants inside a city… this could only be done by magic, right?” I asked, as my twinkling eyes wandered around to the sides.

“Not necessarily, though knowing them, they definitely grew and managed all these trees using it. No need to employ hundreds of gardeners for the same job that a competent enough Earth mage could accomplish,” Myrilla answered. “And notice how the wind is always perfectly gentle, blowing in an almost perfect rhythm every minute or so? And how the humidity is just perfect? That’s the work of a Wind mage and a Water mage.”

“So magic can be used that way too…” I said, impressed by the revelation. I always thought magic was just you throwing fireballs to attack your opponent.

“Magic can be used for all sorts of things. What separates a clever mage from a dull one is how creative he or she could use their spells, both in and out of combat.”

The world of magic might be far deeper than I originally had thought.

\------

We soon arrived at the front gate of the academy complex. As we had feared, there were guards posted outside, blocking our entry. However, unlike the guards in Aarom, they wore robes and pointed hats instead. They were mage guards, with some of them wielding staffs while some others had wands ready instead.

“Mind stating your business, Ma’am?” One of them said to Myrilla. At least they seemed to be polite.

“We’re here to meet Marina Greenwood, one of the students residing here,” she answered promptly. “I’m a friend of her father’s, while she is her little sister.” She pointed at me.

“Then, please state your name, Ma’am,” the guard asked back.

“I’m Myrilla and she is Sherry.”

The guard then eyed both of us from top to bottom for a good while, before replying, “Very well. Miss Marina already told us that you were coming. I shall escort you to the visitor hall. This is still in lesson hours you see, so she wouldn’t be able to join you, right away.”

With a flick of his wand, the guard opened the gate, before leading us inside.

_“Miss” Marina? So you become a bigwig if you’re a student of this school, huh?_

\------

_So this is the Academy… How many of my old orphanages can fit inside here? This doesn’t even feel like it’s inside a city anymore..._

Once again, I was taken aback by how spacious my surroundings were. I could just imagine how much I would love to be a student here! With how pleasant everything was here, I would have no problem in learning my maths and vocabularies to be sure (though I wasn’t sure if they even taught those subjects here, seeing how it’s a magic school and all).

_Now that I think about it, I’m at the perfect age to enroll. They accept 10-year olds as their first year students, right, if I remember correctly what Marina once told me?_

I didn’t see any students around, which didn’t really surprise me seeing how the guard said that they were in their classes right now.

We soon arrived at the waiting room. It was a decently large room with comfortable sofas that we could sit in. They were even kind enough to place some cookies in a jar on the table in front of us. I didn’t hesitate. Once the guard was gone, I quickly opened the jar and took out some.

_Mmm, they’re delicious!_

I didn’t notice Myrilla sighing as a result. Only after I finished eating the first one that I realized she wasn’t happy at all to be told to wait like this.

“Oh, hello there.”

Suddenly, a voice called out to us, from across the room.

The room was pretty much empty, except for another person across us that my eyes must have glazed over without realizing.

She was a girl older than me, perhaps around the higher teens in age. She had long blue hair that went down to her waist, and she wore what certainly looked like a stereotypical mage outfit like the ones those guards had worn. The only difference that she wore a short skirt that clearly flaunted her legs. And the way she sat with one leg crossed over the other certainly didn’t help matters either. 

“You two want to meet with a student as well?” she asked with a cheerful smile. “Me too! I’m not a relative though. I’m just a simple messenger.”

“It’s none of your business,” Myrilla coldly replied, clearly looking a bit annoyed.

“Aaw, don’t be such a sourpuss! You’re a Nerthus, right? Why don’t you read my mind to find out who I am waiting for? Don’t read anything else though!”

Myrilla decided not to reply, only sending her another glare before pulling a book in a nearby bookshelf with her telepathy and opening it immediately.

“Ah, the classic ‘I’m reading a book so I don’t want to talk to you!’ response! It’s like you’re a grumpy schoolgirl instead of whatever age you’re currently at now. You demons live long, youthful lives after all.”

...Okay, now I’m starting to feel annoyed as well. There’s just something about her demeanour that makes you want to get angry with her. And I’m not sure if she’s doing it intentionally or not.

Before I could say anything to her however, the door on the far side of the room opened.

It was Marina, walking in with a redheaded girl I wasn’t familiar with.

“Ah, Alincia! About time!” The blue-haired girl spoke. “Here! Take a seat beside me!”

_So the redhead’s name is Alincia… Wait, isn’t that the girl Marina liked to talk about?_

“Do you know who I am?” The blue-haired girl then asked.

“Umm, no? Should I?” Alincia tilted her head.

“We’ve met before, you know. Though you’re pretty young back then.”

Alincia exchanged looks with Marina, who just shrugged in return.

“Oh well.” She sighed. “Guess I’ll start with an introduction then.”

She stood up and offered her hand to the shorter girl. She gingerly took it.

“I’m Elunmidis Brine. Or Elun for short. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alincia,” she said with a small grin as she shook her hand.

Immediately Alincia’s eyes turned wide open. “Y-you’re the daughter of Selendia Brine?”

“Yep! That’s my mother alright!” She proudly replied, as she sat back down, crossing her legs once more.

I had no idea who she was, but even I could tell that she was someone important.

“Selendia Brine. One of the mages that sat on the Council. Her title is the Lady of the Depths. A powerful Water Mage they said to have made a summoning pact with a Leviathan. Her most famous—or rather, infamous—deed however was how she brought ruin to Ledo, a small kingdom that used to exist to the east of the Magocracy ten years ago. With her magic, she drowned the entire capital, leaving not a single survivor. Their territory was now hers, naturally,” Marina commented.

“Hey, hey! Don’t make my Mother sound like a bad guy! Those Ledo guys are planning to invade the Magocracy, you know! And that’s after they tried to assassinate members of the Council! All just because they refused to honor the deal of selling all their Mana Stones to us! They’re going to sell it to the Holy Empire instead! Can you believe that? I say those greedy folks get what they deserve!”

I glanced back at Marina, hoping for her to give more explanations. I had no idea what Mana Stones were, only that they were something mages liked to use. I did understand that the Holy Empire was the Magocracy’s enemy however.

“Aanyway,” She turned back to face Alincia. “I come here to bring you some good news! The necromancer girl that killed your sister… I’ve found her!”

This immediately turned Alincia as pale as a sheet. Even Marina looked visibly surprised.

Playing with her blue locks, she continued. “She’s one slippery worm though. She has attached herself into one of the vassal kingdom’s rulers as one of his many mistresses and his personal mage. She knew that she would be targeted by the Magocracy, and by doing so, she gave protection to herself."

"Hmph, what a girl. She didn’t even hesitate to use her body yet again to get what she wanted." She grumpily folded her arms under her chest, leaning back on her sofa.

"Where is she?" Alincia immediately asked, a clear look of anger now drawn on her face. Her fists were shaking as well.

"Can't tell you that unfortunately. Your grandpa's orders. He doesn't want you getting any stupid ideas." She wiggled her index finger.

"Tell me! I must know! You're part of the group that chases after her, right? Then take me with you!" She walked over to her.

Only for her to suddenly trip over nothing, landing face-first to the floor.

“Ouch. That looks painful.” She uncrossed her legs and stood up. “Alright!” She clapped her hands. “I’ve delivered the message. Figures you at least deserve that, as her big sister. Don’t worry. I won’t make a move to kill her anytime soon. You see, your grandfather also told us that she wanted her alive to be tried and executed here. Judging by his wrathful look, he probably wanted a complete public execution for her, where she would be booed and humiliated by our dear citizens before being tortured for as long as possible until she begged for her death out of her own mouth. So my job had just gotten even harder.” She shrugged her shoulders with a sigh.

“Honestly, I’ve told you too much already. Your grandpa also instructed me to not tell anything about my investigation to you or anyone else not in the Council. So Marina—” She suddenly switched her attention to her. “—I would appreciate if you don’t share this information around. And you two as well.” She then looked at us, who had just been sitting speechlessly on our sofa.

She then began walking to the exit, before suddenly, Myrilla spoke up, stopping her in her tracks.

“Bubble. You tripped her with your bubble, didn’t you?”

Smiling, she turned around immediately. “Correct!” Suddenly, numerous bubbles floated around her, appearing out of thin air. “You’re quite the perceptive one, aren’t you, Nerthus? Or were you just reading my mind?”

“I don’t need to read your mind to see an attack like that,” she replied, giving her a cold look.

“Ooo, scary!” She then abruptly turned to Marina. “How about you, Marina? Did you see it too?”

“I… I didn’t…” she answered with a look of shame.

“Hehe! Not on that level yet, aren’t you?” She giggled, a pleased look on her face. “Well, keep training! I’m sure with your amazing talent, you’ll reach that level soon enough.”

And with that said, she left the room, but not without leaving her bubbles behind her, forming something like a wall that blocked anyone from following her. And then, a jet of water fired off behind her shoes, speeding her up considerably.

I moved to chase her, but Myrilla quickly placed her hand on my shoulder, shaking her head.

_Don’t. She’s out of your league._

I gasped. D-did she just speak into my mind?

Marina was about to do the same, but she stopped as well, shifting her attention towards Myrilla. Most likely she too had sent a message to her mind.

When I heard the sobs coming from Alincia, I decided that I positively disliked that girl.

Marina quickly moved in and helped her friend stand back up.

Myrilla sighed. “I suppose this is a bad time to visit?”

Marina sighed as well. “I’ll go meet with you two tomorrow morning. I don’t have any classes then. Tell me where you’re staying and I’ll go there. We’ll have our chat then.”

As she gave her teary-eyed friend a hug and a gentle pat on the back, no doubt in an effort to calm her down, she watched us leave. I was about to ask her “Just what is going on here?!”, but she shook her head, telling me that it wasn’t the time.

Only after we exited the academy’s gate that Myrilla decided to speak back up.

"Tell Marina tomorrow not to get involved with that Alincia girl."

"W-what?! But w—"

"Maybe she'll listen better to you than to me. Tell her that it's never a good idea to get yourself wrapped up with the higher-ups of a country like that. She befriended one and now she got the attention of another. It's the same as she being close to two princesses at the same time. And of rivaling houses at that."

"I-isn't that a good thing, though? To be friends with important people like that?"

"It only brings trouble. You'll just end up being pawns in their game of chess."

“I see…”

I didn’t reply any further. She knew better after all. If she said so, then it must be true. Who am I, who has no experience in the world, to doubt her?

But I knew how Marina was. She would never abandon a friend just because of that.

_Hugo… what would you say if you were here?_


	31. Crossroads

**Marina**

_Aah, what a terrible mess this has become… To think that out of the blue, we’re going to get more information on the necromancer like this... I naively thought that they would just have given up on her seeing how she had fled to the Holy Continent, but of course they wouldn’t. She had murdered the granddaughter of a Council member, as well as a number of other daughters of less prominent but still decently influential mage families…_

_Felicia Myne… just what kind of a person are you?_

\------

Just a few moments after Sherry and who I assumed to be Myrilla left (I only knew her from Hugo's letter after all), Alincia finally calmed down.

She then told me that she wasn't crying because that girl had tripped her and made her fall to the floor (though I was pretty sure that was a part of it), but because she suddenly realized just how much she still missed her big sister.

I figured that all this time she had used me as her replacement, and only now, with this news, that the feelings she had buried resurfaced again.

_That girl…. Why did she tell her this? If it’s decreed classified information from the Council, just telling it out in the open like that is a very reckless thing to do, isn’t it?_

I only met her today, though I already knew her name. Elunmidis Brine. She already graduated from the Academy when I entered. A powerful Water Mage, following the path of her mother.

With a personality like that, I didn’t believe I could grow to like her. She seemed to be the type to take everything in an easygoing, not-serious manner. Even someone’s sorrow.

_Just like flowing water, uncaring in the slightest on where it comes from and where it’s going._

A common saying was that a mage’s spell aptitude was reflected on his or her personality. Even though there was not a single research that could prove such a theorem.

But if I am to apply it to myself, then I suppose I would be the stable, reliable type. My best element is Earth after all.

I’m fine with that. I like to think of myself as the reliable big sister type after all.

“H-hey, Marina?.” Alincia then spoke, looking terribly unsure whether she should say what she was about to say.

“Yes, Alincia?” I replied with a smile, comforting her, telling her to just let it out.

“C-can you make me stronger? Train me how to fight using my magic better. You’re really strong after all. I hear you’re never defeated in your magic duel class. A perfect record, ever since you entered.”

That was true. I indeed held that record.

Not that I wanted it. I didn’t even try to keep it. I didn’t push myself to train day and night to do it. The only training that I did was to try out new theories that I had in my mind on my magic and how to develop and evolve them further. I did it out of pure curiosity, not to search for power like Alincia seemed to want.

“So please! Take me as your disciple! I-I’ll call you Master if you want!”

“Please don’t.” I sighed. “That would just be embarrassing.”

“T-then, you—”

“Yes, I can teach you. My specialty is not Fire spells though.”

Just like her big sister and her grandfather, she had the most affinity with Fire spells.

“Yay! Thank you, Master!” She immediately jumped to give me a hug.

“I told you not to call me that!”

\-----

Tomorrow morning, before breakfast, I left the Academy to go to the inn Myrilla had told me. I figured we would have our morning meal together, even if the food there was probably less delicious than the one the Academy’s cafetaria served.

The inn was located in a decent enough part of the city. Not in the rich, well-off part to be sure, but not in the slums either. I was glad to see that fact, since that meant Myrilla, who would become Sherry’s guardian for their journey, knew well enough that it wasn’t worth it to be a miser who only slept in the cheapest, worst inn in every city and village they visited. Such places risked a higher amount of thieves and even kidnappers who would take you away and make you a slave to be sold. Though honestly, if Myrilla was really the S-rank adventurer she was, it could almost never happen to her. I said almost, since there was always a chance of the slaver being on her level or even more, though however slim. Not to mention that if they were smart, they would use poison to weaken her severely to the point that she couldn’t even fight properly anymore. Just because the enemy is far weaker than you doesn’t always mean that you’re completely invincible. The incident with the necromancer taught me that.

I was worried about Sherry however. She could be the only one that’s kidnapped, though looking as she was, there’s little chance that they would think of her as a threat. And that would be their undoing.

I soon arrived at said inn, and entering, I was immediately called over by Sherry who was sitting in the tavern just beside the small reception hall.

“Good morning, Sherry. Myrilla.” I said with a smile as I took my seat. “So, mind telling me in detail about you two going to the Demon Continent to take Sherry to her Homeland?"

I didn't hold back. I really wanted to know what was going on.

"It's simple," Myrilla readily answered. "Sherry just wants to—"

"I-I'll answer," Sherry interrupted.

She then told me everything. How she wanted to know who her real parents and relatives were, and how she wanted to become stronger for Hugo's sake. She even told me how she was feeling insecure that I and Hugo were outclassing her.

"Sherry…" I said to her as gently as I could, taking her hands. "If you think that me and Hugo would like you less just because you're weaker than us, then you're gravely mistaken."

"I know that. But still…" She lowered her gaze.

"Still, you want to be stronger. I think that's an admirable goal, Sherry." My smile became slightly wider. "My little brother is lucky that he has a girl like you to be his future wife."

"F-future wife?" Oh, how cute! She immediately turned crimson from that!

"I gave you my approval to marry him, as long as you continue to love him like this, that is." I winked. "So do your best there, alright? And go back really strong."

"So strong that you can just force him to bed if he ever gets too lazy to do **that** with you." I leaned forward and whispered these last words to her ears.

I couldn't resist. I just had to tell her that. I could easily see her dominate him in bed, with how much stronger physically than him.

Not to mention that if Hugo ever stopped paying attention to a lovely girl, soon to be a woman, like this, he deserved to be punished a little. I believed that it's a husband's duty to always love his wife, both in and out of bed. And I fully intended to find a husband that agreed with me on that matter without any compromise.

Ah, here I went again, on my wild delusions. This happened more and more often as I grew older. I was at that age after all, where a girl became a woman. Even I, who normally only cared about books and magic, was starting to feel that desire.

My classmates were like that as well. Just the last day, I caught one of them going at it with a boy from a different class.

No, not **that.** But they were embracing and kissing sloppily in one of the many empty alleyways in the academy, and I just happened to go past them.

It was an embarrassing sight. And yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

When they finished, there was a disgusting trail of saliva between their mouths. But they were both smiling brightly at the end, as if they had just experienced the utmost happiness that they had ever experienced.

I didn’t know what to think, or feel about it.

Only that I certainly felt a little pang of jealousy in my heart, saying that I indeed would like to have a kiss like that someday with someone.

I quickly put it on the back of my mind however. I was always good at forgetting things that didn’t really matter after all.

A lover? I’m still far too young and unwise for that.

After Sherry told her tale, Myrilla chimed in, telling what they were planning to do afterwards. They would go to the Guild and see what quests they could get. They needed to fund their travel first after all, just like a real adventurer. Sherry would need to get registered as well.

I asked to go with them. I wanted to see the quests there as well.

\-------

As usual, the place was crowded with adventurers looking for quests to take. They needed to come early after all or else the good quests would all be gone in a flash.

“Urgh, there’s too many people around!” Sherry protested, though only to herself.

“You can just push them aside, you know. You can do it, can’t you? With your strength?” I suggested in a joking manner.

Only for her to actually do what I told.

“W-what? What the—”

“Hey, watch it— huh?”

“Kyaah! Who touched my butt, you pervert?”

_Yep. As I thought., most of the adventurers here are low-level ones. They don’t have the power to resist even a gentle push from her._

They all now gave a confused look at her however. Did this little girl just push us aside like we were nothing? They must be thinking something like that.

Myrilla immediately followed, taking the path that Sherry had made. I followed as well, of course.

“Let’s see here… A quest to find a missing cat? Nah. Herb gathering quest? Nope. We want something S-ranked, right?” She looked back at Myrilla.

Myrilla ignored her entirely however. Instead, she pushed her a bit to the side, wanting to get a closer look at the parchments posted on the bulletin board.

“Whoa, look at her!”

“She got those weird antennas on her head!”

“And her ears are odd as well!”

Immediately the attention of the crowd moved to her. She seemed not to be bothered with it in the slightest however.

“Here.” She suddenly pulled off one of the parchments on the top. “This is the quest.”

Once again, she ignored Sherry, who asked what the quest was like a gleeful child. She walked over to the receptionist and placed the parchment on the table.

“Here. I’ll take this quest.”

The receptionist, who had been staring at her as well, immediately averted her gaze, turning it towards the parchment.

“This is… a quest to kill a red manticore?” She looked up at her in disbelief. “It’s an A-rank monster, you know. And what rank are you exactly?”

Myrilla didn’t answer. Instead, she just put down her card on the table as well.

“S-S rank? Wow, haven't seen them in a while around here. Our land's too peaceful for them, I suppose." She shrugged with a sigh.

"Alright, you can take it. An S-rank could take care of an S-rank monster on her own. Probably."

She then stamped the parchment and put it inside her desk.

"You know the Tottima Volcano up northeast? The red manticore should be there, way up.”

“I can read just fine, thank you very much,” Myrilla dryly responded. 

“Hey, you’re a foreigner, after all. Maybe you don’t know your way around the Magocracy.” She shrugged again.

_She’s always this easygoing—this young woman._

It was then Sherry’s turn to speak with her. She asked for her to be registered, and to my surprise, she filled in on the form given that she was an Izurd, not a human.

_So she’s already proud of her heritage. And here I thought she would still be ashamed of it._

_You helped her with it, didn’t you, Hugo?_ I thought with a smile.

After she was finished, the receptionist took the form and read it.

“An Izurd? What is that?” She asked with her eyebrows raised. “Aren’t you a human?”

“Nope! I’m a demon! Just like her!” She gestured towards Myrilla. “You probably don’t know my kind though. They’re pretty rare after all.”

The receptionist just gave her a blank look for several seconds before sighing yet again. “Alright. It’s your problem if you get found out falsifying your info, you know.”

After waiting for a couple of minutes as the receptionist went to the backroom, she reappeared with a shiny new card on her hand. She gave it to Sherry, who accepted it as if she just received the biggest candy in the world.

“Take care of it, alright? It’s your proof of identity as an adventurer.”

Sherry hurriedly put it in inside her dress pocket after admiring it for a good while.

Myrilla then turned towards me and said, “I suppose we’re not staying here after all, unfortunately.”

“The Tottima volcano, huh? I’ve never been there myself. It’s the territory of the Salamander family, if I remembered correctly. It’s pretty far from here.” I told her. “Won’t be able to go with you two even if I wanted to. Would take days to get there after all.”

Suddenly, I was assaulted by a hug from Sherry.

“I’m going to miss you, Big Sis Marina.”

“Big Sis? You never called me that before,” I replied, genuinely taken aback.

“Hehe, I thought I’m going to try doing it, even if just once,” she replied with a smile. Even when her eyes were starting to water. “Feels weird after all.”

“Oh you…” I smiled, patting her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Hugo while you’re gone. I’ll make sure he stays the cute and gentlemanly boy that you like so much, alright?”

“Alright.” She giggled. “Don’t get too close to him while I’m gone though!”

I let out a tiny laugh. “What? Getting jealous?”

“No, but I know—” She stood on her toes, whispering the rest of her words to my right ear. “—that you gave him your panties.”

...Never before I was pierced with a statement like that.

My dirty little secret… Sherry had known it all along… 

Immediately my face went beet red, my normally calm demeanour vanishing entirely.

Seeing my reaction, it was Sherry’s turn to laugh. She whispered again, “I gave him mine as well. I’m not going to lose to you, you know!”

I didn’t notice at the time, but Myrilla was looking at both of us in confusion. Thankfully, she didn’t decide to use her mind reading power, or else my naughty act would have been revealed to her as well.

And with those words, the two left Mira.

I watched them as they departed out of the eastern gate, waving my arm as they vanished up the hill.

They wouldn’t return here for a very long time, I imagined. They could turn in their quest on the nearest guild branch there and then they would make a beeline to the Holy Continent from Tulpio. That amount of payment was probably enough to get two tickets on the ship.

With a smile on my face, I rested my arm. 

_Good luck Sherry. Come back strong, just as you want._

_I’ll keep polishing my magic as well, so I won’t lose to you or Hugo._

_Then, we can all have a fun journey around the world as adventurers._

\--------

I spent the rest of my third year at the Academy without any further notable events. I started training Alincia in the ways of a “fighting mage”, and I had to say, she was still far from her big sister. Unlike her who could already reach the rank of Master, she was still struggling doing Advanced-level spells. She could cast Advanced-level Fire magic just fine, but the other elements? Not so much.

Instead of trying to make her able to master all the elements like I did with Hugo, I decided the best way was just to focus on the Fire element from now. It’s her affinity after all. I wanted her to cast said spells faster, and without incantation, if possible. I told her to focus, to feel the flame on the tip of her wand, and to not fear it in the slightest. Fear made you lose control. If a swordsman feared his blade, how could he swing it around well? The same principle applied to us mages.

We never heard from Elun again. She probably had returned to the Holy Continent to continue her spying on the necromancer girl.

As for a certain hobbit boy, I now avoided him entirely, giving him a look of disgust in the process. Everytime I did, he used his acting skills to pretend that he was a hurt puppy, giving me this look that honestly pained me. I had to keep reminding myself that he was a pervert who would employ prostitutes to pretend to be his big sister. Thank goodness that he didn’t have any actual big sister, or else she would’ve probably been molested by him or something.

Before I knew it, it was the end of the third year, and it was time for me to return home for the summer once again.

_I wonder how Hugo’s doing…_

In his letters, he had stopped mentioning Sherry entirely. Now he talked about Erika instead, who was growing more and more as time passed. I could sense how proud he was of her, which was certainly a pleasant thing to hear. She needed love from him as well after all.

“Well, time to find out,” I whispered to myself as I boarded the carriage that would take me home.


	32. Hugo’s Loneliness

**Hugo**

_Haah…._

I sighed yet again. For what must be the 20th time now.

As you can see, I am quite in the dumps right now.

And as you can probably guess, it's because of Sherry.

Her letters… they came less and less frequent as the months went by. And I expected them to stop coming entirely soon enough. 

And my mood slowly soured with that, to the point that I wasn’t that spirited anymore to continue my daily training.

 _Goddamnit, Hugo. She’s out there training to be strong for your sake and yet you’re just going to laze around?_ I scolded myself.

If only Marina was here, I would no doubt feel refreshed in an instant. She always knew how to cheer me up. But it was still a couple more months until she returned in the summer.

I missed Sherry. I really did. I missed admiring her long and smooth black hair that shone under the sunlight; I missed her cute little smiles; 

And most of all, I missed the rivalry between us.

Guess the saying was right. You don't know what you have until it slips out of your hands.

At first, I thought that I could get through it just fine. I thought I could just replace her presence with Erika’s. But, as cute as my little sister might be, she was still too young to have a meaningful conversation or interaction with She just wanted to cling to me and that’s it. Nothing else. She asked me to teach me magic once, but she immediately gave up and cried when she found out she couldn’t learn any of the basics immediately. Not that I would expect her to be, with her still being one and a half years old. I doubted she could even understand my instructions. She was just swaying her arms around, spelling the chant slowly as the words were still too complex for her.

Yeah, she’d been watching me train with Mary accompanying her. I heard from the maid that she demanded to be brought there, and she wouldn’t stop crying until she did.

I’m starting to worry that she’s going to grow up to be a spoiled girl who thinks she can get anything with her tears.

I was happy, of course, when she declared how cool I was after I finished my training. Who wouldn’t? My heart immediately felt like it was fluttering to the heavens, seeing my cute little sister praise me like that.

She’s a mile away from how the other little sister I used to have in my old life. That one was far more reserved and quiet, and she rarely smiled. And she started looking down on me the moment my downward spiral began, saying how embarrassed and disappointed she was to have a loser as a big brother like me.

I never blamed her though. It was only normal for a genius like her to be ashamed of a failure like me.

And so, seeing Erika being proud of me like this, it was an absolutely exhilarating feeling to have. It made me renew my promise on becoming the best big brother to her that I could yet again.

And yet, I still craved for companionship from a girl closer to my age.

Father told me half-jokingly with a grin that I should just go to the village and get some girls to play with there, so that “you would stop looking so lonely”, he said. “Or maybe some boys, since you've always been surrounded by girls since you were born. Get some of that manly bonding for once,” he continued, before laughing at his own joke.

I tried to do it, but I immediately realized the gap between me and the kids out there.

First of all, even when they’re near my age, they were far less mature than I would like them to be. The boys would still just spend their days playing the common children games like hide and seek, something I quickly found to be a very dull thing to do. I always won every time, and they quickly got discouraged by that fact as well. The girls on the other hand, well, they were all pretty much just all flirting to be my future wife. They talked to me like I was the king’s own son, and they all brought up to the fact how I was apparently this genius mage. Hmph, I suspected Mary was behind this. She probably told the entire village about my training.

I was flattered of course, especially since some of them were quite cute indeed, but it was all that they knew. I didn’t know whether they were told to do it by their parents or they were doing it out of their own volition, but after being given ten separate lunchboxes by ten different girls, that I had to finish or else they might cry, I had enough. I just felt suffocated to be around them.

Heh, ironic. I ended up in the same situation as my old child self.

However, I didn’t intend to repeat the same mistake. So when they asked whether I already had a girl that I liked, I proudly answered, “Yes! Her name is Sherry! You all know her, right?”

And this was the moment where my view of them dimmed. They immediately went on to badmouth her, saying how they couldn’t believe that I would like a bad-mannered and bad-tempered girl like her. They even thought that Sherry was only living with us as a servant, and not as part of our family.

Hearing it, flame seemed to rise up from my stomach. With a stern frown, I told them that they had insulted me and our entire family by insulting her, before taking my leave. Naturally, they immediately tried to apologise for it but I paid them no heed, leaving them behind using my wind magic.

_Huh, so this is how it feels to have a girl you like being insulted…_

Oh, and I also heard that some of the older boys had left to become soldiers. They would go to Aarom and receive training there, if they could pass the entrance exam. For most peasants in rural villages like this, it was their only other option, other than following in the footsteps of their father. Though I suppose they could also be adventurers, but with no previous training on how to fight, well, only the bravest, or most foolish, would attempt such a thing.

I think the kid that used to hit on Marina is one of them, since I don't see his big figure anywhere in the village. Who's his name again?

\--------

Finally, summer came, and with it, Marina's return home.

And you can't imagine how happy I am for it. I wore this stupid grin on my face throughout the morning, knowing that she most likely would return today, according to her letter.

At first, Erika was just as excited as me for her. But she quickly got bored of waiting and ended up taking her day nap. Just when she actually arrived. Heh, that girl really got no patience, huh?

When she was descending down her carriage however, I was taken by surprise.

She now had a large staff with her in her right hand. It was made out of wood—oak if I were to guess. It spread like a branch at the end, before curling back into a hole where a green gem was placed.

“So, how do I look?” She asked with a not-so-subtle grin.

“Wow, you look even more like a mage now, Big Sis!” I replied to her with a big smile.

“Thanks! I got it as a gift actually! Got first rank in my final exam so the teachers decided to give me this staff! And it’s not just an ordinary staff either! Look!”

Suddenly, the staff shrinked, reforming back into a wand.

“It’s a transforming staff! Or wand, whichever you prefer! Some staves have the capability to do this, if the mage really wants that extra versatility. Though naturally, enchanted staves like this are much more expensive than run-of-the-mill ones.”

“And they gave you that for free?” Mother spoke, clearly astonished judging by her expression.

“Yes, they did! They said they saw my potential and they hoped that I could use the staff to reach even greater heights with magic! Not to mention that it fits perfectly with the fact that starting from fourth year, we’re going to start learning how to use staves instead of wands to cast our spells. I already told you about the difference between the two, right Hugo?” She suddenly asked.

“U-uhh—” Taken aback, I couldn’t just instantly recall what she had told me about the matter. “—Right… Staves can draw out and channel mana even better than wands, right? So technically it’s the better weapon for a mage. Only that it’s cumbersome to carry around and certainly not very stealthy. You can’t hide it under your robe to hide your enemy, for example.”

“Correct!” Marina replied, raising her index finger. Aah, she’s gone back into her teacher mode again. “Although there’s this one thing that you couldn’t do with a wand.”

The staff then transformed back into its original form, before she raised her other hand—the free one—and conjured a simple Fireball on it, though she kept it there instead of firing it.

“Notice how my mana is circling around from my body, into the staff, and then to my free hand? That’s another thing wands can’t do. You can only fire your spell with a wand from its tip. But with a staff, you can do it with the hand that is not wielding the staff.”

She then closed her hand, extinguishing the Fireball.

“There are more advanced applications of this, of course, but I have yet to be able to perform it, unfortunately. I just got the staff recently after all.”

Oh Sis. You really don’t have to try justifying yourself like that. You’re already a genius just like this!

“Hmm, I suppose I’ll have to send a letter of thanks to the Academy for that staff,” Father commented. “That kind of a magic staff is really expensive. To think that they’re nice enough to just give it to her.”

At first, I was of the same opinion of him. But then… Marina revealed the full truth to me when we were on our own.

\------

That night, she visited my room once we had our baths and dinner. After knocking and excusing herself, with a serious look on her face, she took a seat on my bed before she began her tale.

“I promised you to not hide anything from you again, right?”

My heart immediately dropped. Don’t tell me that another girl has started to bully her yet again!

“That staff… It’s true that the teachers gave it to me for being the first in my exams. But, they also mentioned that it was also a gift from a certain person that had taken quite an interest in my progress.”

“A certain person?” Uh oh. That expression on her face. I’m not sure if I’m going to like who it is.

“Vera Marjoram. One of the ruling Council members. And that hobbit’s grandmother.”

She didn’t need to say anything else. I could already piece two and two together.

_It’s a bribe. For her to accept her grandson._

She had talked about him further in her letters. Apparently, she caught him being a patron in one of the city’s brothels when she was doing a quest. Not in the middle of him actually doing it, thankfully enough, but she certainly got enough proof to see that there really was nothing innocent about him. He was a perverted little hobbit who would ask prostitutes to pretend that they were his big sisters before teasing him.

Now, ignoring the quite disturbing fact that Marina dared to go to a shady establishment like that on her own, even for a quest, I had both a scowl and a grin on my face when I read the letter. How dare that pervert try to go after my big sister, I thought to myself. But at the same time, I was also happy that whatever chance he had on getting close to her had just burned into ash. Marina never liked perverts after all. Especially one that pretended to be the opposite.

“So, what do you think? Should I just… throw away the staff?” she asked with a wry smile. She didn’t bring it with her of course, as she had put it in her room.

“N-no! That’s a really good staff, isn’t it?” I replied. “That would be a big waste, especially since you like it so much.”

“I suppose… I just don’t like taking someone’s bribe like this… it feels… dirty.” She averted her gaze, looking straight to the bookshelf instead.

Putting my hand on her shoulder, I gave her a grin. “Think about it like this, Sis. You might be accepting her bribe, but you have no intention in paying any attention to her grandson even after the fact. So instead of her controlling you with the bribe, you’re the one using her instead. So you shouldn’t feel bad. Instead, you should feel happy that you just tricked a big wig like her to give you an expensive staff.”

Her dry smile turned into a genuine one, and she gave me a pat on the head. “You’re right. I shouldn’t overthink it. I should just take the staff while not giving anything in return to her or her grandson.” 

“Now I can’t help but feel a little bad. Just a little bit though.” She giggled.

“Anyway, let’s talk about something else.” Suddenly, her expression turned serious all over again. “How are you dealing, Hugo? With her being gone?”

She didn’t need to tell me who this “her” was. It was all too obvious.

I sighed. “Well, I get by. But if I say I don’t feel lonely, then I would be lying,” I admitted with full honesty. “She’s the only friend that I have after all.”

"How about Erika, hmm?" She placed her left hand around my shoulder.

"She's cute and all, but it's just not the same… She's too young, you know..." I sighed again.

"And the kids in the village?"

"I don't like them unfortunately. I feel bad for saying this but there's nothing that interests me about them."

"Ah, I understand." She released her hand with an understanding smile. She then looked away from me, back to the bookshelf. "I'm like you as well, you know. Barely any friends. I suppose I'm what you would call an introvert. I'm comfortable with just Alincia being my friend. And my books as well, I suppose." She added with a wry smile.

It was then her turn to sigh.

"I wish I could spend more time with you, Hugo. You won't feel lonely with me around, would you?" she asked with a smirk.

"Of course not, Sis..." I replied, looking down at my knee. "That's why I've been looking forward to you coming back so much."

“...Well, at the very least, you have my panties to accompany you.” 

_Wait, what?_

She broke out to a grin. “You haven’t thrown them away or anything, have you?”

"O-of course not! I got them safely stored inside the box all this time, just like you wanted! Look! It’s in the back of my wardrobe over there!” I pointed forward.

“Eeh, I actually expected you to just throw it after a month or so when you got bored. To think that you’re this much of a pervert to keep them all this time…” She looked away with a disappointed expression.

"I-it's not what you think! I-I was just—" _Wait, that smirk…_ "Hey, Sis! You're just messing with me, aren't you?" I pouted.

"Aaw, and here I thought I could have some fun teasing my little brother like usual. You really are growing up quick, aren't you, Hugo?" She ruffled my hair.

_Hmph, time to go for a counterattack!_

“Sis, know you like seeing me all flustered but you nearly made me go on a panic attack there. If you start hating me because you think I’m a pervert, then I wouldn’t know what to do…” I trailed off my sentence, before putting on the saddest puppy look that I could muster.

As expected, she was the one to panic this time around.

“Oh, you silly goose! I’ll never do that to you!” She immediately went for a hug, wrapping her arms around me. She then released her grip just as quickly, putting both of her hands on my shoulders instead, staring at my eyes. “I know perfectly well that you’re a good kid, Hugo. And there’s nothing wrong with keeping a girl’s used panties around if she already consented to it. Or at least, that’s what I believe.” It seemed even she wasn’t quite 100% sure if what I was doing counted as a morally deplorable act or not. Which was completely understandable, of course. “In fact, in a certain sense of way, you could see it as a romantic act. You want to be with her so bad that you want a memento of her lovely scent that you carry around everyday.”

Welp, that logic sounds quite perverse if I were to be honest. But since it was her who was saying that, I somehow could accept it as a normal, completely non-perverse truth.

_Is my big sister slowly turning into a pervert too? She already has her puberty, right, at that age? Her boobs are still growing bigger, and even now, being this close to her, I can take a peek down her loose blouse to see the two naked mounds._

“In fact, Sherry gave you hers as well, didn’t she? Hmph, why didn’t you tell me?” She huffed.

_Ah, this is her trying to tease me again. Not going to work this time, Sis!_

“Well, Sherry is going to be my wife in the future, right? So it’s a private thing between us. It’s none of your business, Sis,” I answered sternly.

...Oh crap, I might have gone too far. Immediately she got this pained, hurt look on her face.

“R-right, o-of course. I-it’s none of my business. Sorry…” She withdrew.

“W-wait, that’s not what I meant, Sis! I-I was just too shy to tell you! That's all!" I quickly corrected her. I didn't want to upset her for real.

And then, that hurt expression immediately transformed into a smirk.

"Hehe, gotcha!" She stuck her tongue out.

...You—aargghhh! Why am I being outwitted by a 13-year old girl?

Afterwards, we had our talk for a little while more, mostly talking about my progress in magic. And then, she bid me goodnight, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

As she left the room however…

"Oh, one more thing…"

_What?_

Without any warning, she started to lift her dress upwards on the sides, bending over a little in the process. And then, she made a movement that could only be described as her pulling down her panties.

"Hey, Hugo." She stopped, looking back at me with a naughty smirk. "Do you want a new fresh pair for your little collection? I sat on them all day in the hot carriage, you know. Should have my big sister scent all good and nice."

_W-whaaatt?_

“...Hehe, now that’s a good expression.”

She then pulled her panties back up. I didn’t get a good look on them but I was pretty sure she wore a pale green pair under her dress.

_Argh, it’s another tease from her! And I completely got fooled by it! Again!_

“Well, good night, Hugo,” she said, still with a smirk. “Sorry, but I can’t give another pair, not when Sherry is doing it as well. Don’t want to upset her after all.”

Without waiting for my response, she left the room, just like that.

I was lucky that I had yet to hit puberty, or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep that night for sure.

And I couldn’t help but wonder how Marina would make a perfect succubus with how good she was at teasing.

 _...Nah, she’s too serious and reserved outside. She’s just like this when she’s with me, and when she’s with her boyfriend/husband in the future, I imagine. That’s not an attitude a succubus would have_ _for sure._


	33. A Fun Family Camping Trip

For the rest of the summer, as usual, I practiced magic with Marina. It turned out that she had mastered her second Master-level spell, which was another Earth spell that created a deep and large pit that I couldn’t even see the bottom of. If I had to estimate, the hole, which wasn’t perfectly square or round, was around 50 meters or so in diameter. She called the spell Crumbling Earth, which I thought was quite the fitting name for what I did, even if a little bit plain.

She proudly showed it off to me of course, with her being her, and when I saw it, my jaw almost dropped to the floor and I fell down on my knees, both from the awe and from the earthquake that she produced in the process as the earth itself crumbled away, making way for the giant hole.

_The gap between us is just growing even further, huh?_

I still was nowhere near able to cast a Master-level spell like her. The only progress I had was learning to cast hybrid elemental spells, though even that, I had yet to master all of them.

I had yet to know my preferred element as well. Marina’s obviously Earth, judging by how she learned two Master-level spells in that element first, but I still didn’t feel any inclination towards a certain element. Most mages in the world had one or two elements that they were really good at, and at higher-level magic, no one could really master all the elements, or so they said.

I then tried to comfort myself, saying it was only natural for her to be leaps and bounds above me, since she already got a five year headstart after all. But I couldn’t help fearing how my magic capability would eventually plateau and hit a brick wall that it could never pass through. It’s like how you might always be the No.1 student from elementary to high school, only to realize that you’re nothing once you entered college.

It didn’t help matters either when Father put a halt to our training.

By deciding that we should have a camping trip with him.

It was at dinner when he gave the offer. Apparently, he got the word that a strong monster had been spotted on the nearby mountains, and that he had been ordered to slay it before it could get anywhere close to the village. An adventurer had alerted him to its presence. The poor young man had lost his entire party to it apparently, with him being the only survivor.

“These things happen, you know,” Father commented with a sigh, crossing his arms. “Being an adventurer is a dangerous job. You might think you’re going to have an easy quest, but then something happens that is completely out of your expectation. And then you’re in a danger that you’re not prepared for.”

He then took a huge gulp of his water before continuing.

“Judging by the description that man gave, it’s most likely a Chrome-Plated Mountain Lion. It’s an A-rank monster, so it would be pretty strong. Wouldn’t be odd that a party of unprepared novices would be slaughtered by it. But nothing that your S-rank father can’t handle of course,” he boastfully bragged, thumping his chest in the process.

“An A-rank? You’re seriously going to take them to face a monster that level? Have you lost your mind?” Mother spoke up.

“Relax! I’ll be there to guard them, don’t worry!” he replied nonchalantly. “I want to test their strength, you know. To see how they would fare with a real life monster. Not to mention that this is the perfect opportunity to teach them how to camp in the wild away from civilization. You need to know that kind of stuff to become a good adventurer, you know.”

Father’s right. I haven’t learned any of that stuff yet, have I?

“Marina, you only take quests that are near the city, right? You never actually go to the boonies or anything.”

“Of course not, Father,” she replied matter-of-factly, taking a sip of her tea. “I can only do quests on the weekends after all. So I can’t go far at all.”

“Perfect! And Hugo here certainly has never been out in the wilderness either!” He patted my shoulder.

Somehow, the way he said it made me feel a little insulted. Maybe it’s because I was practically a sedentary man in my previous life.

Mother took a deep sigh. “Fine. But if I will come along too. Just in case if they got wounded or anything.”

Father was about to speak up, but she immediately shot him down with her patented glare.

Well, it’s settled then. It’s going to be a whole family trip.

“Father, Mother, are you going somewhere with Big Bro and Big Sis?” Erika, who was also there but was completely ignored by the conversation, asked. Her blue eyes, inherited straight from Mother, were glimmering brightly with curiosity. “Can I go too?”

“I’m sorry, my dear, but it’s too dangerous for you. Maybe when you’re older, alright?” Father answered her with a smile, patting her head.

“Be nice with Mary, alright, my sweet?” Mother smiled at her. “We won’t be long. Before you know it, we’ll be right back.”

“S-so, E-Erika’s going to be left alone?” 

_Uh oh! Judging by her large eyes which are quickly watering, I think I know perfectly what’s going to happen soon._

“N-no! You have Mary, right? You like her, don’t you?”

_Yep! Here it comes!_

“U-uwaaahhhh! I don’t wanna be with Mary! I wanna be with you! And Father! And Big Bro! And Big Sis! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!”

As she yelled and cried, she started kicking her legs to the table, all the while slamming her hands all over.

I sighed. At what age would she stop being a crybaby?

Guess it’s my turn to calm her down.

I stood up and walked over to her. Gently, I lifted her small and light body, before wrapping my arms around it.

“Come on now! You’re a big girl, aren’t you? Big girls don’t cry! And big girls can certainly take care of herself when her parents are gone.” I whispered to her behind her ear with a smile.

“B-Big Bro…”

She immediately calmed down. The only saving grace of her temper tantrums was the fact that it would stop once I lifted her up and hugged her like this.

“A-alright. If you want Erika to be a big girl, then Erika will be one!”

_This girl… ooh, she’s just too cute!_

And with that, it was decided. We were going to leave on a family trip. To slay a monster. Not that odd if you consider us as an ex-adventurer family.

\-------

We departed the next morning, with Father and Mother carrying their sword and staff respectively. I always saw Father training with his sword every day so I was already familiar with it, but Mother’s staff was something I only saw now. It was a staff with a wooden base that ended with a large blue orb at the tip. The blue orb had this sparkling, swirly effect inside it, which I found oddly hypnotizing.

I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed however that Mother didn’t wear a cleric outfit. You know, the usual white robe getup. She just wore her usual dress she wore every day. Surely she couldn’t travel around in the past wearing a boring dress like that!

Our destination was the Karha Mountains. The name “Karha” was originally given to the mountains, before being adopted by the village since it was the closest settlement to it. It was your typical mountains, all things considered. Not too tall like Everest, and not too perilous either. In fact, for an A-rank monster to be living there was considered an anomaly, at least according to Father. Normal mountain lions certainly existed, and dire ones as well, their stronger version, but a chrome-plated one? That’s a new thing entirely.

“Sometimes a monster would evolve into its stronger form. I’m not really sure how but it’s a thing that happens in the wild. So my guess is that one of the dire mountain lions evolved into one,” Father explained.

_Is it similar to how summons can evolve as well, I wonder…_

We reached the base of the mountains in just a single day of walking through the nearby forest. It was the very same forest that Sherry used to, well, spend her frustrations in, but she never got too deep, knowing that she would risk being attacked by monsters that were actually strong enough to fight her and win.

We climbed for a while before the sun decided to set.

“Alright, you two.” Father looked at me and Marina. “What do you do when the sun is setting yet you’re still out here in monster territory?”

I immediately opened my mouth to answer but she beat me to the punch.

“Find a safe location to set up camp. In a mountain like this, a cave might be good. Although you have to make sure that said cave is completely uninhabited. And don’t use a deep cave that you can’t explore all the way to the end in a reasonable amount of time, as a place like that is most likely connected to an underground monster nest that could attack you while you sleep.”

_Oh wow, so this is why she’s a star student in the Academy, if she answers every question her teacher gives her like this._

_And suddenly I’m reminded of a certain magic bookworm from that book series…_

“Ha! A perfectly reasonable answer! Just as I expected from you, Marina!” He put his hand on her shoulder. “However, you forgot one fact. That your mother can cast a monster-warding spell.”

“A monster-warding spell?” I asked. I never heard of such a thing.

“It’s a Holy spell,” Mother chimed in, eavesdropping on our conversation. “Naturally, the effect depends on the strength of the cleric herself. For example, my version of the spell can ward off up to B-rank monsters or so.”

“Well, that’s really convenient,” I commented.

“It is, right?” She giggled. “That’s why most parties would have at least one cleric with them.”

_One cleric, huh? Now that I think about it, if me, Sherry, and Marina make a party together, we still need a cleric if we want a full party._

_...Oh well, I’ll think about it later._

Afterwards, we got to a clearing where we decided to spend the night in. Mother did her spell, and I immediately felt a change in the atmosphere after she did. It was a peculiar yet pleasant change, and I felt I could relax better with it.

After taking out our supplies, which Marina conveniently stored using her dimensional storage spell, Father then taught us how to set up our tents. Father and Mother would share one tent, while we each would have our own.

 _Oh goddamnit, I’m never good at this kind of thing,_ I grumbled to myself as my tent fell over due to something that was beyond my comprehension, making me have to start all over again.

To my surprise however, Marina was also having the same problem. I even caught the frustrated expression on her face, which was a rare sight to be sure. 

_Hehe, even she couldn’t excel at everything, I suppose._

“That’s not how you tie the ropes, Hugo. Here, it’s supposed to go this way,” Father explained. “And Marina, you’re not tying your ropes hard enough. Your tent is going to collapse in the middle of the night.”

_Heh, Father sure seems all happy teaching us like this._

Once our tents were all set up, it was time for us to go gather some firewood. Once again, Father took the lead while Mother stayed back at our makeshift camp. Since it was already late, we weren’t going to hunt for fresh meat. Instead, we were just going to use the dried meat we had brought with us.

“Listen well, you two. Normally, you would only use dry wood for your fire, usually the dead branches that already fell off on its own. Damp wood wouldn’t work thanks to the moisture stored inside.”

“But you can still use damp wood if you have a good enough mage with you, right? You can heat up the wood using fire magic, turning it dry yourself,” Marina interrupted.

“Correct! That’s exactly what I was going to say!” Father laughed a little. “Myrilla used to do that for us, you know.”

It didn’t take long for us to return with a huge bundle of firewood. Father then gave me the pleasure to light it, which I did readily, making sure that my Fireball was just the right size.

After having our humble dinner, Father then asked what we should do before we went to rest.

“Decide on a watch order, Father,” I quickly answered, not wanting to lose to Marina. “There should always be at least one person who stays awake at all times.”

“Good! You understand! It’s naive to think that just because you have a monster warding spell, you can just all sleep without worries. If a strong monster that is unaffected by it wanders into your camp, and you’re unprepared, well, that’s the end for your adventure right there,” he spoke with a grim expression.

We then decided on the order, with me going first, then Marina, then Mother, then lastly Father.

Once I was all alone, with everyone else retreating inside their tents, I let out a sigh.

_Now that I think about it, have I ever gone camping like this?_

_Hmm, I think I had once. When I was still at elementary school. A school camping trip, not a family one like this. Can’t remember the details though._

Soon enough, I started to feel sleepy, which made me decide to stand up and walked around, just so I wouldn’t be nodding off.

_Come on, Hugo. Gotta stay alert. You want to be an adventurer after all._

My sleepiness didn’t stay long however, thanks to a series of noises that my parents were suddenly making.

Yep, they were going at it, alright. Hey, your kid is right here, you know. And what’s all that talk about always being vigilant in the wilderness?

I got closer out of sheer curiosity. And hearing the dialogue going on there, Father was clearly the one who was pushing for it, though it didn’t take long for Mother to drop her hesitating act and moan her heart out as Father started touching her.

I was so tempted to cast a wind spell to blast their tent off, but I stopped myself. I am not a naughty kid after all. I’m a good boy who wants his parents to be happy.

Eventually, it was Marina’s turn to stand watch. So I entered her tent, intending to wake her up.

Only to find out that she was silently pleasuring herself. Her left hand was caressing her panty-clad crotch, as she muffled her moans with her right. She was closing her eyes so she didn't notice me peeking into her tent.

_...Ah, right, she's at that age after all._

I retreated away, pretending that I hadn't seen what I just saw.

It took me about a good fifteen minutes to process what I just saw.

_To think that she would be doing that kind of stuff… you're surprising me more and more, Sis…_

A Father and Mother who were always doing it loudly, and now a big sister who secretly liked to pleasure herself (I don't buy that this is just a one-time thing). Is this family just filled with a bunch of perverts? Including me, of course? Don't tell me that Erika is going to be a pervert too when she grows up?

"Hugo? Is it my turn already?"

Suddenly, Marina exited the tent, looking as if nothing unusual had happened.

"Y-yes, Sis!" I replied. _Why am I the one feeling all awkward here?_

"Alright. Go sleep now, Hugo. Tomorrow's going to be another tiring day after all." She smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder for a short moment before walking up to the bonfire.

_...She did change her panties after she finished, right?_

\----

Our journey continued for six more days. The mountain range was indeed pretty large, so it wasn't easy finding the monster that we wanted to take out. To my pleasant surprise however, my stamina had no problem whatsoever keeping up with the hours of hiking that we had to do. Even the thinning air didn’t really bother as much as I felt it should be. It was all thanks to the physical training Father had subjected me to over the years, I imagined. 

The only one that was bothered by it was Marina, who never really had the training I had. Still, she kept up the pace pretty well, even though she was easily the most tired-looking out of all of us. I think she was actually using magic to make the air around her less thin, so that she could breathe more easily.

Mother, as delicate as she might look, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. I imagined her experience being an adventurer had toughened up her body over the years.

On the way, we met and fought off other monsters over and over again, like the other, weaker mountain lions, as well as dire wolves, hell condors, and even zombie treants—treants that were born out of dead trees.

It was nothing that we couldn't handle. In fact, Father and Mother barely did anything, trusting me and Marina to handle all of them.

"Rock Blast!”

Marina fired off a rock the size of her head as a projectile at the Hell Condor. It was an Intermediate-level spell that she could cast swiftly to counter the Hell Condor’s speedy aerial movement.

The oversized bird managed to dodge the attack partially, with the rock hitting only the tip of its wings. But it was enough for me to do my follow up.

“Thunder Strike!”

My Advanced-level spell stroke true, paralyzing the bird in mid-air, making it fall to the ground.

Or so it seemed, before it sharply modified its trajectory, transforming its falling movement into a diving one instead, going straight after Marina.

“Sis!”

“Water Blade!”

She was fine though, to my utmost relief, as she quickly finished it off by slicing it into two using her Intermediate-level Water spell. Water Blade. A spell that generated a high-pressure jet of water that was strong enough to cut things into two like a blade.

“That was careless of you, Hugo,” Father remarked, patting my shoulder. “Never think of the enemy of being defeated before it actually fell down unmoving on the ground. And even then, there are some monsters out there who would gladly play dead before ambushing the adventurer once he let his guard down.”

“And Hell Condor happens to have quite the good thunder resistance, which is why your Advanced lightning spell didn’t manage to kill it while Marina’s Intermediate-level Water spell could,” Mother lectured as well.

So that’s why it goes like that…

“S-sorry Marina, I should have used a different elemental spell instead.” I immediately apologized. After all, my blunder made her to be in danger unnecessarily.

“Ha, if you think I was in any danger from that, think again,” she replied with a boastful smirk. “Really, you should stop underestimating your big sister so much.”

_...Sis, you just don’t want me to feel guilty, don’t you?_

\-----

And then, on the seventh day, we finally found it.

Our prey, the Chrome-Plated Mountain Lion.

“So, you two want to take a bite at it first?” Father asked with a confident smile.


	34. Battle Against An Overpowered Mountain Lion

There it was, the monster that we had been looking for.

It was currently wandering around on its lonesome, on a cliff underneath us. It was still not alerted to our presence.

Looking at it from a distance, it looked just like the mountain lions that we had faced before in this trip. The only thing that was different was the color of its skin. Like its name suggested, it was entirely chrome in color, from its head to its tail.

_Hmm, wonder what it’s doing there..._

“So, how about it? Want to test your strength against it? You got me and your mother to go to the rescue if anything goes wrong, so it should be fine. Though it would certainly hurt if you get bitten or clawed by it,” he said with a grin.

_Dad, aren’t you being too carefree about this?_

“I’ll go first,” Marina answered with a determined look, taking out her wand from her pocket. “I can hit it from here. Would that be fine?” she asked, looking up at him.

Father gave a glance towards Mother, who nodded in return, her staff at the ready.

“Alright. Should’ve figured you’d be skilled enough to just snipe it from here.”

_Hey, isn’t that kinda unfair to the monster? Just charging a long and powerful spell before actually entering the fight. You can’t do that in the RPGs I used to play for sure._

Marina then took a few steps forward, before making her wand grow into its staff form. She then started a chant, using her right hand to hold her staff while her left began to shine.

And I knew very well what that chant was. It was her Master-level Earth spell, Crumbling Earth. She intended to just finish it in one blow indeed!

“O spirits of the Earth! Listen to my plea! Let those who stood on your soil be—”

Suddenly, her chanting was interrupted by a gasp. I, who had been looking at her, didn’t realize why immediately. I quickly returned my sight back at the lion.

Only to find that it wasn’t there anymore.

“It’s climbing! It’s climbing the cliff! Right towards us!” Marina shouted.

She quickly halted her current spell and summoned her owlbear instead, sending it down to fend off the lion. It roared at her command, barreling down the sheerness of the cliff without fear.

Only for the lion to jump on top of the owlbear, slicing its skin with its sharp claws before jumping once more, right towards Marina.

“I won’t let you! Rock Blast!”

She sent a rock flying right at it, no doubt intending to stop it from getting closer any further. However, with just a single slash of its claws, it shattered the small boulder entirely, not unimpeded in the slightest.

The horror on Marina’s face told it all. She did not expect this. Not in the slightest.

“Barrier!”

Just before its fangs could land on Marina, it crashed right onto Mother’s Barrier, sending it flying back down.

And then, Father stepped forward, and swung his greatsword towards the monster, sending a powerful wave that it immediately dodged. To my surprise however, instead of running back to fight Father, it instead retreated from the scene, after growling at him for a short while.

_Was it really that scared of Father’s power?_

I turned my attention back to Marina, who was still shaken by what just occurred. Her owlbear was nowhere to be found. Maybe it had retreated on its own, after being wounded by the lion.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Father said, “Let that be a lesson to you, kiddo. Monsters, especially high-ranking ones, aren’t so dumb that they can’t detect the shift in mana flow on its surroundings. Your spell was quite the powerful one, right? No wonder it got detected immediately.”

“I see…” She replied, her expression looking as if she just failed an important exam. I felt she was totally the type to be bothered for days for that sort of thing.

“Don’t worry, Sis! I’ll avenge your loss!” I said with a smile, patting her on the back.

_Oh, what am I saying? That lion was indeed an A-rank monster. Its power and speed were far different than any other monsters that we have faced so far. How would I defeat such a thing?_

But after seeing Marina like that, I felt I just had to beat it to a pulp with my own strength.

\-----

We then followed the beast after making sure that Marina was unharmed. Father believed that it shouldn't have run off too far, trusting that this part of the mountain was its territory.

And sure enough, half an hour later, we found it again, sleeping underneath a jutting cliff that gave it a comfortable shade to rest under.

"Alright. Your turn now, my boy," Father pushed me to the front with a grin. _H-hey, you nearly saw your own daughter die to it yet you're still this nonchalant?_

I gulped. I still wasn't sure how I should initiate the battle.

_I probably shouldn’t use my summons. Technically, they couldn’t really die no matter what happens to them in combat, but making them get hurt terribly will cost the summoner their trust. So kinda like Pokemon in that sense._

_And besides, what can they really do? The earth sprite might be able to generate mud to hinder its movement a little, but it wouldn’t be enough. With how strong its jumping capability and speed is, it could easily escape. It’s certainly faster than Sherry, that’s to be sure._

_As for the high fairy, well, she probably would just go into a panic and not do anything worthwhile._

I felt bad insulting my summons like this, but it was my honest assessment of the situation.

_Just attacking with a weaker spell might be able to take it by surprise, but it certainly wouldn’t finish it in one blow._

_Is there a way for me to set up a defensive perimeter around myself beforehand so that I would be ready for it? Hmm, I don’t think so…_

_The only option left is for me to take to the skies using my wind spell, hoping that it can never jump high enough to get to me. But that would quickly get tiring. Not to mention that I still can’t cast two spells at the same time. I would fall down when I cast another spell._

Dual-casting was a rare skill only few mages were capable of, as it meant splitting the flow of mana in your body into two and regulating it into different shapes simultaneously. It’s like trying to write with both hands at the same time, writing different words and letters. Even Marina couldn’t do it. Yet. Knowing her, she would certainly be able to do it eventually once she got older and more experienced in magic. I had trust in her genius-level talent after all.

_Well, worth a try. I got Father and Mother as backup after all._

Taking a deep breath, I ran towards the beast, before boosting myself upwards with my wind spell. Once I was up a good distance away, I charged up Cold Blast, hoping that it would be able to slow it down with its frost. I couldn’t be too far away, as I might actually miss my target—not to mention the fact that the spell would get weaker the further it was from its target.

As expected, the moment I started concentrating for my Advanced-level spell, it woke up and saw me up in the sky. It immediately jumped, right as I was falling towards it.

Too late! Thanks to my training against Sherry, I finished just in time for it to be blasted point blank by my ice spell. I didn’t wait until it landed to the ground—I immediately boosted myself upwards once again, returning a safe distance away from it.

As expected, it wasn’t taken out by the spell. In fact, it looked even angrier than it already was. It looked up at me for a split second before it immediately jumped again.

Ha, too bad! I was too far high up for it to reach with its claws, even with its amazing jump height.

Like the clever beast that it was, it then decided to use the cliff it had been sleeping under to get to a higher spot. Of course, I already expected this as well. I had scanned the area beforehand and there wasn’t any other higher point around that it could climb on.

“Earthen Blast!”

As it ran away from me, I casted my Advanced-level Earth spell, exploding the ground it was climbing on, making it fall down to the ground yet again.

It then looked at me, growling. Yep, it’s positively angry, all right.

_Wait, this growling… don’t tell me it’s going to run away just like with Father!_

I was wrong. I was oh so very wrong.

Instead of running away, it suddenly let out a screech in my direction—so loud and ear-piercing that I had to cover my ears out of reflex.

_M-my head! I-it’s like it’s splitting open! Aarghh!_

It was enough to make me lose my focus entirely. I knew that I was falling down with no wind spell supporting me, but I couldn’t concentrate enough to recast the spell—not with the insane headache I had.

Of course, the lion took the opportunity it had given to itself. It jumped up and opened its mouth wide, intending to bite my leg off in one move most likely.

“Barrier!”

I didn’t know exactly what happened afterwards. Only that I heard a pained roar coming from the lion before I crashed down to the ground.

When I opened my eyes, Mother was standing above me, healing me with her magic. Immediately my headache disappeared as if it wasn’t there.

I looked around and saw Father looking over the lion. Or, to be more accurate, its corpse.

Father had cut it into two.

“Hugo! You’re alright?” Marina ran over to me, looking down with a worried expression.

“I’m fine. Just… got a killer headache. What was that anyway?”

“It’s an ability that the lion has,” Mother explained. “Deadly Screech. It hurts its target’s brain for a short while, enough for it to land the killing blow. You’ve been baited to think that it can’t attack you on the air.”

_Seriously? A mindless monster like that can be that smart?_

“Well, now it’s proven that you two are still nowhere near A-rank,” Father walked over with a grin. “These things… they’re stuff that you can only learn through experience. So take it easy, and make sure only to take quests that you’re sure you can handle. Don’t be like your idiot father who’s stupid enough to challenge an A-rank monster when he wasn’t ready.”

“Is that when you’re saved by Myrilla, Father?” I asked. I remembered her saying how she had saved him once.

“Yep!” He replied with a reminiscing smile. “Aah, I was such a fool back then… I went to the Demon Continent, thinking that I was a hotshot enough adventurer to challenge such a dangerous land. Only to nearly die after taking my very first quest there. If not for her saving your father’s behind, we wouldn’t be here now.”

_So, Father was around our level back then? So Myrilla was already as strong as his current self? How strong is she now then?_

As I thought about that however, I noticed a little smile on the corner of Marina’s lips.

_...I think she’s a little bit happy that I too failed to win against the lion. Heh, you don’t want to lose to your little brother, don’t you, Sis?_

Before we returned back, Father decided that it would be a good opportunity to teach us how to skin an animal, using the chrome-plated lion as our instrument of demonstration. He had done so with the lesser lions and wolves of course, but the chrome-plated lion was different enough that it would make for a good lesson, at least according to him.

“First of all, you don’t want to just cut a rare monster in two like this if you want the most optimum yield, as it would no doubt harm its bones and internal organs. Every body part of an A-rank monster like this one could fetch a pretty good price, especially at a relatively peaceful part of the world like this where A-rank monsters are rare,” he explained. “And you would need a special knife to cut and skin it apart, unless you have a swordsman in your party that is precise enough with his blade and is willing enough to use it for things like this. Normal knives wouldn’t be sharp enough.”

He then began to dissect it apart, using said special knife that was enhanced by magic to be sharper than normal. And just like all the times before this, I couldn’t help but notice how his cuts were quite messy. Huh, I wonder if Myrilla used to do this kind of stuff for him.

After he finished, he told Marina to take out the jar. It was a magic jar called the Preserving Jar, enchanted so that the inside was always cold even without any ice placed inside. How convenient. It’s basically a magical portable refrigerator that doesn’t run off on batteries, though Mother said that it would eventually lose its coolness as time passed.

He then put in the dissected remains of the lion into it, telling us that it would fetch a good price in Aarom’s market. I like how he wasn’t grossed out in the slightest from touching all that bloody, gory stuff. I saw Mother and Marina flinching from the slight. Even I kept my distance as well. It showed just how much of an experienced adventurer he was.

Once finished, Marina stored it back inside her Dimensional Container. She too made sure that Father washed his hands after all that with her water spell.

And then, it was time for us to return back home.

\-------------

For the rest of the summer, I continued my training with Marina. Or should I say, our training, as after her defeat at the hand of the chrome lion, she had begun to think up ways to overcome her weakness.

I, on the other hand, still aimed to reach Master-level. I felt I could've won if I had a stronger spell to use against it, something that could really deal damage. At Marina's advice, she told me to focus on Wind, as she believed I had a talent at the element. She couldn't use wind spells the way I had been using it, to move and fly around like that.

And so I did, focusing on control over power, as there was a certain concept for a wind spell I was interested in. For Master-level and above, you didn't really have set spells written on books. You had to improvise and invent the next stage on your own.

“So, how would you know if the spell you had invented belonged to Master-level?” I asked.

“Well, there’s no exact measurement to it, but a Master-level spell would either have exceptional power or exceptional area of effect. Let’s take an example. Say, Rainfall. You remember what it does, Hugo?”

“It makes it rain, right?” I answered. I still remembered her demonstrating it to me.

“Correct. To be exact, it manipulates the moisture in the air to form rainclouds, so it’s a hybrid spell that combines Water and Wind. Do you remember how much the rainclouds covered?

“Just a small area. Around 50 meters in diameter at most.”

“Exactly. Then I will bring up to you the spell ‘Rainstorm’. It’s the Master-level version of it. Can you guess how much it covers in diameter?”

“Umm, a lot? Much more?” I took a wild guess.

“Indeed! It can cover a much wider idea, to the point that Master-level Water mages are in high demand to farmers in drought. I don’t even know how wide it covers since when one of my teachers used it, I couldn’t see anything else other than the dark skies above me.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing, Sis! Would you be able to do it one day?”

“Well, I sure hope I could.” She smiled, patting my head. “If you don’t get it before me first, that is,” she added with a chuckle.

Another goal for me to reach, I suppose, though I really prefer offensive spells instead. Turning the sky dark and making it rain might be cool but it can’t do anything against monsters, can it?

“Now that I thought about it, ‘Rainstorm’ is pretty standardized for a Master-level spell. If you know how to manipulate water and wind well enough, and if you know how rainclouds work, you can perform it just fine. And they taught the latter in the Academy. A not-so-smart water mage might think that you would have to produce all the water falling down yourself, but a smart one would realize that you just need to trigger a chain reaction in the atmosphere, saving yourself a considerable amount of mana while at the same time keeping up the spell for much longer.”

Suddenly, she paused in her explanation.

“...Hold on, that method on how to produce a better Rainstorm—that was developed by Selendia Brine, one of the Council mages! It was one of her inventions back when she was younger! Even then, she was already a genius at Water spells. And now, every Master-level water mage follows her theorem to cast Rainstorm.”

“Are all the Council mages geniuses like her?” I asked, out of curiosity.

“Hmm… well, if they can reach Grandmaster-level, that already makes them geniuses beyond geniuses. I don’t know much about them, really, other than the common knowledge. It’s not like I go to the library to read their biographies.”

“Why not, Sis? You don’t find them interesting?”

She paused again, before sighing. “As you already know, a friend of mine is a granddaughter of one. And judging by what she told me about him, and the rest of the Council, they’re… well, how do I put it? Selfish?”

“Selfish?”

“They only care about themselves—their influence and their magic. They certainly didn’t care about their family the way Father and Mother did. They expected their offsprings to continue their reign of glory, and that led to them treating their sons and daughters harshly.”

 _So, basically, the usual asshole nobles you often find in fantasy stories, only with a dash of magic superiority added in,_ I thought with a grim look.

“Though I’ve met one of their daughters who certainly didn’t mind the treatment, since she seemed to be a bonafide genius, just like her mother. Oh, I haven’t told you about her yet, have I? I think I omitted her in my letter to you about Sherry’s visit.”

It was there that I knew about Elunmidis Brine, the daughter of Selendis Brine. The bubble genius, whose trick actually managed to fool Marina, though not Myrilla, being the far experienced mage.

“Producing bubbles itself is already a hybrid spell, since you need water and wind combined. And she could do it so quickly and stealthily, while still having them be far tougher than the average bubble. I suppose you can call her the bubble genius. I wouldn’t be surprised if she one day writes a magic theory book about how to use bubble magic more effectively, just like her mother, advancing the study of magic once more.”

_Bubble genius, huh? Don’t tell me that she’s going to be Marina’s future rival?!_

_Don’t worry, Sis! I’ll cheer for you all the way to the end!_


	35. The Next Two Years

**Marina**

My fourth and fifth year at the Academy were relatively uneventful, except for a couple of occurrences that I shall note in this little monologue of mine.

First, my tutoring of Alincia ended up bearing fruit, as she ended up reaching Master-level just a couple months ago. Just as I had predicted, she reached it by learning how to cast a Fire-element Master-level spell. 

I would take little to no credit to that however, as I knew how hard she had worked on it, not just with me but on her own as well. At night, she would train in the Academy training grounds on her own, casting spells after spells after spells until she was completely exhausted. In fact, she would even overdo herself so much that she fainted on the spot, only waking up the next morning. I told her not to but she wouldn’t listen. It was as if she was a completely different person than her usual, happy-go-lucky self who never put much effort in her studies.

I knew perfectly well why she applied herself so much however. 

She was preparing herself. For her future confrontation against her sister's murderer. Especially after Elun returned with the grim news of her failure.

I still remembered the day the news came. It was around the middle of my fourth year where Alincia came to me and told me of their meeting. The bubble mage and her subordinates had sprung a trap and ambushed her. She only had a single knight to protect her, so they believed it was the perfect moment—the golden chance to strike at her.

Little did they know that they had severely underestimated the abilities of said knight, and the abilities of the necromancer as well.

Felicia never had the need to go all out in a fight before, and judging by her records in the academy, she was not that impressive of a mage. She had no Master-level spells under her belt, so she should not be a threat to Elun and her subordinates who were all Master-level mages.

Only for her to reveal her impressive prowess in Dark-element magic, leaping far beyond what the academy knew about her capabilities. She already reached Master-level in the element, and it took them entirely by surprise.

They didn’t know whether she reached that level once she left the Academy, or she had just been hiding her true capabilities all this time, pretending to be an average mage in her academy days. Elun even suspected that she might intentionally kill Merinda and her cronies using alchemy, just to hide the fact that she was already that adept at Dark Magic.

And then there was the matter of the knight as well. They had investigated him beforehand but found no particular credentials or history that showed he was more than the average elite knight at best—nothing that they couldn’t handle.

Only for him to display a sword skill that was far beyond their expectations. With a defensive, counter-oriented style, none of their attacks could land on Felicia as long as he was still standing.

Their ambush failed completely, and Elun lost every single one of her subordinates, with her being the only one who managed to escape.

As a result of the disaster, she was now relieved of her task. The Council had decided that for the time being, they would let the necromancer be.

Alincia said that the normally cheerful Elun looked haggard and disheveled as she told her story. Her last words were for her not to pursue Felicia if she valued her life.

And naturally, she still refused to tell which kingdom the necromancer belonged to.

This didn’t stop Alincia however. It only rekindled the flame in her heart, which led to her trying so very hard to learn magic for the past year and a half.

\---------

Another big event that occured was me receiving my first love confession.

From who else—Thomas Marjoram, the hobbit that had been stalking me around since second year. It seemed he decided to just drop the innocent pretense and went all out in his offense.

And to make it worse, he had to do it in public as well. As I was returning back to my dorm after having lunch, he walked up to me and kneeled on one knee, offering what I could only assume to be an engagement ring as he confessed his undying love and loyalty to me. I still remembered his exact words even now.

“Oh, Marina, my beautiful goddess! If you would deem this poor hobbit worthy enough of your love, then I swear to you that I would forever be loyal to you and worship the ground that you walk on!”

I didn’t know from which bardic poem he stole those sentences from, but I knew that I would never want to be proposed by such a terribly cheesy proclamation.

However, the other students had a different opinion. They instead clapped wildly and cheered at me to accept his proposal. It was as if we were a circus to them.

I was so embarrassed and humiliated that I lost my composure. My answer to him was to blast him with my wind spell before fleeing, all red faced in anger.

And this had terrible, awful consequences on my social life. I, who had recovered from being a pariah from Merinda’s actions, was now returning on becoming one. I was quickly characterized as a stuck-up and arrogant girl due to my response to that hobbit’s confession. He was actually relatively popular in the school, with many girls admiring him for his cuteness. And for me to trample on his love like that, it was the biggest crime possible in their eyes.

However, unlike with Merinda, I was now skilled enough to fight back. They might try to attack me with their magic, only to realize the gap between our skill.

It didn’t stop the pariah part however. It only made me become a feared personage as well. Just like how Merinda used to be. Only that I wasn’t loved by some as well. I could only sigh as the irony hit me.

I was angry enough to tell his admirers who attacked me that he was a pervert who went to brothels to have girls pretend to be his big sisters.

"Really?"

"Kyaah, so little Tom secretly has that kind of hobby!"

"Don't worry, little Tom! I'll be your big sister if you want!"

...Ah, right. This isn't the Holy Empire where going to brothels is considered a shameful thing. It isn't taboo for a man to unwind in such facilities after a hard day of work.

I suppose my disdain for it came from Mother, who was still somewhat a Milicis follower though she never frequented their churches. She told me never to tolerate unfaithful perverts ever since I was little.

Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. He then tried to challenge me into a duel, saying that if he won, I would give him my hand in marriage.

Ignoring the fact that I didn’t approve such a method of proposing in the first place, he had no chance whatsoever against me. I defeated him with ease. He was certainly weaker than where Alincia was currently at.

And yet, he still declared that he wouldn’t give up, that he would train to get stronger and beat me eventually. He asked for me to wait until he matured and could be the husband that I wanted him to be.

I took a deep annoyed sigh, before telling him everything that was wrong of him, including the part where I saw him frequenting a brothel a year ago.

“Look, Thomas.” How long had it been since I called him by name? “First of all, I have no intention of marrying anytime soon. I have plans to become an adventurer once I finish my study here so I wouldn’t be settling down right away. Second, even if I do, I would never marry you in a million years. I saw what you did. You like to frequent those facilities in the red-light district, don’t you? And you make those girls call you their little brother. If I were to be rudely honest, that disgusts me to the core.”

When I said that, he flinched, as if I just slapped him with my words.

“I won’t ever marry a pervert like you. So give it up. Stop bothering me and find another girl to chase after. There are many older girls out there that are far more beautiful and attractive than I am after all.”

“N-no! I only like you and you alone, Marina!” He shouted, before averting his gaze. “I-it’s true that I originally only approached you because Grandmother told me to. But after seeing you for so long, before I know, I… I really have fallen in love with you!” He shouted again, returning his gaze back to me. “I-it’s a genuine, honest-to-goodness love! I love how you’re so calm and composed at all times! And I love how smart and skilled you are at magic! A-and everytime I catch a glimpse of your smile, my heart flutters in joy! I want to make you happy, Marina! No, I **will** make you happy! I promise you that! I-it’s fine if you still want to be an adventurer! W-we can go together! I-if you’re there with me, I would no doubt have the strength to go against what Grandmother tells me to!”

_This kid… he’s…_

_He’s not lying, is he?_

For once, I felt something genuine coming out of his mouth.

Perhaps I had misjudged him a little.

“Unfortunately, I have no such feelings towards you,” I replied coldly. Even if he might actually be in love with me, I had no desire to be with him. Not in the slightest. So it would be better to drill it into his head to just give up and find another girl to woo.

“J-just give me a chance to prove myself to you, p-please!”

“There’s nothing to prove,” I quickly replied. “If you think love is about proving anything, then that’s another reason why you wouldn’t be compatible with me.”

Call me a fool if you want, but I believed in the love those boards loved to sing about—the kind of love that was irrational, the kind of love that occured at first sight. If I ever fell in love, it would be with someone I couldn't help but think about day and night, worrying how he was and how he perceived me. I would want to have his everything, while giving myself entirely in return. It would be that kind of deep and intimate love.

With that said, I left him behind, but not without him having the last word.

"I'll make you fall in love with me, Marina! I promise!"

_What an idiot… he doesn't understand me at all…_

Afterwards, I told everything that had occurred to Hugo via letter, even if I didn’t really want to. I had promised him to tell everything after all.

When I got his return letter, as I predicted, he passionately wrote how he would go here and teach the hobbit a lesson if he kept bothering me. I giggled reading it, feeling happy that he cared so much, but I refused, telling him that I was perfectly fine on my own. What kind of a big sister would I be if I have to get my little brother defending me?

Not to mention that, to my pleasant surprise, he stopped his advances towards me entirely, making me wonder if he had really given up for real.

\------

My fourth year then ended, and I returned home for the summer, as usual.

Proudly, I demonstrated to Hugo how I had mastered my third Master-level spell, Rainstorm. I beat him to it after all. Although, I couldn’t help but feel bad, knowing that he still had yet reached his first Master-level spell. He said he had a plan for the kind of spell he wanted to make, but he refused to tell me, saying that he wanted to keep the surprise, that silly boy.

Well, it was time for him to have his own secrets that he couldn’t tell even to his big sister. Just one more year until he’s ten after all.

Me mastering Rainstorm at the opportune moment as well, since this summer was unusually dry, causing a drought that threatened the crops of the villagers under Father’s care. With my spell, it wasn’t a problem anymore, though the villagers praised me as if I was their saviour, which quite embarrassed me. I didn’t feel like I had done something particularly worthy of such praises after all.

It was a quiet summer overall, with nothing else that would be noteworthy enough to talk about.

\-----------

I returned back to my fifth year at the academy. And I was certainly approaching that date of graduation that I looked forward to.

Technically, I could graduate earlier if I wanted, since I already had three Master-level spells under my belt (and one would already be enough), but I figured it would just be a waste. Father had paid good money for me to enroll in this place after all. And besides, I still wanted to be by Alincia’s side. The girl could still use me as a friend and I certainly enjoyed her company.

Though if after Hugo’s tenth birthday, he begged me to just start adventuring with him, I might just consider it.

Like I had said before in the start of this monologue, Alincia learned her first Master-level spell at this year, though at the end of it. According to her, her big sister also learned her first Master-level spell at that point, which made her grin ear to ear. She was clearly happy that she could follow on her sister’s footsteps.

There was one big and notable thing that occured in this year, and that was the invitation of the parents of the fifth year students to come in and talk to the teachers at the academy. Officially, it was done to ask how they would like their children’s future career prospects be, as for our last year, the lessons would be completely focused to really be about said career, depending on the student’s aspiration.

There were many career options available to a mage. Ignoring the obvious thing of becoming an adventurer, which the academy didn’t even count as a career option since to them, there was no stability nor prestige on it, you could become the Magocracy’s mage soldiers, or, if you were more skilled, you could become the Council’s elite guards. There was also an option to become a Council member’s personal guard, if there was an opening. As for non combat roles, you could become a construction mage who used Earth magic to build houses and other structures. Or as a fisherman mage who used Water magic to catch fishes. Mind you, not everything was done through magic in this country, since even though it’s called the Magocracy, there were still many of its citizens who couldn’t use magic in the slightest.

Naturally, my parents were also called in as well, so I wrote them a letter, telling them to come and visit.

And two weeks later, they indeed did. But not just Father and Mother, but also Hugo and even Erika, who they believed to be sufficiently old enough to weather a long two-week journey on a carriage like that.

Unfortunately, the academy didn’t really have any extra rooms that the parents could use to sleep in, so they had to rent an inn outside of academy grounds.

Still, I was delighted that they were coming, especially since the exception of Father, this was their very first visit here. Unlike some other kids who were easily homesick, I was fine just visiting them once per year at the holidays.

Little did I know that it wouldn’t be just the teachers that they would be meeting.

\--------------

**Hugo**

When I first read Marina’s letter saying how Father and Mother were invited to come to the Academy, I was ecstatic. After all, it could only mean one thing. 

Another family trip! But this time, we’re not going to the mountains, but to Marina’s school instead! The capital of the Magocracy, Mira! A place like that should be filled with all sorts of magical stuff, right? I can’t wait!

Although, when I asked Marina about it, she told me that the city wasn’t really that different from Aarom, only that it was larger and it had a great pitch black wall surrounding it made out of magical obsidian. And some minor magical things in the academy grounds. It’s nothing spectacular like in the magic cities in those fictions we liked to read. It’s not a city in the sky, nor does it have an army of golems patrolling around in the streets.

Even so, my excitement still remained. I felt that she was just being her usual characteristic self that rarely got excited over anything.

And it’s the perfect birthday present too… if the date we were told to come was two months later, that is. Not that this world had that kind of tradition. Or at least, not in this part of the world.

Argh, what rotten luck! Just two more months until I could register as an adventurer! If I was already ten, we could have our first quest together there!

...Then again, I had promised Sherry to wait for her before we go on any quests. Just one more year until Marina graduates and she returns. And I certainly don’t intend to break that promise.

“Mother, I can come too, right?” I asked after I showed her the letter, giving her the best hopeful smile that I could muster.

“Hehe, of course you can!” She giggled. She clearly was happy by the news. “In fact, I think our whole family can come together! Even little Erika! I believe she’s old enough for such a trip. Though knowing her, she’ll probably cry and scream a lot during it…” She let out a sigh.

Ah, right. That girl gets easily bored after all.

“Don’t worry, Mother! I’ll be there to calm her down!” I patted my chest, switching to a confident smile.

_I sure hope I can. Or else this fun trip would be hell instead. Urgh, she can get really loud if she doesn’t get what she wants…_


	36. An Unexpected Encounter

Our trip to the Academy was done using, what else, a carriage, although this time around we rented the entire thing, unlike Marina who had to share it with strangers. That made it quite a lot more expensive than the usual cost, but it was totally worth it. It wasn’t like we were wasting our money and time going back and forth from our home to Mira willy-nilly after all. This was our very first trip as a family to the Magocracy capital.

_Urgh…_

It's only been three hours since we boarded, and I was already bored out of my mind. There wasn't anything unique on the road, only green plains to the left and right of us as well as some mountains far away.

"Big bro, is Mira still far away?"

Erika, who was sitting on my lap, looked upwards and back towards me.

"It still is, Erika." I answered with a forced smile, patting her smooth blonde hair. "Two weeks trip, remember?"

"I'm bored."

"I know. I'm bored as well."

Silence then fell between us, before she suddenly decided to turn around and hug me, burying her face on my chest.

"Be my pillow."

I sighed with a smile, placing my hands around her little body as gently as I could.

"Oh dear, if you want a pillow to sleep on, then Mother would make a much better one, you know."

I looked forward and saw Mother giggling at the scene. Father, on the other hand, was asleep, with his head outside the window. I couldn't help but think how dangerous that was.

"Because of your breasts, Mother?"

"Ah. So Hugo is already old enough to know about such things." She giggled again.

I intended to embarrass her a little but she clearly knew very well just how attractive her two jumbo-sized funbags were. Even now, they seductively jiggled every time the carriage hit a bump, threatening to burst out of the white button-up shirt she was wearing.

"Maybe you can ask for your own pillow once Sherry returns." She smiled mischievously.

“I’ll look forward to that,” I answered with a dry smile. To be honest, I cannot imagine Sherry having huge breasts like Mother’s. She seems to be the type of girl that will have small ones instead. She doesn’t have to worry though! Unlike Father, I don’t discriminate between large and small. They all have their own charms after all. In fact, I’ll massage them for you every night, if you want them to be bigger!

“... Your grin is creepy, Big Bro.”

W-what? I looked down and saw Erika frowning at me.

"Hehe, he's thinking about her for sure," Mother commented with her own grin. "Really, you are such your father's son. Same fondness of girls, and same desire for adventures as well. You know, I originally wanted to send you to the Academy as well once you're old enough, but if you want to go being an adventurer right away, then I won't stop you. Wouldn't want you to end up running away like your father did after all."

My ears perked up. Running away? I knew that he left home to become an adventurer early in his life, but this running away part was certainly news to me.

“Oh, I haven’t told you this yet, have we? Only Marina. Well, I suppose we can spend our time in this stuffy carriage talking about it."

With a nostalgic smile, she began her story.

"Do you know about the Ferus Kingdom, Hugo?"

"Ferus? If I remember correctly, that's the kingdom on the far northwest of this continent, right?"

"That's the one, yes. And it's your father's homeland. He might not look like it, but he's the son of one of the nobles there."

My jaw dropped. "F-Father… is a noble?"

"Not quite. He's been disowned, you see. So he's just a common man these days."

She paused and took a deep sigh.

"It all started with an argument between him and his father. He wouldn't tell me what it was, saying that, 'It's just some stupid thing.' He was a hothead when he was young, so he did the most outrageous thing possible and bolted out of his home to become an adventurer. He never returned or sent any letters since that day."

"...Wow, Father did all that?” I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed or be stupified by his rash decision.

“Yes, he did. You see, unlike the usual noble kids, he had always been too rough and adventurous for his own good. He always said that it was his destiny to become an adventurer, and not to become a good, noble gentleman like his father wanted him to be.”

“...Yeah, I can definitely agree with that.” I said, nodding my head. Mother simply giggled lightly in return.

“And that’s why we don’t want to push you to do anything that you don’t want to do, Hugo. And besides, you’re already much stronger than Father was back when he started his adventures, so we feel safe enough to let you and Marina go on your own adventures once she finishes her school.”

"I see… So that's how it is… " I looked up straight at Mother's eyes. "Don't worry, Mother! I would never leave you or Father like that!" I gave my brightest smile. "You two have been really good to me after all!"

"Aaw, you're making your mother blush, Hugo." She giggled again, covering her mouth in the process. "I'm glad you feel that way. I try my best every day to be the best mother that I could, you know!" She reached forward and ruffled my hair.

"How about you, Mom? Where did you come from?"

Suddenly, her smile disappeared.

"I… would rather not talk about that, if you don't mind."

Seeing her reaction, I immediately decided to halt my curiosity.

"... That's alright, Mom." I put my hand on hers, rubbing it gently with an understanding smile. "If you don't want to, then I won't force you."

"Oh Hugo…" Her smile returned. "No doubt Sherry is going to be one happy wife in the future. Make lots of children with her, alright? I want lots of cute grandkids to play with," she said with a little smirk.

Hey, hey, did you just tell your nine-year old son to have sex? And lots of it?

Not that I mind though. When I imagine Sherry's adult self, who certainly will be much cuter, more beautiful, and with a dash of that adult sexiness in bed with me on top of her, what kind of sane male wouldn't want to ravage her every night?

“...Hugo, you’re fantasizing again, aren’t you?” She huffed. “Really, you haven’t even hit puberty yet but you’re already like this. Now I can’t help but be worried.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I was only fantasizing about her after all,” I replied back. Normally, I would be flustered but I had gotten used to her teasing over the years.

“Oh, poor Sherry… “ She shook her head. “I hope you wouldn’t be too harsh on her in bed, Hugo.”

Somehow, I felt that it would be the opposite instead.

“Oh look, little Erika’s sleeping. Hehe, good. She’s still too young to be hearing about that kind of stuff yet.”

Indeed she was. I didn’t notice when, but she had drifted off as we were having our conversation. She was now snoring lightly, drooling a little bit onto my shirt.

“Here. Let me take her instead. You must be tired, having her on your lap all these hours.”

I did as she told, gently handing over my currently sleeping little sister to her. Damn, she’s in her most adorable state when she’s sleeping like this.

“You take a nap as well, Hugo.” She then told me. “I’ll wake you up once we arrive at our stop.”

Naturally, the carriage wouldn’t go all the way to Mira without stops—either on the small villages they would find on the road or on little coachhouses built simply so that the horse and the travelling guests could rest.

\----------

On the fourth day, we arrived at the border town Paigtef. Just like back on Earth, travelers would need to get checked first by the border guards before they were allowed to pass through.

We, of course, passed the check with no problem. In this world, passports or visas weren’t really a thing yet, it seemed. The check itself was pretty lax, though I noticed one of the guards give a perverted leer at Mother’s chest, until Father’s glare scared him off. I imagined these guards would ask for higher tolls if we were a merchant carrying our goods across.

For the rest of the ten days, we traveled between the two mountain ranges to our north and south. And then, after some more villages and stops, we finally arrived at our destination, Mira.

"Uwaaaaaahh! Look, big bro! It's so huge!"

The moment the driver announced that the capital city was right ahead, Erika bravely popped her head out the window to look at it. I immediately held her body, just so she wouldn't end up falling to the outside.

"You know, I can't look at it when I'm right here."

"Those walls! They're all black and shiny!"

I sighed. We remained in this position for a good while before she got bored and told me to pull her back in.

Mira, the City of Magic, as they called it. It's located on the plains right after the two mountain ranges ended, and it was practically a crossroad to the rest of the country.

When it was my turn to see it, I couldn't help but be awed as well. Naturally, Marina had already told me about how huge it was and how it had a tall obsidian wall surrounding it, but seeing it in person was a completely different experience entirely.

Once we were inside, as Marina instructed, we were told to go find an inn, preferably one that's near the academy.

The place was full of people, as you would expect from the capital of a country. And not just humans, as I immediately took notice of elves, hobbits, and even a girl who had sheep-like characteristics on her—a sheep beastkin, if I had to guess.

"Enjoying the view, Hugo?" Father asked with a grin. "It's fun traveling around to new places, isn't it?" He patted my back.

Just like Marina said however, there was nothing particularly "magicky" about the city. No flying carpets, no cute witches flying around with their brooms (allowing me to peek at their panties from underneath), and no magic automatons or golems. It looked relatively mundane inside. The only special thing that I noticed was the tall tower in the middle of the town.

_Oh, that's right. That's the Council Tower, isn't it? Marina told me about it once. It's the place where the top tier mages running the country would meet up for their meetings. I imagine a place like that would be heavily guarded by all sorts of magic. Though from here, it just looks like a normal tower. Tch, how boring. I expect floating crystals at the sides or something._

We settled on an inn just outside the academy complex. Reflecting how prestigious it was, it was separate from the hustle and bustle of the city, even though technically it was still inside. You would need to take a road through a tiny forest to get to the academy proper.

Like how we slept for the past two weeks, Father and Mother shared a room while Erika and I shared another. And yes, Erika hugged me every single night as I slept. I would perfectly be happy for it, if not for the fact that she still had bedwetting issues. Twice in those two weeks that I woke up soaked just like our sheets.

Of course, she immediately cried when she realized what she did, apologizing for what she did to me at the same time. And, like a good and understanding big brother, I told her that it was all right. Kids normally only stopped wetting their beds entirely around six or seven after all, if I remembered my little sister from my previous life.

Still, it led to Mother forcing her to wear diapers every single night since then, as she didn't want to inconvenience the innkeepers. And boy, she wasn't happy for that.

Since we arrived a day earlier than the date Marina told in the letter, I now had a choice. Should I go visit Marina or explore the city first? It didn’t take me long to decide. It’s still noon so Marina should still be busy with her classes. So the city it is.

Thankfully, Erika immediately fell asleep in our room once we arrived at the inn, so I wouldn’t have to bring her along. Since I **definitely** knew that she would demand to go with me.

“Father, Mother, I’m going to the city. Erika’s sleeping in our room.” I told them.

“Be careful, alright?” Mother said with a smile, looking at me as she paused unpacking our luggage.

“Do you need me to go with you, Hugo?” Father then offered.

“No thanks. I’m fine on my own.”

“Try not to get arrested like your sister!” He shouted as I left. Oh Father, always with his sense of humor.

\----------

My first destination was the Council Tower, or, as the locals called it, The Tower of the Sages, as a form of respect to their wise ruling overlords who had their seat of government there. Hah, now that sounds like a proper fantasy tower!

I wasn’t planning on trespassing or anything, of course. Like Father said, I wasn’t going to get myself arrested. I’d be screwed if I did. This wasn’t Aarom where Father had a pull with the local lord.

As I arrived, I realized just how massive the whole place really was.

First of all, just like the Academy, it was surrounded by greenery for a good amount, and you had to go through it first before you could get to the tower proper. And by a good amount, I meant there must be at least one kilometer squares of it, all protected from outsiders by tall steel fences—a fact that I found out by actually circling around it, like someone with nothing better to do with his time.

And judging from what I could see from the outside, it’s a complete jungle in there. I could barely see anything inside through the thick trees.

_This is magic, right? There’s no way a jungle like that could grow naturally in the middle of a city like this. Not to mention that there are only plains outside for miles._

_...Wait, hold on, we do have something like this back home! City parks! Like the Central Park in New York! So it might not be magic after all?_

_Doubt it. This is the land of the mages after all. They would be dumb not to abuse the hell out of their magic every chance they could._

I noticed something peculiar about it though. Mainly, how light the security was. I could only see two mage guards standing half-asleep in front of the closed main gate, relying on their staves to nod off while standing (which was quite the impressive skill by the way, at least to me). No other guards walking on the sides of the complex. This immediately made me infer that the steel fences must be enchanted with magic in some way as well. Maybe an alarm that triggered when a person touched it. Or even a thunder enchantment, making them essentially amount to electric fences.

_Whew, now I’m glad I didn’t get close to them._

_Though that only makes the jungle even more suspicious. It must be another layer of protection after the fences. Dammit, now I’m even more curious about what could be hiding inside._

And then, suddenly, the gate flung open. Out walked a figure that I didn’t expect in the slightest. 

It was a maid—a teal haired one, the same color as her dress. She also wore a white apron over it. The most peculiar thing about her however was the pair of objects attached to the sides of her head.

_That’s… those are finns, are they not? That makes her a sea-folk then?_

As the name suggested, the sea-folk was what us land-dwellers call those who lived on the sea. Yep, mermaids are real in this world, along with other mythological sea creatures as well.

Unfortunately however, they were quite hostile, or, at the very least, isolationist and highly protective of their borders. The majority of the oceans in this world was off-limits for any ships to travel, as the sea-folk would attack and sink it on sight. Only specified routes to cross continents were allowed by them, which made travel a lot more difficult than how it could be.

Behind her was another peculiar figure. This time, it was an adult woman, perhaps around Mother’s age, or a little bit older. She was dark blue from top to bottom, from her long hair to her long dress, and that staff of hers she carried with her. Only her light skin was not blue.

The two guards were immediately jolted awake by their presence. Naturally, they scrambled to fix their stance, bowing as deeply as they could to the woman.

“M-Madame Brine! T-this is really unusual! Y-you don’t usually take this route!” One of them spoke.

“Oh, I simply wanted a change of pace, that’s all,” the woman replied with a tiny, barely unnoticeable smile.

_Madame Brine? That means she’s—_

“Boy! What are you doing there? Move out of the way!”

Ah, that’s right. I’m standing right in the middle of the road. And I must be staring at them like a deer in the headlights.

I quickly did as I was told. The woman then resumed her walk with who I assumed to be her maid leading the charge. As she went past me however, she gave me a glance, before smiling. And it was a beautiful smile… if not for the fact that said smile didn’t reach her cold eyes. 

_This feeling… it’s fear, isn’t it?_

I would have gone for my wand, but I stopped myself. She or her maid would end me immediately if I drew it in front of them.

“Master, are we going to take a walk through the city as well?”

“That wouldn’t be necessary. We shall go home right away.”

The maid’s question broke her gaze at me. And then, before I could do anything, something unbelievable happened right in front of her eyes.

It was a giant jellyfish, appearing right above the two of them out from thin air. It then carried them to the inside of its transparent, watery body with two of its many tentacles.

And then, the giant jellyfish fired off a jet of water from its bottom, sending it flying to the skies. I immediately covered myself with my hands, expecting the water to splash onto me, only to find that it never came. The water… had just dissipated into thin air—the same way the jellyfish had appeared.

_T-that was… that was a summon, wasn’t it? T-to think there could be a summon like that…_

_Selendia Brine… one of the members of the Council… just being in her presence makes me feel like this…_

I quickly went back to the inn afterwards, wanting to tell Father and Mother on what just happened. _And I’ll tell Marina too, of course! She’ll be excited to hear that I’ve met one of them for sure! It’s like having a face-to-face meeting with the Prime Minister!_


	37. Vera Marjoram

When I returned, Father and Mother were thankfully still inside their room. Judging by the rush inside when I knocked, they probably just had sex and were still cuddling on their bed naked. Haah, can't leave this two alone on their own at all.

Once Father opened the door, all dressed up of course, I immediately told them of my encounter. As expected, they immediately turned pale with the news.

"Y-you didn't—" Mother grabbed me on the shoulders.

"I didn't do anything, Mother, don't worry. I just blocked their path, that's all. And I quickly moved to the side when the maid told me to."

"Ah, that's good to know..." Father let out a relieved sight.

"Really, what were you doing there?! And so close to the entrance too?!" Mother asked, shouting, shaking my body lightly as well. "You don't just walk to the front gates of a lord's castle just to sightsee! They might think of you as a spy or something!"

"Sorry…" I apologized. Now that I thought about it, there really was no one else there other than me. It seemed the locals were wise enough to respect their rulers and stay away from their domain.

“To think that you end up meeting one of the Council like that… I don’t know whether to call you a lucky boy or an unlucky one, Hugo,” Father said with a sigh, putting his hand on my shoulder. “They could kill you on the spot if you displease them, and there would be nothing that we can do against it, even if I were a Marchen Duke. The Magocracy is the dominant power in this southern region of the continent after all, and our kingdom is no match against its mages."

"Yeah…" I smiled dryly, looking down to my knees. "That lady… she's scary…"

"Good! That means you can tell a strong opponent from a weak one." Father patted with a grin. "You need that to be a good adventurer."

"Well, I'm just glad you're alright, Hugo." Mother smiled, before wrapping her arms around me from behind. We were sitting on the bed, with me in the middle.

_Munyuu~♥_

Aahh, I can feel it—her soft breasts pressing into my head!

\------

We had our dinner at the inn. It was a decent enough food, but certainly couldn't compare to the stuff Mother made every day back at home. And no, it's just my bias as her son. Mother truly was a great cook.

The next morning, we dressed up in our semi-formal outfits before heading to the Academy. Marina said that technically there wasn't a dress code mentioned but we certainly couldn't just appear looking like country bumpkins. We would embarrass Marina then! Especially since most of the other parents there would be from well-off, rich families.

I wore a white shirt under a black jacket, and since I was still a young boy, I could get away with wearing my usual white shorts. Mother wore a long-sleeved button-up ruffle blouse with a long dark blue skirt. She had her blonde hair primly tied in a bun, and she even used lipstick to redden her lips, something she never ever did. And as usual, like with her other clothes, there was no hiding her assets. Damn, those poor buttons…

Father on the other hand wore a similar pair of white shirt and black jacket like mine, only that he wore a pair of long black dress pants down below. It was all too obvious that he was uncomfortable in them, knowing how he usually only wore sleeveless shirts, exposing his amazing biceps to the world.

_Mother looks nice, but Father… he just looks awkward, unfortunately._

Erika, on the other hand, looked absolutely perfect. She wore this bright white frilly dress that must have multiplied her cuteness by tenfold. Not to mention the flower headband she had on. Mother really went all out on her.

We departed early in the morning after breakfast, as the parents would be gathered in the academy’s hall first for a speech from the headmaster.

As we walked there, we found out that we probably should’ve taken a carriage to the school, as numerous other carriages all went past us, no doubt carrying the other parents. Private carriages, I bet. We don’t have such a thing, unfortunately.

Once we reached the open gates, a guard immediately came to us and offered to take us to the hall. We, of course, accepted.

We walked through the academy grounds, seeing all sorts of people disembarking from their carriages. Some were old, some were young, and some were even just little boys and girls like me and Erika.

_Hmm?_

I felt Erika's grip on my hand tightening.

I looked down and noticed how she was biting her lip with a frown on her face, with her eyes darting back and forth.

Ah, she must be nervous. This was the first time she was near this many people after all.

I was about to lift her up and calm her down, before I realized that this was a prime opportunity for her to be more used to strangers. Back at home, she would always hide behind me if we met someone.

Sorry Erika, but I would have to stop spoiling you sooner or later. It's for your own good.

I looked around as well, just to see how we compared to the others.

Hmm, most of them either wear mage outfits or super formal outfits like suits and the like. I don't think we look that out of place though. And I can certainly say that Mother may be the most beautiful parent there—an opinion that quite a number of husbands shared as they stole glances to her, and her impressive chest.

We didn't meet with Marina right away, as she was still in her morning class.

We took our seats at the back of the room in the hall, with Erika having her own chair beside me. Thankfully, it didn't take long until the speech started, with the vice headmaster opening the event before announcing the headmaster's appearance at the podium.

_Is that how they introduce people here?_

The vice headmaster had opened his welcoming statement by stating his name and his magic level, before introducing the headmaster with the same format. Now I know that the vice-headmaster was a Master in Fire while the headmaster was a Master in Wind. It's hilarious to imagine that Marina had already surpassed these two old coots.

_Haah…_

It didn't take long for me to start sighing, as the headmaster was droning on and on with his speech. The only thing that was entertaining about him was his perfectly smooth bald head. Seriously, I think I can see light reflecting off it.

I noticed Erika getting uneasy as well. She's still far too young for this kind of stuff. I doubt she can understand any of baldie’s words to be honest.

Suddenly, a man on the front row stood up and whispered something to him.

“A-ah, right, the time…”

_Oh thank God…_

And thus, we were saved from what could probably be another hour of speech that would no doubt make Erika cry and me sleep out of boredom.

Afterwards, the faculty told the parents to move to the cafeteria, where a buffet brunch would be provided, as one by one they would be summoned to the meeting office where they would have a nice chat with the teachers about their children’s future.

However, before we could even get started moving there, one of the teachers came over to us, stopping us on our tracks. It was a chubby middle-aged woman, wearing a black robe and a black witch hat.

“E-excuse me. You four are from the Greenwood family, correct?” she asked, a clear sign of nervousness displayed on her face.

“Yes, we are,” Father answered, his eyebrows raised.

“I-it’s your turn for the consultation. F-follow me.”

Father exchanged looks with Mother. Something was up. I could feel it.

We then followed her as she requested. I wonder what makes her this nervous. Maybe she’s just a naturally nervous person? That won’t be good if she’s a teacher.

When we entered the room, Marina was already there, sitting on the couch with her back turned to us. And in front of her was… wait, that couldn’t be her teacher, could it?

It was a girl—a young girl to be exact. She looked as if she was around ten using my estimate. She was dressed in quite the flashy way, with a pure white luxurious-looking fur shawl wrapping around her little arms and back. She was sitting slouched on the opposing couch, casually putting her white stocking-covered legs on it. She had really long blue hair, tied on the side with a hair ornament mimicking an ice crystal.

_Wait, those long, narrow ears… she's not human._

_Let's see, if I remembered correctly, that kind of long, pointed ears that go flat to the side instead of upwards mean she's either a gnome or a high elf._

_...Well, that changes everything! If she's a teacher, then she must be a gnome! They're similar to the hobbits that they are small and look like children for a lot of their lives. Only that they have a much higher lifespan than them._

She was also holding a staff in her left hand, which she casually slung over the couch.

"Finally! Took you long enough!"

Noticing our entrance, she immediately sat up and gave a haughty grin towards us.

"H-here they are, Ma'am." The plump teacher's voice was positively shaking. "A-anything else I could—"

"No. You may leave us."

Without even looking at us, she immediately bolted out of the room.

"So…" Her gaze was now planted towards all four of us. "This is the Greenwood Family. The caretakers of one Marina Greenwood, the girl that my dear grandson Thomas is smitten with."

_Thomas? That's the name of—_

My eyes widened. I connected the dots.

_She—she's the grandmother of that hobbit Marina talked about! Vera Marjoram! One of the Council mages! W-why is she—_

"Don't just stand there! Sit! Still a lot of space on your daughter's couch," her haughty grin turned into a smile.

I glanced at Marina and noticed how tense-looking she was. She too must have known who this gnome woman really is.

We did as she told, taking our spaces on Marina's sofa.

"I suppose I should start with the introduction. The name's Vera Marjoram. I assume you have heard of me?”

“The Ice Snake Witch,” Mother replied, her expression unflinching, though I could see sweat crawling down her forehead. “One of the Magocracy’s top mages.”

“Good. I hate having to tell people who I am.” Her smug grin had returned. “And now, we can get straight to the point. Thomas, you can come out now.”

From the back of the room a boy walked forward to us. Her presence was so overwhelming that I didn’t notice that he too was in the room with her and Marina.

_So this is the little scamp that wants to marry my big sister…_

My first impression of him? Not good. He screamed timid from top to bottom, and his girlish face did not help matters either. This is the guy that wants to marry Marina? As if I would ever entrust her to an unreliable-looking guy like him!

Look at that! Look at how he periodically glances to his grandmother, seeking her approval! He’s totally under her thumb, just like Marina predicted! 

I gave him a glare, playing the disapproving little brother role. Honestly, if I thought about it, I didn’t care at all when my little sister in my previous life brought home a boyfriend with her… No, that’s not quite right. I did care, but only to heighten my sense of self-pity, knowing that my little sister had successfully entered a relationship while I, her older brother, still couldn’t. Not to mention the jealousy of her being a “riajuu”. I even started to think of her as a promiscuous 3DPD girl that I would never touch with a ten feet pole, as I heard them having sex on her room beside mine.

If only I realized how childish and petty I was being then.

But now, it was different. I truly cared for Marina like a little brother should. And I would certainly guard her from anyone not worthy of her hand. Like this hobbit guy.

And then, all of a sudden, our eyes met.

To my genuine surprise, his timid, fearful eyes immediately transformed into a fierce one. He returned my glare without any fear whatsoever.

_What in the— this little brat!_

_… That’s it, huh? You must have known about me, Marina’s dear little brother. And you think that I’m one of the reasons why you haven’t conquered her yet. And now you want to declare war over her, is it?_

_You got guts, kid. You got guts. But Marina’s adoration belongs to me and me alone. And I’m not sharing it with you. If you think you can replace me as her No.1 little brother, think again!_

“So, Thomas here wants your daughter’s hand in marriage. And I ask you two, as her parents, to give your blessings to their union. And, before you ask, you don’t have to worry. I’ll get your family a mansion, right in my territory. I can even make it so it’s built just beside mine, if you want to see your daughter every day. Of course, I would also grant you a generous amount of salary every month, as my guards. You two used to be adventurers, no? I certainly could use some more strong people under my house. We’ve been quite understaffed lately, you see.” She gave a light chuckle before continuing. “I assure you, it would far outclass whatever knight salary you’re currently living from.” She smiled towards Father.

“...You’ve been spying on us, haven’t you?” Father returned with a stern look.

“Of course! I need to know the kind of family my grandson’s love belongs to after all! And unlike those other stuffy Council members, I don’t mind at all having my grandson marry a foreigner. I’ve read the reports. Your daughter is practically the perfect model student! I’m so happy that my little Thomas decides on such a girl to be his life partner!” She patted him on the head, making him flinch.

“So, how about it? It’s a deal then?” She grinned, placing her free hand on the table as she leaned forward to support her chin.

“I won’t. Like I had said before, I have no interest in your grandson whatsoever.”

Marina, who had kept her silence all this time, suddenly spoke out. There was no hint of fear or hesitation in her voice, and she was looking straight at the ice witch’s eyes, unblinking.

Once again, I had to applaud my big sister’s mental strength. No wonder she could go through all that bullying when Merinda was still around just fine.

“I’m not asking you, my dear Marina. I’m asking your father and mother.” She replied sweetly, though it was obvious that Marina had offended her quite severely by saying that.

“If Marina doesn’t want it, then I won’t want it for her either,” Mother replied, now coldly glaring at the witch. “I apologize, Lady Marjoram, but I would have to refuse your offer.”

“Same with me,” Father joined in, folding her arms and sending his own glare towards her. “We’re getting by just fine with my knight salary. We don’t need your help.”

The witch fell silent for a moment, her smile disappearing for a little bit. But then, it quickly returned as she retorted with, “Very well! So Thomas would just have to win her over, right? Then there’s no problem! We still have a lot of time before their graduation after all! I’ll teach him all about wooing girls and make him win your daughter’s heart! I’m sure he can do it! Your daughter likes cute younger boys, right? So my Thomas is perfect for her! Especially since he would stay looking that way for a long time!”

“However, just in case, if you still don’t want to marry him even after you graduate, would you be willing to be my personal guard? I’ll pay you handsomely, you know! I’ll even give you your own land if you want!”

“...No. I would have to refuse that too. I’m planning to become an adventurer once I graduate,” Marina answered, plain and frank, still not breaking her eye contact.

“Oh? An adventurer? How peculiar. You know they don’t pay adventurers that much money, even for the S-rank ones.”

“That’s fine. I don’t need a lot of money.”

“You sure? Your wand certainly is an expensive one. You can’t pay for it on your or your father’s money, can you?” She grinned. _This bitch! She’s the one who gave her that!_

“...Here. You can have it if you want it back.”

Without any hesitation, Marina threw the wand on the table. That glint in her eyes… ooh, if she isn’t angry before, then she certainly is now!

A snort escaped the witch’s mouth.

“It’s yours. You deserve it for being such a good student after all. I don’t need it back.” She pushed it back to her side of the table.

She then paused again, before letting out a long sigh that sounded just a little too exaggerated to be real.

“Alright then. Fine. You know, the other students would kill for a job offer I just gave you. Especially those less wealthy similar to you. But, if you rather become an overglorified mercenary, then it’s your future, not mine.”

She stood up. “Come, Thomas, we’re done here.”

Without a word, the hobbit followed her to the exit. He gave another glance towards me and then towards Marina, before following his grandmother like a little puppy.

We all took a relieved sigh once they left. Except for Erika, who just didn’t seem to understand what was going on.

“...I don’t like her. I don’t think I’ll be able to stand it, to have her as a relative,” Mother spoke first. "Did you see how she looked at us? Such arrogance!"

“And that hobbit kid, that boy’s too timid for my taste. Push to shove, he would prioritize his grandmother over Marina for sure. And I won’t have a person like that as my daughter’s husband.” Father spoke next. "Especially since he's immature enough to involve her grandma in his love escapades. Who does that? You're not a man if you do that!"

Hearing them, Marina started to giggle. Ah, there it is! The usual smile she always shows around us!

"Well, since I now have the rest of the day free, why don't I take you all for a tour around the city?" She stood up and clapped her hands.

I noticed her pocketing her wand back to her coat. Guess even after being insulted like that, she still wanted to keep it.

_Vera Marjoram… another top ranked mage of the Magocracy. Her atmosphere is completely different though. She might be dripping in arrogance, but she's still less threatening than the one I met yesterday. Maybe she's weaker than her? Or maybe it's just her childlike looks._

_Urgh, this means Marina would have to fend off even more advances from that brat. You know, maybe I should have a little "chat" with him. But not when her grandma is around, of course._

I started to smirk, imagining what I would do to him.

"Big Bro, your smile is scary…"


	38. A Date With Big Sister

We spent the rest of the day sightseeing around the city. Apparently, that was it. That was the supposed meeting between us and the teachers. Marina told us that Vera had essentially “hijacked” it, telling the professors that Marina “belonged to her” and that no one else should give her future job offers than her. Naturally, they could only obey her command.

Marina knew all of that only thanks to her pushing it out of one of said teachers by the way. A good proof that the ice snake was indeed that—a snake.

“This is just formality anyways. The Academy doesn’t really have authority on telling their students where they would go after they graduate. Well, except when you’re one of those handful students who got the scholarship,” she explained as we walked to the gates. "So she wouldn't be able to deny my graduation when that happens."

"Are you sure about that, Sis?" I asked. "I mean, even if she can't do it officially, she can, I dunno, pull strings to make the teachers intentionally fail you in your exams."

"Silly Hugo." She smiled, rubbing my head. "The final graduation exam would be a magic duel with one of the teachers. And, forgive me if this sounds arrogant, I believe at my current level, I can already take one teacher just fine, even if they go all out, even though they're not supposed to."

I smiled. "I don't think you're being arrogant, Sis. It's the truth after all."

"Oh, stop flattering your sister like that. You're making me blush." She giggled, rubbing my head even harder.

\-------

First, Marina took us to her favorite cafe that she often visited with Alincia. She had quite the large serving of tiramisu there by the way, something that I certainly didn’t expect from her. She had always been a light eater. Maybe just for desserts like that?

Afterwards, we went to the city’s museum—basically a place where you could learn about the Magocracy’s history. There, we got just in time for the scheduled show, where this pretty lady in her twenties used her Earth magic to construct miniature structures and even mud dolls to be used in her play. I’m glad that she seemed to be truly enjoying her job, judging by the radiant smile she always had on her face throughout the entire thing. I could tell that it wasn’t a fake one.

For me though, I couldn’t imagine being a magician just to take a job like this. Where’s the adventure? This is a fantasy world yet you’re spending your life being a museum employer, playing puppets to entertain kids? Though I suppose from their perspective, this is their real life. Hell, my old world would be their fantasy world, with how many technologies we have that would no doubt blow their brains out.

And if you’re not suited to be out there fighting monsters, then a job like this isn’t too bad. At least you’ll get the smiles of the patrons as your reward, and that is a lot better than being stuck facing a monitor all day like I did.

Still, I had to criticize the contents of the museum itself. It’s so obviously a propaganda in many parts that it hurts to see and read. It extolls the role of Mira so much to the point of near worship, while downplaying the achievements of Arthur and Milicis, her other two companions. In fact, Milicis got the worst of it, as she’s portrayed as an incompetent cleric that Arthur only took in as his companion out of pity. It really reminded me of that old picture book Marina gave me.

Other than that though, the museum was pretty interesting overall. We got to see a bunch of replicas of the staff Mira used, since there wasn't really a consensus on how it really looked—the staff itself had been lost to the ages. And it's apparently the most powerful staff that had ever existed, and she made it herself. Too bad the components and the method she used was, once again, lost to the ages.

And just like her staff, her image too was unclear. We got to see many paintings and statues depicting her, but none they could really call her canonical looks to be sure. Some had her wear glasses to enhance her intellectual look, while others disagreed, saying that she would have discovered a spell to cure nearsightedness (which we still don't have). Some portrayed her as a cool, expressionless lady, while others gave her large boobs and thick hips with skin-exposing robes.

Then we moved on to the tale of the Founding, where after defeating the Demon God, in her wisdom, Mira decided to build a nation devoted in the growth and development of magic, free from the greed and filthy ambition of the non mages. It wouldn't be ruled by nobles, but by wise magicians instead. It would be an enlightened society—a Utopia of the magic arts.

Many mages of that era flocked to her to become her disciple, and thus, the Magocracy was born.

And then, the history from there to now. Lots of wars, as expected, many of which were against the Holy Empire in some way of form. The last one was around a hundred years ago or so, and now, they were currently in a peace agreement. They didn't display the details of the agreement though.

After the museum, we then went to the city's market district. As you would expect, it was a busy place, filled with all sorts of people with all sorts of goods from across the country, and even abroad.

We walked as a group, with me and Marina on the front and Father, Mother, and Erika on the back. Erika had fallen asleep at the museum, and now Mother was carrying her over her shoulder.

“Judging by that excited smile, you probably want to go see the magical item shops right away, don’t you, Hugo?” Marina asked with an easygoing smirk.

“Of course, Sis! I mean, if you go to a magic city, why wouldn’t you want to check out the magic shops inside it?” I replied with my own easygoing grin.

“Alright. I’ll show you a good place then!”

With a confident gait, she led the way, with me following her from behind, not realizing that I was leaving Father and Mother behind.

\--------

**Renee**

“Hey, they’re getting away, you know."

“It’s fine. They can take care of themselves. Aah, I'm always so happy seeing them get along well like that."

As a mother, naturally, I wanted all my children to get along well. And so far, I got exactly that. Marina doted on Hugo, and Hugo admired her back. And Little Erika here certainly loved them very much.

"Should we just get back to the inn? Erika's looking pretty tuckered out."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right." I smiled. "...Hey, that smile… you're thinking of doing _that_ again when we get back, don't you?"

"Hah, you always read me like a book, honey," he replied with a grin. "Just want to use this opportunity well, you know. We don't stay in inns that much these days after all."

"Hmm? Is that a new perverted hobby I just hear?" I let out a pretend huff. "Honestly, what did I do to deserve such a lecherous husband?"

He knew that I didn't really mean it though. He liked it when I acted like that. He said it made me look cute.

_So he's getting all nostalgic of the days where we would do it at every inn we stayed inside. He didn't even care if we got noise complaints from our room neighbors. He would still rail me like a hungry animal. Even when I was pregnant with Marina._

And even after all these years of our marriage, he still desired me just as much as when we first became a couple.

And I am so unbelievably happy and grateful for that.

“Oh fine, we can go back. But go tell those two first. I don’t want them to think anything happens to us after all.”

\---------

**Marina**

"Well, I guess it's a date then!" I turned to Hugo and smirked once Father left. All of a sudden, he told us that he and Mother were going back to the inn earlier. He said it was to let Erika sleep properly, but I have a feeling it's also because they want to do that thing they always do.

I'm fine with it of course. I'm happy that they're still a happy couple even after these years. But I really think they should tone it down a little. Especially Mother. Her moans are too loud. I'm starting to think that she might be faking it a little.

Still, as ashamed as I am by admitting this, it was enough to arouse me every time their lewd sounds reached my ears. And it's even more shameful for me to admit that I have pleasured myself a couple of times to them.

How ironic. I despise perverts, despite possibly being one myself.

Well, my principle is if you don't bother others with your perversion, then it's forgivable. And I certainly am not bothering anymore by doing it. I always cover my mouth every time I do it, so that I wouldn't bother anyone by my moans. Not that I'm a moaner or anything.

It's another matter entirely if you indulge in it by lifting skirts of unwitting girls like a couple of juniors I met a while back. One of them even dared to lift my dress as I was scolding them, thinking I'm stupid enough to not notice him secretly forming a ball of wind with the hand behind his back. Of course, I took care of him readily before he could even cast the spell. They didn't know yet of my reputation, I suppose.

"What's the matter, Sis? You're thinking of something?" Oops, Hugo took notice of my vacant stare.

"Oh, it's nothing. Let's go. The shop is just over this block. Oh, and—" I offered my hand. "—since we're on a date, why don't you take my hand? Let's just say this is your training for when Sherry came back. You would take her on many romantic dates after all."

He hesitated, but he took it anyway. "There we go! Now let's see if you can walk at the same place as me. Not too fast. Not too slow. Just enough so that we would stay in sync."

…

"Yep, that's how you do it! Keep it up!"

\--------

**Hugo**

And now, all of a sudden, I am having a dating lesson from my big sister.

The whole thing happened so suddenly that I still wasn’t sure what was going on. First, Father said to us that he and Mother were leaving to tuck Erika to bed, and then Marina declared that we were having a date. I’m sure that it’s just one of her teases, but now she seems to be taking it quite seriously.

For me, who never even had the opportunity to go on a date with a girl before, it was an overwhelming situation to be in.

After we synched up our walk, she then told me to walk straight, but at the same time, always stealing glances towards her, to express how desirable she was to me. I don’t think doing that is a good idea on a busy road like this though.

I did as she instructed, just to make her happy. Not to mention that I certainly can use the knowledge. I want my first date with Sherry in the future to be a successful one after all.

Still, isn’t this kinda wrong? She’s my sister after all, though to an outsider, we would indeed look like a brother-sister pair and not a couple, seeing how young I still am.

She probably thinks the same way though. It’s like how in some books and movies I’ve read and watched, the father character would go on a “date” with his young daughter. Or a gentleman big brother, doing it with his younger sister. There’s nothing romantic or sexual about it at all.

Of course, the way she says that this is for Sherry, who will actually be my future wife (I hope), I can’t help but to think otherwise.

Thankfully, we soon arrived at the magic item shop she mentioned.

“Here it is! The Emporio Emporium! Nice rhyme, isn't it?"

The place was quite large and fancy-looking, at least from the outside. _So it's a pretty upscale place then. Wouldn't the stuff here be expensive?_

"Now, in this situation, you should be the one to introduce the place, not me. You would be the one planning out the date after all. Then, you gently lead her inside, taking the initiative on opening the door. You greet the shopkeeper like a gentleman, and if they ask if I'm your girlfriend, you have to answer yes without skipping a beat."

_Urgh, that's a lot to take in. Where did she get the knowledge for all this stuff after all? She's not dating anyone, is she?_

"Although, in my personal opinion, you shouldn't really be taking girls to shops like this in the first place. Unless she's into this kind of thing."

_...Makes sense. There's nothing romantic about an equipment shop after all, even if it's a magical one._

When we entered, we were immediately greeted by the shopkeeper, who, to my surprise, was a lizardman. He stood tall over the two of us, and honestly, looking at him up close like this, he's pretty scary.

"Welcome, welcome! What can I do to serve you, young sir and lady?" He said with a slithering accent, almost like a snake. He was mostly focusing on Marina, probably assuming rightfully that I was her little brother.

Suddenly, I felt a nudge hitting my side.

_Ah, right, I should be the one to lead the conversation._

"We're here just to browse for now," I answered with a polite smile. "You see, I'm taking my girlfriend here for a date, and I thought I could amuse her with your wares."

_There. That's good enough, right?_

"...A-ah, of course. Forgive my impudence, young Master." He bowed apologetically. Yep, he totally thought I was her little brother. "Then, might I suggest a certain item that would bless your relationship?"

He then took out a pair of rings from one of the shelves. An exact pair of rubies were decorating each of them.

"This, my good young Sir, is a pair of Lover’s Rings. Each of you would wear one and it would make you always think of each other, no matter how far apart you are in the world. Truly a romantic, one-of-a-kind item, don’t you think?”

_A ring, huh? With a ruby at that? These are most likely quite expensive stuff. He probably thinks I’m a son of a rich family, thanks to my outfit._

“How much is it?”

“Oh, for you, Master, just 100 gold coins. I’m making it a bargain just because how nice they would look on you and your lover’s fingers.”

_100? That’s really expensive, isn’t it? I certainly don't have that kind of money in my pocket right now!_

_...Oh crap, now that I think about it, I don’t have much experience in buying goods like this yet. I don’t go out much after all. The only things I’ve bought with my own money are some food in the village, and those only cost a silver at the very most._

_Well, might as well have a look at them, now that Mr. Shopkeeper has brought them out for us._

I gave a glance at Marina, and she seemed to be… smirking?

"Can I take a look at them?"

"Of course, my good sir. Just be careful with them. The two rubies easily chip, you see. And the spell would stop working if that happens."

_Hey, did you just admit that your product isn't as durable as they should?_

I gently took them out of their fancy case, one in each hand.

Marina's smirk still hadn't disappeared. I wonder what she found so funny.

_...Hold on, don't tell me—_

I remembered something. I once read that you could feel the mana swirling inside a magical object and that's one way to tell which object is magical and which object isn't.

I closed my eyes and focused, reaching out to feel whether there really was mana swirling inside the two rings.

_...Nothing! I can't feel anything!_

And now I know why Marina had been smirking all this time.

I returned the rings back to their ring cases. And then, I too smirked at the shopkeeper.

"100 gold for a pair of ordinary rings? That's a little bit too much, don't you think?"

"O-ordinary? I-I assure you that they're—"

"How bold of you to try to scam me with fake rings. You think just because I'm still young, I'm also gullible?"

"N-no, not at all! I-I swore that I didn't know that—"

"You don't know who I am or who my girlfriend is, don't you? She's a close friend with a daughter of the Salamander family, you know. And just the other day, I met with Selendia Brine herself! And she graced me with her beautiful smile! Tsk tsk tsk, to think that a common shopkeeper would dare to pull a fast one on me.”

“I-I’m sorry! I-I’m so sorry! P-please don’t report me to the Council!”

The shopkeeper immediately prostrated in front of me, and I had a probably quite evil-looking smile at my face. Marina, on the other hand, was just holding back her laughter before she decided to speak up.

“Fine. We won’t tell. But give us your Bag of Holding for free,” she said with a bright smile.

And that’s how I obtained my very first magic item—a bag with the ability to store much more than the space it logically would have. Not to mention that it would always stay the same weight, no matter how many items you put inside it. The storage isn’t unlimited though, unfortunately, but enough so that an ordinary adventurer just needs one to keep all their equipment and supplies.

Once we’re outside, with the bag slung over my body, I asked, “Sis, you set that up, didn’t you? Your aim was this bag at the very beginning.”

“Hehe, bingo! I already know most of the magic items in that shop were fake. But the Bag of Holding it has is real. And naturally, it’s priced quite expensively. Thanks to you, we can get it for free!”

“Wow Sis, I never saw you as someone this devious.”

“Hehe, I don’t really feel bad doing that to someone who would willingly cheat their customers,” she answered nonchalantly. Whew, did she just turn into a Chaotic Good character from a Neutral Good one?

“The Council doesn’t really care about stopping scammers like him unfortunately. They believed that if you’re a dumb enough mage to be fooled by a fake magic item, then you deserve it. Might be another matter entirely if you have a direct connection to them though, which is why that lizardman acted that way.”

_So it’s just like your usual corrupt ruling class then. The only way to get justice is to know friends in high places. Hmph, they might fancy themselves as different from the typical nobility, but they certainly act similar to them in many places._

“Oh, and I also must applaud you for speaking up against him like that. That’s really cool, you know! That’s how you should act in front of your girlfriend!” She grinned, patting me on the shoulder.

I couldn’t help but smile at her compliment. I always thought that I would never be able to make a good boyfriend—another reason to the laundry list on why I was hesitant to go look for a relationship, even though I really wanted one. But for her to be praising me like this… it made me feel that I really would be able to do it after all. I was always spiteful towards those _ikemen_ who're all cool and gallant towards their girlfriends, but now that I might just be able to join their ranks, I don’t feel so jealous of them anymore.

Afterwards, we spent some more time together just frolicking around the city. We bought a big vanilla ice cream that we ate together (which was kinda lewd if you consider the whole "indirect kissing" thing). And then, we went to the bazaar where we watched a group of traveling performers do their act with singing and dancing and jumping monkeys—pretty mundane until they started fighting against one another with magic, welding rods as if they were actual mages.

“I bet those rods are pre-charged magic rods that allow you to cast basic magic, even if you’re not a mage,” Marina whispered her theory.

Ah, such a thing existed. I almost forgot.

Once the show finished, we gave a generous donation to one of the monkeys who came over to us with a tall hat.

And before we knew it, the sun was already going down. It was time for us to cut our date short and go back—me to the inn and Marina to her dorm.

“Well, that was fun!” Marina said cheerfully, still holding my hand. “I guess since I’m feeling that way, you did a good job being my date for the day, Hugo! That’s all what dates should be about after all!”

“I’m glad you liked it, Sis,” I replied with a light smile. “Though if you’re just using me because you can’t find an actual boyfriend, then I won’t be happy for that,” I added with a smirk, wanting to tease her a little.

“Hmph, you’re certainly getting more and more cheeky lately, you know that?” she replied with a fake huff that reminded me all too much of Mother’s. “Don’t worry. I can get a beau easily if I just put my mind into it.”

“Not that hobbit kid, I hope?”

“Hah, not him, of course! I got higher standards than that!” She laughed.

I almost felt bad for him for a second there… before I remembered that he was a shady pervert behind that cute and timid look of his.

“Now, for the last lesson on dating. I would ask you to chaperone me to the dorms, but since we’re going to go pass your inn on the way there, might as well drop you there.”

It didn’t take long until we arrived at said inn.

“Now—” She suddenly bent her knees down a little. “—give me a goodbye kiss.”

She moved her left cheek towards me, no doubt signalling that I was to do it there.

“But Sis, you’re supposed to kiss your lover on the mouth, right?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“True. But I’m not Sherry, so a kiss on the cheek would do.” She gave me a glance and a little smile.

For a second, I actually thought of disobeying her and actually went for her lips. That would surely fluster her! But then, when she mentioned Sherry, I immediately remembered how she made me promise not to kiss any other girls until she returned.

_...Yeah, I don’t think Sherry would be happy if I do it._

And so, I went with what she wanted and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hehe, good!” She straightened herself with a smile. “Now, our lesson is officially over.”

As I looked at her under the setting sun, with her light brown hair swaying in the wind, I suddenly realized something.

My big sister… she had grown into a fine young lady indeed.


	39. Boom Cannon

We departed back home the next morning, since there really was nothing else for us to do here. Not to mention that Father was unwilling to leave his post for long. He’s the kind of honest guy that would never like getting paid to do a job he didn’t do well.

Unfortunately, Marina couldn’t see us depart, as she had a morning class that day. It’s fine though. She already said her goodbyes last night.

In the end, I didn’t get a chance to give that hobbit a little talk, which was quite unfortunate. But I was sure that Marina could handle him just fine. She’s Marina after all, my smart and wise and now oddly beautiful big sister. Now, don't get me wrong. She's always been cute ever since she's little. But only now that I realize she has blossomed into a good-looking young woman. Even though she's only 14 years old, soon to turn 15, there's just something about her that made her look more mature than her actual age. It's always been like that since we were little. 

Or maybe it's just my little brotherly instinct speaking.

It was another two weeks trip back home, making it around a month of us gone from our house, with only Mary living there as our caretaker.

And thus, one more month until my tenth birthday.

\-------------

I resumed my magic training like usual once I returned. Or, to be more exact, magic experimenting, as I was still developing my Master-level Wind spell. I could feel it. I was so close to be able to perform it properly. I just needed to stabilize my mana shape more and maybe adjust my calculations a little.

I still kept up my physical exercises as well, though I would combine it with my Wind Walk for some fancy acrobatics, just so I could dodge and move even better. I had one problem though. The more I grew older, the heavier I became. That meant I would have to expend more mana for stronger Wind Bursts.

I imagine one of the small races could be really good with this technique. They barely weigh anything after all. Uh, maybe not the dwarves though. They tend to be pretty stocky after all.

This way of training wouldn’t really develop my hand muscles though. Aah, I want to be good at the sword too but I really don’t have the talent for Father’s fighting style. I don’t have that aggressive personality needed for it. I prefer to dodge and evade before striking back, exactly the opposite way Father uses his sword.

There are two major sword schools in this world by the way, and they supposedly came from the disciples of the Legendary Hero himself. Let’s see… what’s their name again? Ah, right, Lancelot and Galahad. Arthur, Lancelot, and Galahad. How convenient that those names all came from the King Arthur myth. 

Well, this world could be seen as some form of an alternate medieval Europe, only with a lot more fantasy stuff, so it wouldn’t be that odd for them to have their own version of that classic European heroic myth.

Anyway, Lancelot inherited his offensive form, while Galahad inherited his defensive form. And each disciple ended up founding their own schools, and even now, there was apparently still some form of rivalry between them. Quite ironic, since the Hero himself mastered both, though apparently no one else could reach the peak of swordsmanship that he stood on. As expected from the Legendary Hero, I suppose.

Father’s style certainly belonged to Lancelot’s, but he never actually got a formal education by his school. He just swung his sword faster and stronger as he grew stronger, and with sheer instinct, he could become the swordsman that he was now. That’s why his teaching capability wasn’t the best. You couldn’t teach something you only learned out of instinct after all.

Sherry was the same way, at least according to him. She just let out that anger and aggressiveness inside her to become a stronger swordswoman. Maybe it’s somehow related to her Izurd heritage?

As for me, ha, I don’t have the instinctual talent that they possessed. If I were to learn Galahad-style swordsmanship, I would need a proper instructor. And I would need to spend many hours into it, hours that I couldn’t spend to develop my magic growth instead. Not to mention that good Galahad-style instructors usually are only available to those wanting to become knights, as it’s the preferred style for them. Their swords are to protect their Lord instead to kill others. Especially important if you’re going to be some important higher-ups bodyguard, like a princess. You might kill nine enemies in a single swing, but if the remaining one manages to sneak a blade or an arrow to the princess’ heart, it’s all over.

And so my peaceful days continued, but not before a certain incident happened.

\-----------

It was bedtime, and I was relaxing in my room with my treasure box beside me.

That night, I suddenly got assaulted by the feeling of loneliness—the feeling of me missing Sherry’s presence.

She was always in the back of my head. I would wonder what she was doing at this time. Was she getting ready to sleep, just like I am right now? Was she already sleeping, perhaps tired from a full day of training she no doubt would be doing? Or was she still training, pushing herself even harder than she should? 

I sighed. Working hard is good, but there's a thing called working too hard, you know. I wish I can tell her that.

Thinking about her, however, made me think of my treasure box, and how her panties from years ago were still there.

I took them out (sorry Marina, but I just met you so your pair can just stay inside) and then spread them out above me as I laid down on my bed.

_Aah, still as cute as always…_

I brought them down and began smelling them, taking in the sweet scent of the girl who hopefully would really become my future wife.

I know this is completely 100% a perverted thing to do, but if she's consenting, then who am I to go against her will?

I then rubbed the fabric against my cheek, enjoying the soft cotton texture as I closed my eyes.

Hmm, I really could sleep with them, but that would be too risky. What if I overslept and Mother or Mary woke me up, only to find me holding a girl's panties in my hands?

\----------

**Erika**

_W-wha…_

_What is Big Brother's doing?!_

_Those are… those are a girl's panties, aren't they? Why is he… why is he sniffing them like that?_

_And now he's rubbing them to his cheeks, while mumbling Big Sis Sherry's name. Are those her panties?_

_I… I have to tell Mother!_

Unbeknownst to Hugo, his little sister was watching everything that was happening through his door, which he had forgotten to close off completely, leaving just enough space for her to peek in. And it just so happened to be one of the nights where she wanted to snuggle up and sleep with him.

The poor girl’s eyes went wide as she watched him in the act.

_I felt as if I just discovered something terrible! But Big Bro can do no wrong, can he?_

_And why is he saying Sherry's name like that? Why can't he say my name instead? I've been a good girl, haven’t I?_

She left the slightly ajar door as silently as she could. As she walked over to Alan and Renee’s room however, she saw Mary walking by, who was also preparing for her good night’s sleep. She had her own room in the house, though she usually would return at the weekends to sleep with her family instead back in the village.

_Oh right, I should ask her instead! If it's really a bad thing, I don't want to get Big Bro in trouble!_

"Mary?" She walked up to her.

"Oh, Young Miss! What's the matter? It's not like you to still be awake at this hour."

"I wanna ask something. But you have to keep it a secret from everyone."

"Oh dear, did you hide your wet bedsheets again?" She giggled. The three-year old girl still had the occasional problems of keeping her bed dry, something that Mary knew all too well as the housemaid.

"No, it's not that, dummy! It's… I wanna ask… is it a bad thing if a man sniffs a woman's undergarments and rubs it to his cheek?"

"That's…” The maid paused, tilting her head. “Why, that's very bad, Miss. That man is a complete pervert then. I wouldn't be close to such a man if I were you."

"I-I see… G-good night then, Mary!"

She immediately ran off, leaving Mary completely confused on what that conversation was about.

_Oh dear, don’t tell me that she caught Master Alan doing that to Mistress Renee’s panties!_

_Well, if he really does it, then he deserves whatever hell Mistress Renee would give him once little Erika brought it up to him! Really, a man shouldn’t be doing something sneaky like that! If you want to pleasure yourself, then pleasure your wife as well!_

Mary was raised quite conservatively, you see, believing that the only proper relationship between a husband and wife is an intercourse in bed. It didn’t even cross her mind that Alan might be doing it after Renee gave him her permission, let alone Hugo being the actual culprit.

\------

_Uwaaaa, Big Bro is a pervert! Big Bro is a pervert!_

Erika ran straight into her room with tears running down her cheeks. Only after she buried herself in her bed that she sobbed and cried into her pillow.

In the end, she decided not to tell of this discovery to anyone, not even confronting the culprit himself. She still had great love and respect for her brother, and she believed that just one flaw wouldn’t make him a bad person. That’s what Renee taught her after all, that no one was perfectly good in this world. And now, she knew the imperfectness of her perfect Big Bro.

And Hugo, either from his natural denseness or the fact that he’s too focused on his magic training, didn’t notice the slight change in her behaviour in the slightest.

\----------

**Hugo**

_I-I did it!_

_I actually did it!_

I stood in pure disbelief—my mind still reeling in on what I just did.

In front of me was a series of dead, fallen trees—trees that I just obliterated with my spell.

My brand new Master-level Wind spell, Boom Cannon.

And the best part? My stubbornness actually paid off. I could do it without a chant right away.

Let’s start from the very beginning, when I started trying my hands on learning Master-level magic.

After I finished mastering the hybrid Advanced-level spells, I declared that it was time for me to go on to the next step, to reach the heights that Marina had already reached.

I decided on trying to learn Thunderstorm first, a Master-level Thunder spell that’s basically multiple Thunder Strikes cast at once, creating a rain of lightning from above. I decided to learn it by the book, doing the whole chant and everything.

At first, I thought it would be easy. It’s basically just myself doing multiple Thunder Strikes at the same time. The image I needed to have inside my head and the way I shaped my mana would be the same, only multiplied.

Only to find out that my mana control was nowhere near enough to be able to cast it.

The stronger the spell was, the more complex the shape you would need to form your mana into. The best analogy I could come up with was like you shaping a balloon into various animal shapes for a birthday party. As you fumble around with the fragility of a balloon, taking care of not pressing too hard or else you would make it explode, you still need to put enough force so that its surface and volume would bend the way you want it to. It’s that kind of a balancing act that I find to be beyond my ability.

No wonder the book has a whole long chapter filled with many pages just dedicated to the spell. But magic isn’t like math or physics. It’s really closer to art more than anything. The explanations given there just confuse me more instead of giving me the clarity I need.

I wasted many months on it too, trying to follow the instructions given there. I couldn’t try it as many times as I’d like too, as I would expend my mana in the process, as if I actually cast the spell.

Supposedly, the chant should help with the visualization and shaping, but I don’t feel that way if I were to be honest.

And then, Marina gave her advice, saying that maybe I should focus more on Wind instead. Her reasoning was sound. I was already so used to manipulating the wind for my movements, so my mastery of the element should be better than Thunder, which I rarely used.

However, instead of going by the books again, I decided on something that would either be very smart or very foolish.

I would not look at any books. I would invent the spell on my own.

I came up with an idea immediately. So far, Wind spells have been mostly about pushing wind around, right? Just generating a huge gust to a direction or spinning it around to form a cyclone. But you can use wind in other ways too. And by that, I mean wind pressure. Or, to be more exact, air, or atmospheric pressure. None of the magic books I’ve read ever referred to that, even though it's basic middle-school science knowledge back in my world.

So what if I try playing with that instead? What if I try to create a vacuum-based wind spell? How cool would that be?

And so my concept for my Boom Cannon was born.

This is how the spell works. I would form a bubble of air around the size of a basketball (it’s the size I’m most comfortable with, not too big nor too small) and then divide it into two sections. The first section, the forward one, would have zero pressure in it, meaning it’s a perfect vacuum, or at least, the closest I can get to one. The other section, the one at the back—I fill it with as much air as I could, forming a high pressure air section. 

Now, what’s the main rule of air pressure difference again? Right. High pressure air would always rush into a lower pressure one to equalize the gap. The more the pressure difference is, the stronger the rushing force would be.

I am making what they would call a vacuum cannon.

Of course, it’s not that easy. First of all, the outer shell—I have to make sure that it’s strong enough to not break apart right away, or else the whole spell won’t be able to work in the first place. It will also add to the toughness of the cannonball, so that it will have higher destructive power. And then, there’s the separating membrane between the two compartments in my air cannonball. This is the most difficult part of the spell by the way. It took many months until I could get it just right. I had to design it so that it would be elastic, in a way that allowed it to carry the full force of the high-pressurized air and spread it to the entire cannonball, making it fly forward with high speed. But it had to be tough enough to withstand the force as well, but without actually diminishing it, just redirecting it to forward velocity.

This is my own custom spell, made by using my own modern era knowledge that no one else has. 

...No, this isn’t even modern science. I’m pretty sure theories regarding air pressure were discovered by Renaissance-era scientists or something, if I remembered correctly. I was never that good in physics in the first place, unfortunately.

And now, today, I finally could cast it for the very first time successfully. And if I were to be honest, I was quite taken aback by the power the spell just demonstrated.

I tried it in the nearby forest, aiming a row of trees to test just how destructive it could be.

And the result? It tore through what must be at least a dozen of trees, breaking through them like they were nothing. Only the thickest could survive, with holes on their large trunks. The others fell down one by one as the spell blasted through them.

This is it. This has to be a Master-level spell. The sheer power generated is beyond any Advanced-level spell that I know of! Not to mention that the speed of the cannonball surpasses the sound barrier, producing that loud boom that occurs whenever I cast it!

Ooh, I can’t wait to tell this to Marina! I know she would be amazed! Thanks to me inventing this on my own, I don’t have to bother with any chants! I’m ahead of her in that department!

And to think that I could do it right on my birthday as well! I’ll take this as my birthday present to be sure!

_Finally, I’m starting to catch up to you at last, Sis!_

_Alright! I’m going to cast it over and over until I’m out of mana, just to make sure that I really understand how to do it!_

\-----------

When I returned home, the sun was already going down. All sweaty from my casting, it’s time for me to take my bath as usual.

Only to immediately feel that something had gone wrong, the moment I entered the house.

Father, Mother, and Mary were all in the dining room, sitting on the chairs around the dining table. The former two were looking down with a troubled expression, with Mother’s hands actively shaking as she held a piece of paper in front of her. Mary, on the other hand, was actively sobbing, wiping her tears with her handkerchief as she produced new ones.

Erika was also there, looking terribly confused and out of place, not really understanding what was going on.

“Father, Mother, what’s the matter?” I asked as I came in. There really must be something wrong going on!

Mother didn’t say anything. She simply pushed the piece of paper to my side of the table.

And what I read turned me as pale as a sheet.


	40. Crisis

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood._

_I write this to tell you that your daughter, Marina Greenwood, has been kidnapped, taken against her will by none other than Vera Marjoram, the witch you have met one and a half months ago. She is currently being kept at the witch’s home, the Ice Palace, smack-dab in the middle of her territory._

_If you value her free and independent mind, then you must rush to her aid at once. I do not know how long she will be able to resist, but she will break, sooner or later. And when that happens, the daughter you once know would be gone forever. She would just be yet another pawn for that witch to use._

_It’s fine if you choose not to believe this letter and just dismiss it as a sick joke. And I certainly cannot disclose my identity to prove its legitimacy. However, let me assure you that I am neither your ally nor your enemy. I am simply a side that will benefit if Vera Marjoram and her house are brought down a peg._

_I know you two used to be S-rank adventurers. Perhaps you might have a chance against her, however slim that might be. But you would do anything for your dear daughter, wouldn’t you, even betting your own life? That’s what adventurers do every day, right?_

_P.S. I wouldn't suggest trying to negotiate. Every mage in the Council is selfish to the core after all._

I blinked once. And twice. And thrice. My brain refused to accept the information the letter gave. I read it again. And again. And again. Up and down, down and up—my eyes glazing over the words. There really was no signature nor a name. The only identity it gave off was that it was written with someone eloquent at writing, as it’s written in cursive.

My dear sister. Kidnapped. By Vera Marjoram. I still remembered her radiating arrogance and smug smile like I just met her yesterday. She had Marina. And she intended to break her, to make her be her grandson’s wife.

Me, who had read many hentai with mindbreak, immediately imagined Marina suffering the same treatment as those many heroines.

My stomach… it's now hurting terribly, as if there's a miniature tornado inside swirling it's contents around. I felt as if I could puke at any minute. In fact, I could already taste the bile knocking on my throat. Cold sweat pooled behind my neck, and my body was beginning to shake.

I was scared—scared on what could befall Marina.

I was angry as well, but I didn't know whether I was more angry at the culprit, or at myself, for letting it happen in the first place.

_...I should've known this would happen. This is just like a noble ruling with absolute power being able to just take his serf's wife or daughter and use her as he sees fit._

_The Council's rule is absolute. There are no laws or constitutions to keep them in check._

“It just came an hour ago, delivered by an express courier.” Mother spoke, her voice grim and lifeless. “He said he didn’t know who sent it, only that it was addressed to us.”

“T-that can’t be right, can it, Milady?” Mary interjected. “M-Miss Marina can’t actually be—”

“As much as it pains me to admit, there’s a possibility that it might be true,” Father answered, before slamming his fist to the table, nearly snapping one of its legs. “I knew I should’ve seen this coming! That witch… she wants Marina for her grandson! And she’s willing to do it, no matter what dirty methods she has to use! I should’ve just told Marina to leave the academy immediately!”

“W-wait, h-hold on. We don’t even know if what this letter is saying is true yet. Maybe it’s just a prank letter, like it mentioned. Or maybe this is a ploy from another house to make us fight Vera.” I finally spoke. My voice was shaking, with no conviction whatsoever. I tried to put on a smile as well but I knew it was the hollowest smile that had ever graced my lips.

Denial. The first stage of grief.

“Even if that were true, we still have to check up on Marina right away,” Father answered. “Renee, we’ll depart tonight.” He gave a firm glance towards Mother. “We’ll take the horses and ride as fast as we could to Mira. Hugo, you stay here and—”

"NO!"

I didn't know what came over me. I just shouted those words right at Father's face.

"If you think I'm going to just stay home like a coward, then think again!" I continued to shout. With tears falling down my face—tears that I didn't even realize were there until they tumbled down onto my cheeks.

“Hugo, you're not—"

"I'm not strong enough?!" I yelled back. "I just learned my first Master-level spell today, you know! My Boom Cannon, strong enough to obliterate a dozen of trees in one blast. I am more than strong enough! I can help you two fight!"

"No," Father refused with a stern look, crossing his arms. "Even so, you're still not strong enough. If what the letter says is true, then we're going after a Grandmaster-level mage. Do you have any idea how strong a person like that is? Neither Myrilla nor your mother have reached that level yet."

"Not to mention that you barely have any battle experience. You wouldn't be able to react the correct way and with a fast enough speed against that caliber of an opponent. You would only hold us down." Mother interjected, glaring at me like I'm just a child who doesn't know any better.

"T-that's true, but still…" I clenched my fist, looking down. "I have to do this! I have to go with you, Father! Mother! Please, let me go with you!" I bowed as deeply as I could. I would throw away any pride that I had if I could help Marina.

_My lovely big sister… in the hands of a villain who wants to defile her…_

_If anything happens to her, I would hate myself for the rest of my life. And it will happen, if we don't rescue her as fast as we could. That perverted bastard would deflower her sooner or later! I have no doubt about that!_

_And if that happens, even if we manage to get Marina back, she won't be the same person. There's no going back from that line._

_I never considered taking another person's life before, even after coming to a fantasy world like this where such things are common._

_But now, if it's that hobbit or his grandmother, I'll do it in a heartbeat. I will exact judgment on them, for doing this to my big sister, for attempting of turning her into their slave._

_I will not hesitate. My Boom Cannon can obliterate their heads in one shot. And that's all I need._

I stood back up and stared right into Father's eyes, unflinching.

"That eyes… you're fully determined to save your sister, no matter the price. To think I will see such eyes in my son when he barely turns ten…" He sighed. 

"Very well. You can go with us. But you have to do me or your mother says. At all times. No exceptions."

I nodded. Just like Sherry with Myrilla, I would be fighting under two much experienced fighters. I would be a fool not to obey them.

My wrath might be bubbling in my stomach, but I still need to keep a calm head.

"Pack your stuff. We're departing in an hour."

\-------

I didn't waste any time. I returned to my room at once and packed my clothes, using the Bag of Holding that Marina got for me. I didn't bother putting them in all nice and ordered like I would normally do. This was an emergency, and I couldn't be bothered less about keeping them tidy.

"B-Big Bro?"

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice behind me. It was Erika. She had sneaked in without me noticing.

"Did something happen to Big Sis?"

I froze. I didn't know what to say.

Turning around, I put on a fake smile and crouched down to her level.

"Don't worry, Erika. I'll get her back. I promise." I put my two hands on her little shoulders.

"A bad guy took her away, didn't they? That mean lady from before…"

I was taken aback. To think that she, who's only three years old is smart enough to know what's happening…

"...Yes. Yes she did. At least, that's what the letter says. That's why me, Father, and Mother, are going back to your sister's place—to check up on her."

She looked away for a short moment, before throwing herself into my arms.

"Big Bro… Please... Save Big Sis, alright?"

She then started to sob. But it wasn't like her usual crying where it would be accompanied by yelling and screaming.

This one… I could tell that it was completely genuine.

_...What am I doing? Why am I questioning myself like this? So what if I might have to go up against a Grandmaster-level mage? Haven't I swore to myself that I would never run away ever again? That witch might be a famous and powerful magician, but in the end, she's just like those bullies in my old life, forcing her will upon others just because she can get away with it._

_There's only one thing to do against such a person. I will fight her. And I will win. I will win this time around._

I stood up and lifted my little sister, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"Of course I will! Don't you know who you're talking to? I'm your cool and talented big brother, Hugo. A mere witch like that is no match for me and my magic! You've seen my magic, right? Weren't they amazing?"

"Yeah! They are, Big Bro!" She giggled. Good! A smile suits her far more than a frown.

"See? She will stand no chance whatsoever against me! So you just sit tight and wait until I return with your big sister, alright? Then after that, we can have another family trip with all of us!"

"Y-you'll keep Father and Mother safe as well?"

"Yep! No question about it! Leave it all to your big brother!" I answered with a grin.

And with that, Erika's worries disappeared completely. She is still just an innocent little girl after all, so she believes everything I say wholeheartedly.

Of course, I knew it was a lie, that there was no conceivable way that it would go that easily, if we actually had to fight against Vera.

However, she didn't need to know that. All she needed to know was that her invincible superhero-like big brother will take care of everything for her.

That's what I wanted. I wanted to be relied upon by her. That's what a big brother does after all.

\---------

When I went back to the dining room, I heard voices coming from inside. It was Father and Mother, having a conversation with Mary.

"...Ma'am, I-I can't possibly—"

"Just in case, Mary, just in case."

The two female voices must be Mary and Renee, respectively.

"And we don't ask for you to take care of her forever. Send a letter to either one of those addresses and with any luck, they would come to take her."

It was Father's voice this time around.

"I would rather have you take care of her, Mary, if I were to be honest." Mother's voice again. "At least, don't send her to my parents. I don't want Erika to end up being under my mother's grip. I don't think Erika would be happy there."

"My old man's pretty bad too though." Father interrupted with a sigh. "Really, you would be the best mother for her, Mary."

"But I understand. It won't be easy having another mouth to feed after all. Especially since you would lose your job if we never returned." Father again. "Not that we're planning on doing so. In fact, this whole thing might just be a cruel prank!" He laughed. But I knew that laugh was not genuine in the slightest.

I now understood what they were talking about.

_Talking about sending Erika to our far relatives like that…_

I clenched my fists. Anger brew inside me yet again.

_This whole talk… it disgusts me._

_How dare they… how dare they even think about the possibility of… of us…_

I nearly bolted in to express my disapprovement, but I stopped myself.

They were right. We had to have a backup plan for the worst case scenario after all.

But still…

"Alright. I'll do it. I swear that if anything happens, I will make sure that young lady Erika is taken care of."

"Thank you." Father replied. "I really didn't make a mistake hiring you as our family maid."

"I have to apologise too, Mary." Mother spoke next. "I… well, when you first came, I was actually afraid that you would try to seduce my husband. So many rich folks who employ maids would cheat with them after all." She sighed.

"Oh Ma'am, I would never—"

"I know. You're a diligent and honest girl, Mary. And I felt bad for ever doubting you."

I couldn't see what was happening inside, but I was pretty sure that Mother ended up giving her a hug.

I would be happy for their reconciliation, if not for the situation we were currently in.

\-------

“Be good to Mary, alright, dear?” Mother crouched down in front of Erika before hugging her.

“Of course, Mama! I’ll be a good girl while you’re gone!”

We were now ready to depart. Father had her greatsword on his back, while Mother had her staff. Each of them also carried their own bags. They were also wearing cloaks, so that they would be protected from the night wind or any rain that might happen on the way.

I too was ready. I got my wand in my shorts’ pocket, and I also got a little cloak on my own that Mother gave for me to wear. And of course, my Bag of Holding was with me, slung over my body.

Father already brought the two horses to the front lawn, and now, we were saying our short goodbyes. We had to depart as quickly as she could after all.

I looked up to the skies and saw nothing. Not any moon or stars to be seen.

It seemed we were going to leave under a pitch-black night.

After Father and Mother said their goodbyes to Erika, and me getting another hug from her, it’s time for us to leave at last.

I rode with Mother’s horse. I didn’t even care that her soft breasts were pressing onto my back. I was too worried about Marina to care about any perverted things right now.

Erika and Mary watched our departure with opposite expressions on their faces. Erika had a large smile on her face, waving her hand cheerfully to the air as we left on our horses. Mary, on the other hand, was only forcing a smile, while tears started to fall down her cheeks.

I knew though that Mary would keep herself strong, just so she wouldn’t get Erika to worry.

_Don’t worry, you two. I’ll get Marina back and I’ll make sure that nothing happens to Father and Mother either._

_This is it. This is what all my training is for. All those endless hours, sweating like a pig, it will all pay off for this day._

_I_ **_will_ ** _protect Marina. And I_ **_will_ ** _protect this family as well, and all the warm smiles that it has given me all these years._

\------------------

**Marina**

Darkness.

I was falling in darkness.

How long was it? An hour? Two hours? Half a day? A whole day? Or even more?

I didn't know. The only thing I knew was a flash of white I last saw before the dark enveloped me.

...That's right. That white flash, it's…

It's…

"Wake up, sweetie!"

My eyes opened.

And I saw her, standing beside me with a grin on her face.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Marina Greenwood. How was it? My 'Frozen Sleep' spell? Comfortable, isn't it?"

"...You!"

I launched myself towards her, only for her to hit me right back with her staff.

"Now now, take it easy. Your muscles would still be weaker than usual for the next few hours." That detestable grin of hers only widened. "Make yourself comfortable. This would be your new home after all."

It all came rushing into me. How I ended up here, in a bed that wasn't my own, in a room that I didn't recognize, and with a person I despised.

I was taking a quest at the weekend as usual. I went to the nearby mine for a simple monster extermination quest. I went alone, as Alincia was busy with her homework.

I finished the quest, but as I was going back, I was attacked.

By none other than her, Vera Marjoram, the woman wielding a triumphant face right in front of me now.

I tried to escape of course, fighting back as well as I could to get away from her.

But I immediately found out the immense skill gap between us. She could fire her spells so much faster than me, thanks to her ability of Dual Casting, charging and firing two separate spells at the same time. I still had yet to possess that rare ability.

It didn't take her long until she defeated me completely, encasing me in a block of ice, immobilizing me completely.

And then, it all turned black.

"Oh, I should praise you for your fighting skills. You actually made me try a little back then. Such talent from one so young. You truly would make an excellent wife for my grandson."

"...So, this is how the Council does things, huh? Or are you doing this without their authorization?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, my dear. No one in the Council would care about me doing this to you. You’re a nobody, whose only worth is having an unnaturally high talent in magic.”

“Oh, really? This is the Magocracy. Your magic capability is prized above anything else, no?”

I might be saying all this, but the truth was, I was only putting up a tough front. I didn’t want her disgustingly mocking smile getting even wider, even though I knew what perilous situation I was currently in. One of the most powerful people in the Magocracy had decided to kidnap me to marry me off to her grandson, and there was nothing that I, or my family, or the country itself, could do to save me. She’s too powerful for me or my family to take on directly, and any laws this country might have against kidnapping and forced marriage certainly didn’t apply to a person like her. My only chance for a rescue was if one of the other Council members decided that she was going too far, but I wouldn’t fool myself to think that chance was anywhere other than slim to none. For starters, they could actually agree with what she was doing. After all, if I really ended up bearing a powerful mage as a child, it would only lead to further prosperity and strength for the Magocracy. And if they didn’t, then would they even suspect her for my disappearance? Many adventurers every year disappeared in the wilds while doing their quests. They could just say that I was taken off-guard by the monsters in the mines, and my body was completely eaten by them, clothes and all.

I was afraid. Truly, I was. But I would rather die than showing it to her.

“Hmph, you know nothing about this nation, girl. You don’t even live here.” Her grin shortly disappeared.

… _Did I just upset her?_

"Anyway, I'm sure you'll come around sooner or later." Her smug smile quickly returned. "You're smart enough to know that no one is going to come to rescue you, right? Your family doesn't even know that you're here!"

With a shrill laugh, she left the room, but not before encasing my feet in ice, gluing it together with the bed.

"Oh, and don't bother trying to melt that. I've drugged you with a mana-weakening poison. You won't be able to cast any spells whatsoever. You're just a perfectly normal girl right now."

...It was true. I couldn't even cast a basic Fireball spell.

_I really am unable to escape._

_But sooner or later, there must be a chance that I could take. I would just have to resist her offer._

_I will bide my time for now._

_...Myrilla was right. It’s not wise for me to be so close to the ruling class of a country, especially when one of them expresses outright love for me. I should’ve just left the Academy altogether. Then this whole thing wouldn’t have happened._

_But, like they say, there’s no turning back the hands of time. I can only go forward, and get myself out of this situation with my own strength._


	41. Alincia’s Search

**Alincia**

When I first took note of Marina’s disappearance, it was at lunch.

She wasn’t at her usual table. I never saw her take a different one except when it was already occupied by someone else.

I didn’t see her at breakfast either, but I thought she just had her breakfast earlier. Sometimes she’d do that as she liked to take morning walks in the gardens, or at the library reading some books. I didn’t think much of it.

But when she didn’t appear for lunch either, that’s when I was starting to get worried.

Was she sick, I thought to myself. So I went to her dorm room to check up on her.

Only to find out after knocking over and over, nobody answered. She wasn’t inside.

I thought to just blow the door open with my magic, but that would get me in trouble for sure.

And so I went on with my classes and waited until dinner. Only to find out that she wasn’t in the carefaria again.

I asked her class friends and they all said that she hadn’t made an appearance all day. Then I went to the gate guards and asked whether they had let Marina go outside. And it turned out that they hadn’t. By Academy’s rule, they had to note every single student that asked to be excused to go out to the city while it wasn’t the weekends or the holidays.

_Something’s up. Marina isn’t like those lazy kids who would just leave by jumping over the academy’s fence with their magic. She would never leave her classes for no good reason._

And so, I decided to do something naughty for the very first time in my life. I’d do it, if it’s for a friend!

I sneaked back to her dorm room, and using my fire magic, I melted the doorknob, while being careful not to burn the entire door itself.

I gently pushed it open, only to find out that my suspicion was correct.

She wasn’t there at all.

To make sure, I even decided to sleep for the night there, N-not because I wanted to smell her scent or anything…

And when I woke up, she still had yet to return.

_That’s it! She must be out there somewhere!_

And then, I realized it. Two days ago, it was the weekend. I was at the library, miserably crawling over a pile of books as I rushed over an assignment that was due tomorrow. Marina came to me then, and she asked whether I wanted to go with her for a quest. I said no, since I was so busy and everything.

_Ooh, I was so stupid! Of course! It all makes sense! She went out on a quest and never returned!_

_...Wait, that’s really bad then! Really, really bad!_

I stopped hitting myself in the head and immediately ran as fast as I could to the Adventurer’s Guild, even blasting through the still closed main gate in the process, to the outrage of the guards.

All I had in my head was Marina, and how she must be in a trouble so big that even she—our resident genius mage—couldn’t handle on her own.

_I’ve got to save her!_

Naturally, the thought of her dying crossed my mind, but I threw it out of the window immediately. _She won’t die that easily! She’s Marina after all, the genius mage who has learned three Master-level spells even though she hasn’t even graduated yet!_

_Please, Marina, please! Just wait a little longer! I’m coming as fast as I could!_

\----------

When I arrived, I slammed my hands on the receptionist’s counter. “Hey, you! Tell me the quest Marina Greenwood took two days ago!”

To my irk, the bored-looking woman replied by sighing, before arrogantly saying, “Look here, kiddo. We can’t just tell—”

“Look here, you boorish woman! I’m part of the Salamander House, granddaughter of the great Albus Salamander himself, Alincia Salamander! And this is official business of the House, so you’d better fess up immediately or else I’ll report you to him!”

Ha! With a mention of my family name, her bored expression instantly turned into a panicked one, and she promptly went through her book, trying to find the record that I needed.

“H-here! She’s taking a monster extermination quest to the Barton Mines nearby!”

“Hmph, there you go! That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

With a triumphant smile, I left the building, before immediately running towards the city’s northern entrance. The mines were located in the nearby mountain, and it would only take you around two hours on a casual walk to get there. Of course, I ran as fast as I could, not I couldn’t keep it for long before I was out of breath. Darn it, if only I knew how to ride a horse, I could just rent one! And carriages are too slow!

\----------

When I got there, I was soaked from top to bottom with disgusting, icky sweat. My outfit wasn’t exactly designed for strenuous physical exercises after all.

But I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about now was Marina, and Marina alone!

I stormed in, casting a persistent Fireball spell to act as my lantern.

It didn’t take long until I was attacked by a group of monster bats, but it was nothing that I couldn’t handle. I took them all down in one sweep with a simple Flame Whip spell. 

_There’s no way these small fries would give Marina trouble!_

The receptionist said that it was a D-rank extermination quest, so the monsters would be D-rank at best. Even I could take on D-rank monsters just fine.

_Those bats are just E-rank though. So there must be tougher monsters deeper inside._

And indeed there were, as I was soon attacked by a group of molerats, who were clever enough to try to ambush me from the walls.

The old me might have been overwhelmed, but now, after I trained so hard under Marina’s tutelage, my casting speed had far improved than before. I cast a Flame Wall around myself, fast enough before they could overwhelm me with their numbers. Ha, look at them trying to run away! Of course I didn’t let them do that, as I barraged them one by one with my Fireballs.

_Still, this level of enemies… Marina shouldn’t be troubled by them at all._

_So why? Why hasn’t she returned yet from this mission?_

_Don’t tell me that the miners had lied in their quest description and that there’s actually a really strong and high-ranked monster inside that is too powerful for even Marina?!_

_If they did, then they would feel the wrath of Alincia Salamander once I’m finished here! Just you see!_

\--------

But in the end, I didn’t find anything. Not a single hair or even a hint of her presence.

I must have killed every single monster there, but none of them were above D-rank. So the miners weren’t lying.

So what happened? Why was she gone? I-I don’t understand! I don’t understand at all!

...Wait, hold on.

This pile of rocks in front of me. It's a cave in, isn't it? It's blocking access to the rest of the tunnel over there.

And then, this hole right here… this shape doesn't look like any of the other holes the miners have made.

... Something's wrong. There's something fishy going on.

I looked around once more, with a keener eye this time around, and saw that there were many other weird holes all over this section of the mine. It was as if…

_No…_

_These holes… it's done by spells!_

_A fight must have taken place here! A-and it's a long one, as there are so many similar holes around!_

_This is it! This is the lead I was looking for!_

I redoubled my search. I processed every single nook and cranny, and thought hard on whether there's something out of place.

_Wait, that's… those are vines and roots, aren't they, at that corner?_

I ran over to them, and sure enough, I was right.

_That's another out of place thing object here! No plants grew at all at the rest of the mine. Only here!_

_This is another sign of magic being used!_

And then, I linked two and two together.

_Marina—her affinity is Earth! She likes using Earth spells more than any other element!_

_This is it! This is where she had her fight. Against an opponent so tough that she had to go all out! She's in trouble after all!_

And then, I found something that truly disturbed me—a giant hole, going deep down to the earth to the point that I couldn’t see how big it went.

At first, it didn’t even register my mind as I thought it to be a natural part of the cave. But then, now that I re-examined it, I realized how odd it was that the hole hadn’t been covered by the miners who worked here.

There was only one explanation. This hole was a new one.

_Wait, this means that—_

My face turned as white as a ghost. My joy from discovering the clues vanished to the wind, replaced quickly by despair.

_Marina… she's—_

_N-no, that can't—_

_No! No! I don't want to believe it! I refuse to believe it!_

"U-uwaaaaaaah!"

"I should've—I should've gone with her! If I had… if I had… then this wouldn't have happened!"

I cried for what must be a good 15 minutes or so, until I could cry no longer.

And then, my tears were slowly being replaced with rage. How dare they! How dare they take Marina away!

I looked down the hole with my fists clenched. I nearly decided to just jump down there and burn whatever monster responsible for her death until not even their dust remained. But I knew that if she couldn’t handle the monster, that I wouldn’t be able to handle it either. I would just be throwing my lives away. And she wouldn't want that. She would want me to stay alive and live a happy life, even without her.

_...Wait, but what if… what if she's somehow still alive?_

_What if, she's still down there, alive but unable to escape? The giant molerat might carry her in it's mouth to be stored for food later, not knowing that she's still alive!_

My eyes widened. In a flash, my face was filled with renewed hope.

_T-that's right! She must still be alive! She's Marina after all! Even if she's outmatched in raw strength, she is smart enough to bide her time to survive!_

_I am such an idiot! What am I crying for? Why have I given up before she has?_

Without wasting another second, I rushed back to the city. _I'll do it! I'll form a rescue team to save her right away! I might not be able to do it alone but I can recruit strong adventurers to help me! A-rank! No, S-rank even! I don't care about the payment! I'll just use Grandfather's name again, even if I would get scolded for it!_

\-----------

_Haa… haa… I made it..._

When I returned back to Guild, I nearly collapsed out of exhaustion. But I persevered, knowing that Marina's life was in my hands.

I walked inside the building, and immediately went to the receptionist, pushing aside some elf girl that was standing there.

"H-hey! I wasn’t finished yet!”

"I… I want to put up a quest." I panted, slamming my hands on the table.

"Oh, i-it's you again, Miss Salamander." Noticing who I was, she immediately straightened her posture.

"A rescue quest. For Marina Greenwood. She's taken by a—"

"That won’t be necessary."

I looked behind me and saw a familiar face.

It was Elun.

She stood there with her half-taunting smile, walking forward with her staff on her right hand.

“Marina Greenwood is fine. She’s not in any mortal danger, like you might have imagined.”

“R-really? Then where is she? She’s been missing for two days, you know!”

“Of course she is. She’s currently with—who’s that hobbit’s name again, Thomas, ah right, yes, Thomas. She’s with him right now, going to his house. Or, to be more exact, his grandmother’s house.”

“But that can’t be! She hates him after all!”

“Oh? Is that your impression of her attitude towards him?” Her smile turned into a light grin. “Perhaps you don’t know this, being a kid and all, but there’s this thing called ‘playing hard to get’ that some girls liked to do to boys they are fond of.”

“You’re not saying that—”

“I’m exactly saying that. It seems she might have accepted his proposal after all, or at the very least, started to consider it, to the point that she’s willing to go to his home and meet up with the rest of his family.”

“T-that… that’s not… that’s not how Marina is!”

I shouted those words yet even I myself could tell that a clear seed of doubt had now been planted into my mind.

_Has she really changed her mind? If she is, then why didn’t she tell me? I’m her friend, aren’t I?_

“I’m glad for the two, really.” She continued, now actively playing with the ends of her blue hair. “You know, his grandmother tried to matchmake him with me before. Ha, as if I would ever be interested with a hobbit. He’s a bad mage too, which is all the more reason why I don’t want to be with him. For me, who has mastered many Master-level spells, I would never want to have a husband who can barely cast Advanced-level ones. Your sister gave the same condition too, right? Or rather, your grandfather did, though he set the deadline to be at his graduation?”

"Y-yeah, I think so…" I replied, recalling what my sister told me.

"No wonder that old gnome settled on some outsider instead. They tend to not have any pride in their magic after all, unlike us who was born in the Magocracy."

I stood silent for a short while, trying to process all the things that she just said.

“Y-you’re not lying, aren’t you?” I looked up, the warmth of hope slowly overwhelming my chest.

“Of course not. What would I gain by doing so? I’m not an ally of the Marjoram house.” Her grin returned back to a smile. “I’ve been honest with you all this time, no? I told you about your sister’s murderer. And I even told how I was humiliated by her. I wouldn’t tell that to just anyone, you know.”

_She’s right. She’s been honest with me so far. And she’s also honest enough to tell that she’s hiding information for me only because my grandfather ordered her to._

“So, rest easy, alright?” She walked up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Your good friend’s only going to be gone for a while. So you go back to the Academy like a good girl and go on with your school life as usual, alright? Take a bath first though. You stink, you know?”

“H-hey, you don’t have to say that!”

\-----------

Thanks to her, the boulder that had weighed my heart disappeared. I retracted my request of a rescue mission, and returned back to the Academy. Elun, as usual, already sneaked off before I noticed.

But I was still not completely calm. There were still some pebbles of worry inside my heart.

_Is she really with Thomas? What if she’s really lying after all?_

I went to check on whether Thomas was gone as well, and he indeed wasn’t there. And asking around, he too disappeared yesterday, just like Marina. I asked the teachers as well and they told me not to worry about it, as he indeed went home to his grandmother’s place, just like Elun said.

Still, I was still worried, until I got an idea.

_Oh, I know! I’ll write her a letter! If she replies back, then I’ll be sure 100% that she’s really there alive and well!_

And so I did, sending it off with the fastest courier available.

I still remained in disbelief however, on her decision on giving that hobbit a chance. She never mentioned anything good every time we talked about him, yet all of a sudden, she wanted to know him better like this? Did he do something that actually pleased her, something I didn’t know about?

The last time we talked about him was after he did that stunt where he challenged her to a magic duel, only to lose terribly. And Marina expressed her distaste about how he thought he could win over her heart just by strength alone. Was there something off about her then? I turned my head around, trying to remember every little detail of her expression as she recanted her tale.

And then, I remembered it—these words coming from her.

“I suppose if I’ll have to applaud him for one thing, it’s his determination, as misguided as it might be.”

_There it is! There’s something she actually likes about him!_

_Don’t tell me that this is the turning point, that this is what makes her decide to give him a chance!_

_Aaarghhh, I’m too young for all this relationship stuff!_

_But if she’s happy, then I’ll be happy too! That’s what friends do after all! So I won’t complain!_

\------------

**Elun**

_Hook, line and sinker._

_Well, that girl is never that bright in the first place, so this is only to be expected, really. She didn’t even notice one of my sky fishes following her around._

_An investigation by the Guild of Marina Greenwood’s disappearance would be bad. Highly skilled adventurers would be dispatched, and if any of them have a skilled tracker, they would know that it wasn't a monster that attacked her. They might even find out that it was a mage who she had a fight with, though I'm pretty sure that old crone is clever enough not to leave any traces of her own spell._

_That gnome is lucky none of the Council mages have any other male children other than hers available for marriage, or else they might not just turn a blind eye to her scheme. Though thinking about it, he's the only one available for that. Even Alincia is already taken, and the person herself doesn't even know it—that poor girl. I'm glad that Mother isn't the type to matchmake me with anyone._

_Well, now I'll just have to see if they are coming for her. And if they do, I would need to make sure that Alincia doesn't meet up with them. She'll definitely go with them if they tell her about the letter._

_Aah, it's like I'm playing babysitter to her. Why can't she be more like her late sister? She might be an unpleasant person but at least she's sensible._


	42. The Chase

**Hugo**

We rode like the wind, barely taking any breaks or rests. I would fall asleep while still on the horse, trusting Mother to keep me from falling off. It was rough, if I were to be honest. My body ached all over, especially my bottom. Thankfully, Mother would periodically use her healing spell to hear said aches, or else I probably wouldn't be able to walk once the ride was over.

As a result, we reached Mira in just a single week.

We entered the city in the morning, and naturally, we immediately rode to the academy. We only got off our horses when we were at the gates, with Mother demanding to meet Marina right away.

We waited for what felt like an eternity at the waiting room, until the guard returned with a teacher, who told us that Marina was indeed not around. In fact, she hadn't been around since the last two weeks. 

"But please, Sir, Madam, do not fret! She simply went with Master Marjoram to his home! She finally accepts his love! Oh, wonderful, isn't it?"

To her, it was just gossip. But to us, it was as if thunder had slapped us on our faces.

_The letter is right! Marina had indeed gone to that witch's place!_

_And judging by her reaction, she doesn't know that Marina didn't go there willingly._

_I was holding hope… praying that the letter isn't speaking the truth. But it is. It absolutely is. Because there's no way in hell she'll want to go with him to his house out of the blue!_

"...Thank you," Mother replied, her smile cold as ice. "His home… where is it?"

"Why, on the Uvarsa Mountain, of course! Around twenty days from here if you take a carriage,” the teacher explained, still with her cheerful, innocent smile. “Just tell the stagecoach office that you want to get to Rau Uvarsa, the province’s capital. The mountain is right beside it. I suggest you send a letter first though, since you’re not exactly allowed to go to her estate unannounced. Though if you ask me, she’ll be perfectly happy to receive you all unannounced! You’re Marina’s family after all!”

Mother exchanged looks towards Father and then to me.

We three knew exactly what to do next.

Before we left though, I remembered something. There was another person here that really cared about Marina the same way we did. And perhaps, if we utilized her connection and stature, we could gain a significant advantage over that witch!

“Ma'am," I spoke up for the first time. "Can you call Alincia as well? Alincia Salamander. I heard she's a good friend of my big sister. I wanna ask if she wants to come along as well." I put up my innocent boy act.

"Ah, right, Miss Alincia! Of course! Please wait here for a moment!"

She gave a little now before leaving.

"Alincia?" Father spoke. "Oh right, that friend of hers. You're smart, Hugo!" He patted my shoulder with a grin. "If we can get her family on our side, then we won't have to barge into that witch's mansion! We won't have to fight at all!"

"I doubt it would be that easy though," Mother spoke, voicing her skepticism with a dark look on her face. "I feel if Vera's going all the way by doing this, she must have some form of support or at least approval from the rest of the Council. They wouldn't intervene just because we asked them to."

"True enough." Father sighed. "Well, it's worth a try, at the very least."

When the teacher returned however, she only brought bad news.

"I'm sorry, but Miss Salamander isn't here today. She left yesterday, I believe with Miss Brine."

"Miss Brine?" My eyebrows rose.

"Yes, Miss Elunmidis Brine. She told us that she would be having some one on one training with Miss Salamander, so they would be gone for a week at the very least."

"That's unfortunate. Do you know where they went?”

“Unfortunately, they didn’t tell,” she replied with a sad tone. “But since Miss Brine also mentioned how they would hunt strong monsters, it’s most likely somewhere quite a number away from here. Only weak monsters exist around here after all.”

“...I see. Tell her about our visit once she returns if you could, Ma'am." I gave her a polite smile.

_Elunmidis Brine… that girl Big Sis told me about…_

_...Oh, she’s part of this, isn’t it? She’s purposefully leading Alincia away from us, so that we can’t ask for her help. Knowing how much Alincia likes Marina, she’ll definitely help us if she tells her the situation._

_So this really means this entire kidnapping is orchestrated with the approval of the rest of the Council? Or at the very least, Selendia approves of it..._

_“P.S. I wouldn't suggest trying to negotiate. Every mage in the Council is selfish to the core after all.”_

_That letter was right after all. They probably don’t consider anyone below them to have any rights whatsoever, not that this world has a concept of human rights in the first place._

"My, of course! What a well-behaved child you are, little one!" She suddenly ruffled my hair, catching me a little off-guard. "Your sister certainly could learn a thing or two from you!"

My ears perked up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she's not rude or anything, but she's… well… a tad standoffish, for a lack of a better term. She doesn't get along with the other students, except for Miss Salamander and Master Marjoram. Being serious is good but I feel she's a little bit too serious, if you catch my drift. N-no offense meant, of course! T-this is just my silly, personal opinion!" She quickly added, clearly not wanting to offend me or Father and Mother.

_Ah, I think I can imagine what she means. Once Sis decides she doesn't like someone, it's really hard to change her mind. From the exiling she gets when Merinda was around, to how now a large chunk of the school thinks she's an arrogant and uppity person for rejecting that shitty hobbit, no wonder she doesn't put any effort in knowing anyone else._

_In that way, she is strikingly similar to my old self._

"Well, that's strange…" I spoke up, still putting up my act. "When she's with me, she's always kind and warm—not standoffish in the slightest! She's a good girl, my sister! I have no doubt about it in the slightest!" I smiled brightly. I knew Marina could look like that from the outside, but as her little brother, I wanted others to receive her friendly warmth and experience her charms as well!

Not that hobbit though. That guy can just go to hell for all I care, especially after this whole mess. He must be in cahoot with his grandmother! There’s no doubt about it!

“Ooh, how nice! She really must love you a lot, doesn’t she?” She smiled, ruffling my hair again. Suddenly, she looked up to Mother and asked, “How old is he, Ma’am? If he’s of age, then we would certainly welcome him as a student in the academy!”

“Oh, he’s ten this year,” Mother replied, her smile slightly turning more genuine. “I don’t know about him enrolling here though. He always says he wants to be an adventurer instead!”

“That’s a shame, Madam! At least let us polish his magic skill first here! If her sister’s that talented, then surely he would share at least some of that talent, yes? He’ll learn so much better here than if he were to learn magic by himself out there! Not to mention that he can help his sister get more friends!”

“There’s no need for that,” Mother answered, clearly happy of the praises she was showering onto me. “You see, he’s already—”

“Ahem, we’d better get going now, Renee.”

Father suddenly interrupted her. At first, I didn’t understand why he did, but I think I now knew why.

He didn’t want to tell anyone related to the Magocracy that I was already a Master-level mage when I was still a ten year old boy. Because he knew if they knew, I would suffer the same fate as Marina did. I would be hunted down for my talent, with possibly a girl or even two whose parents were part of the Council throwing themselves at me to become my wife. Or, to be more truthful, I would be hunted by them. I doubt I would keep my Greenwood family name once I got married with them.

_Ya know, at first, having a harem of girls all wanting to make babies with you might sound nice (I’m pretty sure it’s a premise for quite a number of harem stories back in my world), but with what’s currently happening to Marina, I know it will turn ugly sooner or later. And I won’t have any freedom in the end. I would just be a puppet for their family essentially. So I have to thank Father for doing that._

\----------------

Once we left the Academy, we immediately went to a bookstore to get a map of the region as Father suggested. As I went browsing however, a certain book caught my eye.

_Hmm? This is—_

I picked it up, examining the title closer. “The Great Ice Snake Witch, Vera Marjoram, An Autobiography” was what it said on the cover.

_This is a book about her!_

I immediately opened it. Not because I admired her, certainly not, but because if there’s any info here that we could use to our advantage…

“Hey, pay up first, then you can read it.”

The shopkeeper, a grumpy old man with eyebrows so thick it should've covered his eyes, prodded me with his stick from behind.

"R-right…"

_No plastic to cover the books like in the bookstores back home, obviously._

I paid for the book and map, before going to the restaurant just across the road, whether Father and Mother were waiting.

We had our lunch there, while laying down the map on the table to examine what route we should take.

“Hmm, there’s only one road we could take to her province. We took the East Gate from here, going northwest to the town of Formatua where we would take the southeastern road, crossing the Kudasjarvo River at the bridge. Once we did, we would already be in her territory.”

I gulped. She might put her soldiers there to stop us from entering.

“Then, we followed the road eastward until we reached Rau Uvarsa. Then we would climb the mountain. We should expect fierce resistance there. Remember, Vera most likely wouldn’t want to alarm the entire Magocracy on what she was doing. To the citizens, the Council could do no wrong.”

I nodded. So it’s most likely for her to just put all her forces on said mountain, away from the prying eyes of outsiders.

“Just like before, we’ll ride non-stop there. Are you okay with that, Hugo?” Father asked, looking straight at me.

“Of course, Father. I’m ready.”

“Also, we’ll purchase winter clothes before we depart.”

He didn’t need to explain why, of course.

_Just wait, Sis. I’m coming for you. Just hang in there!_

\---------------

After finishing up our meal, we promptly resumed our frantic ride with the wind.

The teacher said that it would take around twenty days to get there, so we aimed for ten. It was another non-stop ride, with me sitting in front of Mother on her horse.

We reached Formatua in merely four days, crossing through the Lazarus Plains. It’s a large stretch of green plains around Mira. We could see farmlands built around the tiny villages we went through on the way, though most of the plains itself were yet to be cultivated.

From Formatua, we reached the Kudasjarvo River and Bridge in just a single day. To my pleasant surprise, we weren’t stopped by Vera’s soldiers when we tried to cross. In fact, there wasn’t even a checkpoint. You could go straight to the other side, with only a sign stating that we were entering the Marjoram Province.

_So if she’s going to stop us, then it would be at that mountain, huh? So not only is she going to be stronger than all of us, she would also have the home advantage._

_Not good. Not good at all. But what other choice do we have? We have to get Marina back, before it’s too late!_

After we crossed the bridge, the environment around us changed immediately.

The green plains we were in before—that disappeared completely, replaced by a barren taiga, stretching for miles. And the closer we got to our destination, the colder the temperature dropped. It was as if we were moving to a pleasant subtropic region into a frigid Northern Europe-like one.

_Heh, how fitting for a region ruled by an ice mage._

_I do wonder though, how the climate of this fantasy world works. To have a taiga and grassland side by side like this, that can’t be natural._

_...Wait, hold on, I think that book I bought at Mira talked about this._

Any resting time I got, I would also use to skim through the book, even though most of its contents were just self-aggrandizing nonsense that I couldn't care less about, and that the facts I found there could just be exaggerations or outright lies. Still, I had to gain as much information as I could on the enemy we were going to face.

_T-this is… this can’t be real, can it?_

There, I discovered it—the part where the book talked about how she turned this whole province into a cold taiga many, many years ago when she had her fight against the previous ruling magic family that she overthrew. They were the Albatross Clan, with their leader being Lana Albatross, a Grandmaster-level Wind mage.

_Wow, this book… it doesn’t even bother to sound neutral._

It actively chastised the Albatrosses, saying that they were weak and they deserved their destruction completely for “stagnating in their magic development, to the point that a complete outsider could beat them”. After her victory, to prevent any attempts of “cowardly backstabbing”, as the book put it, Vera killed every single Albatross that still lived. I could imagine her doing it with the children too.

_And there goes my idea of contacting any remaining Albatross to ask for their help too..._

_No wonder Marina is so disgusted by them._

Another part I found interesting was how apparently, the Albatrosses were considered as traitors who “secretly want to sell the Magocracy to the Holy Empire”. That might explain why the other houses were alright with Vera just overthrowing them with force like that, though knowing the Magocracy’s propaganda, they probably weren’t actual traitors. Maybe sympathizers, who wanted a better relationship between the two nations.

I didn’t buy the taiga part though. I mean, no mage could be that powerful, right? It must be just another exaggeration, to make her more amazing that she really is to the populace.

If it’s not, well, our already slim chance of winning against her would go down straight to zero, I’m afraid.

I also went through the book to see if there was any hint of her fighting style that I could use. But nope, nothing whatsoever. Only stuff like “Woo, she’s a powerful mage that can turn the very air itself into ice!” I can already figure that out on my own, thank you very much.

There was an info that we actually could use though, and that was the knowledge of her summon. Just like her namesake, she could summon a gigantic front snake to do her bidding. It had freezing cold breath that it could use as an attack, a freezing cold body that could freeze anyone who touched it's skin for a second, and it would leave ice crystals behind its trail.

_Well, that's another hurdle we somehow have to overcome…_

The ride to Rau Uvarsa took us another four days, making the whole trip only taking nine days (and a half, I guess, since we arrived at dusk). We were even faster than our original prediction.

Quaint was a good way to describe the place. It was definitely smaller and less busy than Mira. And a lot of the structures and buildings there looked old. And it didn’t even have a proper wall, as most of it were only remains of what used to be a wall.

_Well, Vera isn’t big on maintaining her city, it seems._

Another thing peculiar to the city was the surprisingly large amount of gnomes we found walking in the streets. I could only guess one reason, and that being Vera, a gnome herself, being the ruler of the province. Maybe they were all immigrants from other countries, wanting to be led by another gnome instead of a human.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel weird walking amongst them like this. I was already used to looking upwards to talk with other people, as I was still a kid and all, but now, I could talk to them eye to eye directly just fine.

Let’s see… I think that book also talks about this city. It’s her city after all, so it must reflect well on her.

Ah, I remember! _“The Marjoram Province is ruled wisely by her The Great Witch. Turning the region cold allows its people to cultivate rare herbs and plants that only would grow in such a temperature, increasing the wealth of the region heaps and bounds from when the failure Lana ruled it.”_

As much as I despised it, I had to agree with the book. I did indeed see rows and rows of strange-looking bushes of plants I didn’t know about when we rode here on the road. So they were actually this region’s equivalent to the normal farmlands other, warmer regions had. Just like at the Lazarus Plains though, most of the taiga weren’t really developed.

Though I doubt that the transition to a completely different agriculture when she took over was smooth. How many farmlands did she destroy, if she truly was the one responsible for turning the whole region colder? How many farmers did she starve by doing so?

We took an inn for the night, with I getting my own room while Father and Mother had their own. Father told me to rest as well as I could, as tomorrow would be our confrontation day with Vera.

That night, I didn’t hear a single noise from their room.


	43. Captive

**Thomas**

“Grandmother, y-you can’t—”

“Hmm? Are you trying to say something, my sweet Thomas? You, who have failed miserably at chasing her on your own all this time?”

“T-that’s too cruel to her, is it not?”

“Cruel? There’s nothing cruel about it! After all, I know you’re going to take care of her just fine. You really do love her, don’t you? Like the love those bards love to sing?”

“I-I do! B-but still…”

“Silence! I will not hear another word of complaint from you. All you need for you to do is to just stand there as she ate her food. She will look at you and you only as the potion slowly affects her. Even your useless self should manage to do something so simple.”

\--------

It started back when she visited the Academy. After our meeting with Marina’s family, she told me in private that she had a plan to make Marina my wife. At first, I was ecstatic, thinking that finally, I could obtain the girl of my dreams. However, when she told me what her plan was, that excitement turned into horror.

It wasn’t that she had some love advice that would finally win her over, but instead she decided to kidnap her and force feed her love potions to make her fall in love with me.

I know what the potion did. It wouldn’t be love that Marina felt when she drank it. It would be lust instead. Anyone who drank it would feel increased lust towards the opposite gender he or she first saw after swallowing it.

And Grandmother was going to use it until Marina willingly offered herself and her body to me.

It was scarily ingenious, just like her. She wasn’t just going to make her down an entire bottle and have the effect be instantaneous. She was going to spike her food and drink slowly, day after day, until her hardened heart would melt against me. Then, I would give her my sweet promises, in which she would accept, and then we would be a couple at last.

She didn’t believe in the concept of love, saying that all love was only romanticized lust in the end. But I knew it wasn’t true. Because I had experienced both.

I, who was an only child, always craved a sibling ever since I was born. I was lonely, without a single person to play with. Only my Father and Mother, who feared Grandmother more than they loved me, and the servants, who worshipped Grandmother like a goddess.

I always feared Grandmother, just like my Father and Mother. I always dreaded whenever they told me that I should go play with her. She would lift me up and caress me with a smile. However, that smile never reached her eyes. And all she ever said was that she wished for me to grow up quickly and become a powerful mage for her.

Merinda was the only person from the outside that I had a close contact with. I would visit her in her home sometimes and vice versa. However, it was clear that she had no interest in me whatsoever. She only found it funny that I could never beat her in magic, not even once. I could never like such a sadistic person.

Even so, she was pretty. And I was smitten at her. Just for the look, not the personality.

I then realized that if I were to get a wife, she had to be the older sister type, just like her.

When I was sent to the Academy, I quickly learned of the existence of those places they called brothels—pleasure palaces where lonely men could be comforted by a number of beautiful women who would all adore you and treat you like a king.

And so I went there, and I was immediately hooked by it.

I felt so happy, being surrounded by all sorts of wonderful ladies who all loved me unquestioningly and unconditionally. I could even make them pretend to be my older sisters, which gave me great pleasure to be sure.

The one thing I could be grateful to Grandmother was that she gave me a generous amount of allowance every month, so money was never a problem.

But then, Merinda died, and Grandmother told me to chase after a different girl altogether.

And that girl was Marina.

At first, I didn’t like her that much. I thought she was too cold for my taste. So I was just flirting with her because Grandmother told me to, using my boyish charms that she apparently liked, as Alincia had spread the rumors of her having a brother complex behind that cold demeanor.

But then, I actually fell in love with her. The real kind of love, not just the lust I had for those prostitutes I frequented.

I wanted to be accepted by her. And yet, she only grew colder and colder. I even braved myself to confess, yet she wasn’t even budged by my genuine display of emotion. I challenged her to a duel, fully knowing that I was outclassed, just because I hoped she would see my brave and gallant side. And yet, it only ended with her calling me a fool.

What was I doing wrong? Why couldn’t she ever like me?

At the very least, please smile at me, if you can’t give me your love.

And then, that despair, even if just for a little bit, turned into hatred. Combined with my fear towards Grandmother, it made me stop myself from telling her about Grandmother’s plan.

In retrospect, perhaps if I had told her, it would be the act that finally allowed her to see me as more than just a nuisance.

But it’s too late now. She’s already here, inside Grandmother’s mansion—a captive, fully under her mercy. Even if I was somehow brave enough to aid her escape, which I certainly wasn’t, it would never work. She’s too good of a mage for that. 

It would only end with her punishing me severely, and perhaps even Father and Mother too.

_I’m sorry, Marina… But the only future you have is with me. As my wife._

\---------

**Marina**

“Please, Marina, you have to eat.”

It was him again. That hobbit.

He held another tray of food with him.

It seemed it was his duty to bring me food and water.

I refused to eat or drink any of them though. Not because I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, but because I wasn’t foolish enough to not expect it to be spiked by something.

I just let the tray remain on the table beside me, untouched.

This was the second day, and I certainly could feel my parched throat and hear the sound of my empty stomach.

“I will not,” I told him.

“I don’t put anything in them, if you’re worried about that.”

“You think I’m foolish enough to believe that?”

He paused, averting his gaze. Yep, there’s definitely something in them.

“You’ll get sick if you don’t.”

“That’s your problem, isn’t it? You’re the one who wants me alive after all, to be your wife.” I gave a resentful grin.

“I-it’s not me! I-it’s all Grandmother’s plan! I-I was forced into this, just like you!”

“Hoo… how convenient… so you say you actually don’t want to see me like this… so why don’t you help me escape then?”

“I-I can’t do that! Grandmother will punish me if I do!”

I laughed—a hollow and lifeless one. “What a joke of a man you are! You’re scared! Ever since you were born, you are always scared! Scared of her! It’s not just me who’s her captive! You are as well!”

I was usually not like this. But every time he appeared, it truly disgusted me that he thought he still could win over me by playing up his innocent act.

“You’ve met Hugo, right? My dear little brother? He’s younger than you and yet he’s twice the man that you will ever be!”

“S-stop it! I-it’s not like I—”

“Like what? You’re a coward through and through! You’ll never be able to be like him! You think if he’s in your position, he will still obey your vile grandmother? Not in a million years! I’m sure of that completely! Without a single grain of doubt in my heart!”

“Shut up! SHUT. UP!”

To my genuine surprise, he actually yelled at me.

“You don’t know how hard it is to live with Grandmother all these years! He doesn’t know either! You two are lucky! You have a loving father and mother to raise you! Mine is just another puppet of hers!”

He was still yelling, yet he started to tear up at the same time.

_...This is good. This means I’m getting closer to his real self._

“Ah, self pity! That’s another thing you’re good at!” I continued my assault. “You want to know the reason why I never liked you? It’s exactly this! You’re a weak little hobbit, Thomas! Not just in magic, but mentally as well! You said you don’t like your parents being Vera’s puppet! Yet you’re just like them! If you’re really a man, then cut off those strings and free yourself from her!”

KLANG

The sound of steel clashing with the floor filled the room. In his anger, he actually threw his tray to the floor.

“You—you’re horrible!”

With a loud bang, he ran away, slamming the door behind him.

_...Hmm… did I overdo it, I wonder?_

_Well, now my suspicion is confirmed. He doesn’t really like his grandmother that much._

_He can be my key to escape this place._

\-------------

**Thomas**

_W-why? Why did she have to say all of that?_

_I-I’m not weak! A-and even if I am, I-I’m not the one to blame! It’s Grandmother! A-and Father and Mother too! I’m the victim here!_

“How did it go? Did you manage to get her to break her fast?”

Before I knew it, my feet already took me to Grandmother’s throne room.

It was a large room on the second floor, decorated with all sorts of objects that reminded you that she was indeed the ice witch herself in the flesh. The throne was made out of pure, sculptured ice, and there was snow falling in the room, from the tall ceiling. Ice crystals were placed to the sides, and the floor itself was also made out of ice, though it wasn’t slippery in the slightest. Between her were two tall ice sculptures of snakes, baring its fangs towards me.

She sat on her throne in her usual manner, casual and not like a prim and proper queen in the slightest. Since it was so large, she could use it as if it was a couch, with her shoulder resting on one of the hand rests and her feet resting on the other.

“N-no, Grandmother. She still refused to. S-she even threw the tray I gave to the floor.” I lied. I couldn’t tell her that I was the one who did it.

“Aah, what a useless grandson you are. Do I have to do everything for you? Three days and she would die from thirst, you know. And then you won’t have your lovely wife.”

“I-I’m sure she would come around before then!”

“Well, let’s just hope so. That girl really is a piece of work. Never before I’ve seen such a defiant young lady like her.”

“But I’ll break her, sooner or later. No one is going to come to save her. And even if somehow they knew of our plan, they wouldn’t survive my mountain guards. Already told your Father and Mother to stand guard for any intruders, though I also told them not to kill them immediately. Because I certainly would want to have a chat with them. After all, I’d rather not kill her family if I could.”

“G-Grandmother thinks her family would come?”

“...Well, there’s a slim but existing chance that one of my dear friends at the Council would decide to ‘leak’ the information to them. Especially that Brine woman. Can’t you believe how many snide remarks she directed to me lately?” She huffed. Grandmother never really got along with the other Council members that well. She often complained about them to anyone who would hear.

“T-that’s really bad, isn’t it?” I replied, imagining that entire family suddenly barging in through the front door.

“Hmm? Of course not. It’s just a minor inconvenience at best. Even if they might be ex S-rank adventurers, they’re not match against a Grandmaster-level mage like myself.”

“B-but Father and Mother…”

“Hmph, if they can’t take on just a pair of S-ranked adventurers, then they don’t deserve to be the leaders of my mountain guards in the first place.”

And with that, our discussion was over. I was dismissed, to wait until it was lunchtime—to deliver food to Marina yet again.

\-------------

**Marina**

Today is the fourth day I’ve been captive.

I am now too thirsty to even speak. And I am weakened by hunger as well.

It seemed the poison Vera used to sap me from my magic lasted for quite the long time. Not that it would matter since she could just force me to drink another dose at her convenience.

I spent my time sleeping as much as I could to conserve my energy. I would dream of home, of Father and Mother’s warmth, of little Erika’s laughter, and most of all, of Hugo’s smile.

I tried to influence Thomas with my words, but it seemed he had decided to shut off my speech from his ears completely. Maybe I went too far after all.

And now, I couldn’t even speak any longer.

...Ah, the door opened. I suppose it’s time for breakfast already.

“Marina, I’m going to feed you, whether you want to or not.”

I turned around and saw him again, standing with a worried look on his face as he put down the tray on the table.

“I may be weak, but I still have some strength to knock off your spoon with my hand if you think of force feeding me,” I stated, forcing a weak grin.

“I’m sure of that,” he replied with a smile. “You’re a really strong person after all, Marina. That’s another part of you that I love.”

“And so, I’m sorry that I have to do this.”

“G-gaahh!”

Before I could react, he pressed what looked to be a palm-sized ice crystal into my chest.

I froze. My body… I’ve lost control of it completely. 

“It’s alright. It’s just temporary. Just so I can feed you,” he said, still keeping that wry smile of his.

I could only move my eyeballs in fear as he began by pouring the water in the glass into my mouth. I had no choice. I had to swallow it all down or else I would choke. My opened mouth was also frozen.

“There! All better, right? Now, I’ll help you with the soup. My grandmother might be an ice mage, but she’s proud of our cook’s warm chicken soup! So you’re eating her favorite food right now!”

I tried to spit it out but just like before, he poured so much of it that I had no choice but to swallow it yet again.

“There you go!” He clapped his hands once I had drunk and ate it all. “Now, I’ll take my leave. Don’t worry. Grandmother says that the spell would thaw just around half an hour later.”

I could only give him a hateful glare as he left the room.

And thus, he was given a way to ensure that I wouldn’t just kill myself through dehydration or starvation.

I had expected this, really. A mage at her caliber should know how to do things like this.

I could vomit it once the spell ran out, but I knew there would be no use doing so, as whatever poison it had would have been absorbed by my body already.

Since today, using this method, he would ensure that I ate three times a day.

\----------------

**Thomas**

_Oooh, I think she hates me even more now for doing that to her…_

_But, just like Grandmother instructed, I have to put on my warmest, brightest smile as I feed her, so that the effect of the love potion would act better. She says that she would remember my cute smile, and her heart would thaw quicker. She’ll finally stop acting so cold towards me. She might even smile at me, like she would smile at her little brother._

_And then, she will fall for me, and I would accept her with open arms. We would be married, and I would make her the happiest girl in the whole world!_

_...I’m sorry, Marina, but you would just have to bear it for a little longer._

_This is for your own good too. Grandmother might be scary, but she always provides to those loyal to her. We will have our own mansion, with butlers and maids. You can have all the jewelry you want. I can just imagine how beautiful you will look with a diamond necklace around your neck!_

_And of course, you might just end up replacing Grandmother once she retires! You’re really good at magic after all! You can carry the Marjoram name and become a respected and revered member of the Council! What greater joy can there be, to be such a powerful figure? Your name will be jotted down in the history of the Magocracy itself!_

_Naturally, if you want your family to come along, then they could come along as well. They can stay in our mansion, or they can have their own. It all depends on what you want, my dear!_

_So please, just bear it! Just bear it for a little bit longer! Before you know it, your stubbornness will disappear and you’ll realize how much smarter and wiser it is to go with Grandmother’s plan! Everyone will be happier in the end!_

_Just a little more… just a little more…_


	44. Time Limit

**Hugo**

The next morning, as usual, we gathered downstairs to have our breakfast.

Only for me to be completely blindsided by what I was seeing 

W-whoa...

_Well, this is… different…_

Father and Mother were no longer in their usual outfits. Instead, they were wearing what looked to be their adventuring outfits instead, maybe even the very same outfits they used to wear.

_This image change… Father's isn't that big but Mother's…_

She was wearing what very much looked like the stereotypical white mage / cleric outfit. Her robe was a mixture of white and blue, with a black underdress underneath that ended at her upper thigh. She also wore a pair of white thighhigh boots—that totally didn't draw attention to her exposed upper thigh at all—along with a white and blue priestly headdress.

The most noticeable change however was her hair. It was fully let down to her waist, not tied in a bun like usual.

_So this is how Mother looks when she was still an adventurer… Wow, no wonder Father fell for her! She's gorgeous! N-not that she isn't already before, of course…_

"So, Hugo, how does your mother look?" she asked with a slight blush. "It's really been a long time since I last wore these. I was afraid they wouldn't fit me anymore to be honest. And they're indeed a bit tight in certain places…"

_Ah, I can see that for sure. Her breasts were practically bursting—her dress not really able to accommodate their size. And I could see the outline of her butt on the back of the dress as well._

"Don't worry, Mom! I think it suits you perfectly!" I replied with a smile. I glanced at Father and he gave me a look that said, "Good job, Hugo!"

"Hehe, I'm happy to hear that!" She giggled, rubbing the top of my head.

And then, all of a sudden, her smile disappeared.

"Do you know why we're wearing our old adventurer days clothes back, Hugo?" She asked, now with a completely serious look on her face.

“...Because this is a life and death mission, isn’t it, Mother?” I replied. “We’re up again one of the top mages of the Magocracy after all.”

“Correct.” Father stepped in, also with a deathly serious look. “I’ll be honest with you, Hugo. This is going to be the toughest opponent we ever face. A Grandmaster-level mage like her… she surpasses any S-rank monsters we have ever fought for sure.” He then let out a dry chuckle. “What a mess we’re in. To think that we have to go back doing something like this when we’re already retired for a good fifteen years. I thought our life and death days were over. Apparently not.”

“...If only Myrilla is here…” Mother spoke, suddenly looking melancholic.

“Well, it can’t be helped, can it? She must already be back in the Demon Continent right now. There’s only two of us. Well, and our genius son, Hugo.” He smiled, patting me on the shoulder. “You’re just ten and you already reached Master-level. That’s even faster than your big sister!”

I shook my head. "It's only thanks to her that I can get this far, Father. She's my teacher after all."

_Yet another reason why I have to save her._

\-----

After breakfast, we returned back to Father's room to have our strategy meeting.

“Alright, let's review the situation. First of all, what is our goal?" Father opened.

"To save Big Sis, of course!" I answered readily.

"And the best way to do that is?"

"We snatch her without Vera noticing and then run away as fast as we can."

“Good. So you understand that this would ideally be a stealth mission. We won’t be confronting her or any of her guards if not necessary.”

“From what your book told about her, we would be outclassed if we have to fight her,” Mother joined in. “So a nonviolent approach would be the best to be sure.”

“You’re alright with that, Hugo? You don’t want to take revenge on Vera or her grandson for what they did to Marina?” Father then asked.

“Yes, I’m alright with that,” I answered. “Of course, I’m angry at them, but Big Sis’ safety and our safety are far more important than any revenge.”

“Good. Keep that calmness on your head and we’ll go through this just fine.”

Unlike a lot of those protagonists who got transported or reincarnated into a fantasy world, I don’t have any overpowered abilities that will allow me to just win against anything and anyone. Sure, I might be a genius at magic, being a Master at just ten, but I’m still nothing compared to Vera, who’s on a tier on her own above mine. As much as I hate it, I have to calm my raging heart and do as Father says.

“So, let’s talk about the mountain we’re going to climb today,” Father continued. “There’s no map of it since it’s Vera’s private property, but from what I’ve asked the locals, there’s only one road that you could take to reach her mansion at the top. Well, two, if you count the road from Mau Uvarsa, the town at the other side of the mountain. But obviously, we can’t take that route without spending two more days on the road. The two roads are pretty much the same anyways—long, narrow ones with tall cliffs on each side. That means the risk of avalanches is high, especially if she’s going to have mage guards who can just send all that snow on top of our head.”

“But we don’t have to worry much about that,” Mother interjected. “If it’s just an avalanche, I can protect us all with my Barrier spell. What worries me more is said mage guards. What did your book say about them again, Hugo?”

“They are at least Advanced-level mages, with higher ranking ones being Master-level,” I answered with a grim look. “Gah, if only that book says how many there are.”

“Naturally, such sensitive information would be kept away from the public eye,” Mother interjected. “We can just hope that the majority of her guards would only be Advanced-level mages. I believe we can fight against them quite easily. Right, Alan?”

“Yep! Not to brag but mere Advanced-level mages are no match against me and my greatsword. I’ll cut them all before they can even cast their spells,” he said with a confident grin.

_Cut them all though? So killing them, pretty much._

“...Oh, right, Hugo, you never killed a person before.” Like a good mother, Renee immediately took notice of the shift in my expression. She then came to me and put her hands on my shoulders, kneeling down as she looked me right in the eyes.

“Can you do it, Hugo? Can you fire your spells, knowing that you will end another person’s life with it? Their hopes, their dreams, all disappearing with a single strike? Not to mention the sadness you will bring to their loved ones?”

...I know what she’s doing. She’s testing my resolve, isn’t she?

“If not, then we can’t—”

“I’m fine, Mother. I can do it. I’ll do it if it’s for Big Sis’ sake.”

Even though I used to live in a peaceful country, I wouldn’t call myself a pacifist. I believed in the maxim that if someone hit you, you have the right to hit them back.

And now, in this world, it wouldn’t be strange in the slightest to take someone else’s life. Just like how in those RPGs, you can kill hordes of bandits and the like with no remorse whatsoever, you must be able to do so here as well if you’re going to survive as an adventurer.

And I can tell… that both Father and Mother had killed people before when they were still adventurers who traveled around the world.

And if I am going to become one, I will eventually have to start killing people as well, sooner or later, if I am to protect myself and the people I care about.

And that’s exactly what I will do now. I will kill to save Marina.

Seeing the determination in my eyes, Mother let out a relieved sigh before standing up.

“Very well. You can go with us. I see you are determined enough to do so.”

“But don’t mistake us by thinking we’re telling you to kill every single person that you find,” Father interjected. “If you wish, you can aim for their legs or hands instead, crippling instead of killing. I’ll leave the judgment to you, Hugo. Just don’t be caught off-guard, as a desperate enough opponent could still do your harm even if he’s severely injured.”

“Don’t worry, Father. I won’t.” I gave him a reassuring smile.

_To use my magic to cripple, not to kill. Can I assess the situation well enough to decide which opponent can be left alive and which one cannot? How about a surrendering opponent? How can I trust them that they won’t stab us when our back is turned?_

_...I do not know. I have never trained for this._

_But I know that anyone who stands in my way on saving Marina, I will show them no mercy._

\------------

**Marina**

A week had passed since my confinement.

And I think… I think whatever drug they put in my food is finally showing its effect.

Whenever I saw Thomas now, I no longer felt the overwhelming hate and disgust that I used to feel. Instead, I started to feel a little glad every time he came.

I refused to show it to him, of course, knowing that it was just a false feeling implanted into me by what's most likely being some sort of a love potion. I kept my cold expression at all times.

At the very least, I was lucky that Vera hadn’t just decided to drug me with a full dose. If she did, I would lose my mind and I would be lusting over her grandson like a dog in heat. And he would happily take my virtue away.

What Vera was doing was far more insidious however. I’d read about it in one of my alchemy books—about how a love potion in low doses fed in a long period of time would eventually make the victim feel genuine desire towards the person feeding them. Their hormones would influence their brain, making them think better of the other person. It’s just like in that one tale about a womanizing bard, who cheated on various girls over and over, and yet they all still wanted him in the end, even after being furiously angry towards him.

Fortunately, making a love potion is a relatively difficult matter. The ingredients are rare and the methods are hard to perform. Only a master alchemist could do it.

Not that Vera would have any trouble finding one, knowing her position and all.

Speaking of her, her grandson had started to attend to me more, sitting beside me, reading me a book. He loved adventuring novels, and he would gallantly voice every character. And, as much as I despised to admit it, he did a great job doing so. He could even voice the female characters well, thanks to his youthful voice.

"And thus, Charles and Rosemary live happily ever after! Aaah, what a great romantic ending, isn't it, Marina?"

I didn't answer.

"Now that we've finished Charles and The Sword of Fate, we can move on my favorite series! Luca and the—"

"You like these books so much, yet you don't learn anything from them."

"...H-huh? What do you mean, Marina?"

"Take Charles, for example. Remember how he still insisted to fight against the Demon Lord Gaurus even though his sword tells him that he's fated to lose? Just because he wants to save his love Rosemary? That's true bravery, right there. No wonder Rosemary falls for him in the end.”

“O-oh yes, I love that part!” He replied with an excited smile. “Isn’t it so romantic, for him to do—”

“And yet, you yourself won’t fight against your fate, to be your grandmother’s puppet. If you truly love me, then you would do it. You will fight against her, just like Charles fought against the Demon Lord. Then maybe, I’ll fall for you at last.”

This was another opportunity that I didn’t intend to squander. This was a race, to see which one of us would change the mind of the other—him with his love potion and me with my words.

He looked away, before replying, “I-I can’t do that… I’m not a hero like Charles…”

“Being a hero is not about strength. It’s about bravery and the will to act.”

“...N-not fair…”

“Hmm?”

“Y-you’re not being fair, Marina! Your standards for a man are too high!”

When he turned his head back, he was crying.

And immediately I felt a pang of guilt in my heart.

“I-I’m trying my best, alright? So please, stop scolding me like that!”

And with that, he ran away, taking his book with him.

_This is bad… I’m running out of time… I’m starting to feel pity for him now..._

_At this rate, I won’t be able to berate him properly anymore…_

\-----------

**Thomas**

“Did it work?”

“Yes, it did work, Grandmother!” I replied with a smile.

I was back at Grandmother’s throne room, giving my report as usual. And to my relief, she’s smiling as well—the first time she did towards me after being upset in my lack of progress.

“Good! Your cute little hobbit tears… they surely can become a powerful weapon to melt her heart. Even if they’re fake.” She smirked.

“I-I never thought to make fake tears using water magic! I have you to thank for that, Grandmother!”

“Of course you don’t. You barely think at all in the first place.”

I wasn’t even bothered by her insult. I was so happy that her trick had worked.

Especially since I got to see Marina’s expression melting, even if it’s just a little!

“Alright, Grandmother! I’ll make sure to keep it up! Just like you wanted!”

\------------

**Marina**

It’s been one week and three days since the start of my captivity.

The more the days went, the cuter he became in my eyes.

And the more I wanted to just… cuddle with him.

Yesterday, he cried yet again when I provoked him. And when it happened, I felt an overwhelming urge to hug him and told him that I was sorry.

I had to clench my blanket in order to stop myself.

And today, I did the unthinkable. I gave my smile at him.

All he did was making a joke, and suddenly, I started giggling.

I didn't even know whether the joke was funny or not. My mind was getting cloudier and cloudier everytime I was with him.

Slowly but surely, I'm losing my grip.

\-----

It's been one week and five days in captivity.

I can't… I can't do this any longer.

My dreams are now all about him. And not only that, they're lewd dreams as well, with me kissing him or even rubbing my breasts onto his face. All with a smile on my face.

I can't even resist his food anymore. Just one hurt look, and he won me over. I felt I would die if I were to deny that innocent, precious look.

And of course, I can't scold him either. I tried to do it, but the moment he gave his sad look, the words wouldn't come out anymore.

I'm losing myself. There's no doubt about it.

Should I just surrender? If I forget about everything, Thomas is a cute and lovable sweet hobbit who swears to make me happy. Would it be so bad to have him to cuddle with every night?

...No! D-don't let him… don't let… aaarghhh!

\-----

Two weeks… I think… does it even matter anymore?

Father… Mother… please… help me…

Hugo… please… embrace your big sister once more… I miss your smile… I miss your scent… I miss your touch…

I will fight… right to the end… so please… you are coming, right? You're not just going to abandon me, right?

Please… please come soon…

\-------

**Thomas**

"G-Grandmother, please help! Marina is acting weird!"

As usual, she was sitting on her ice throne at this time of a day. I didn’t know what she was doing there, only that she would nod off and even snore there occasionally.

"Hmm?” She gave me a bored look. “What do you mean? Haven’t you been telling me that you’re winning her over?”

“That’s true! But today, she won’t even look at me! She covered herself under her blanket while yelling at me to go away!”

“Oh? Fascinating,” Grandmother replied. She wasn’t even perturbed in the slightest by my news. “I believe it’s her last ditch effort to resist you, my dear.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, really. There’s nothing wrong with my potion. In fact, it’s a good sign that she is really losing it. Hah, two weeks are all it takes, huh?” She grinned. “It almost makes me want to watch as you make her squeal with pleasure, my dear. I want to watch how her proud face will look once she’s completely infatuated with you.”

_Uuu, her grin is scary as always…_

“T-then, what should I do, Grandmother?”

“Why, I think you should—”

“L-Lady Vera, e-excuse me for barging in!”

Suddenly, our conversation was rudely interrupted by a young male. Judging by his outfit, he must be one of Grandmother’s mountain guards. He immediately bowed in front of Grandmother’s presence.

“I-I have urgent news! T-the intruders you said might come… they have arrived! Now they’re climbing up the mountain to get here!”

“...So they come after all. Interesting! Very interesting! I assume Lotho and Myrtle are already in position?”

“Of course, Milady!”

“Good. Tell them to proceed as planned.”

After giving another bow, the man left. Grandmother then turned her attention back to me.

“Well, Thomas. This would be the perfect opportunity to break her completely. If she were to appear in front of them, telling her undying love to you, then there would be no reason for us to be enemies. You want that, don’t you?”

“O-of course, Grandmother! I want Marina’s family to be able to live happily with her as my wife! She’ll be sad if they’re gone!”

“Then, get to work. You know what you must do, right? You’ve played with those prostitutes so many times after all.”


	45. The Climb

**Hugo**

After our strategy meeting, we immediately departed to the mountain.

The entrance was located right at the outskirts of the city, so it didn’t take long at all until we reached the gate. As expected, it was closed, and there were a group of mage guards standing right in front of it.

Just like we had discussed, we weren’t going to go up to them and ask whether we could be allowed to enter. We very well knew that there was little to no chance that Vera would approve, and it would only alert the rest of her forces of our presence.

To the sides were a series of natural sheer cliffs, preventing ordinary folk to opt out of the main road.

However, we weren’t ordinary in the slightest.. Cliffs like that, we could climb up with no problem whatsoever.

After making sure that we were far away enough From the main entrance, we began our climb.

“Barrier! Ramp Mode!”

Mother lifted her staff, and then, a ramp formed out of the same translucent structure she generated to protect us appeared out of thin air.

“Impressed?” She giggled a little, looking at my surprised expression. “A barrier isn’t just limited to the usual dome structure, you know. You can use it like this as well.”

...That’s a good point. Why can’t you use barrier or force field spells this way in all those RPGs I’ve played?

We walked up the ramp with Mother guiding us in the front, lengthening the ramp as we went while retracting it behind us. It didn’t take long until we reached the top of the cliff.

“First step complete,” Father stated with a smile. “Now, to climb up the mountain for real.”

\----------

The mountain was expectedly cold as it was covered with snow. Our decision to buy and wear winter clothes was certainly the right one. They weren’t just going to be used to fight Vera.

Father warned us to remain vigilant, and try to be as stealthy as possible. It’s hard to do so however, since there are so many spots around where a person could certainly see us from a distance, with us possibly not even noticing. If they wore white robes, they could easily mix in with all the snow around us.

Still, we hurried on upwards, taking a route as far away as possible from the main road. Mother would use her barrier spell to help us cross a chasm or go up a cliff, but Father said we shouldn't use it all the time as she needed to conserve her mana for the possible fight we might have.

\--------

**Lotho and Myrtle**

Little did Hugo and his family know that they were being watched. By an unassuming, totally normal-looking snow rabbit that blended perfectly with the snow-covered grounds and rocks.

The rabbit, after affirming their position and the route they seemed to be taking, immediately hopped away out of their sight range, before transforming back into his human form. And then, he used a different transformation magic to turn into a pigeon before flying away.

It was one of the mage scouts whose job were to look for any unwanted vagrants climbing up the mountain. Normally, they would appear in front of said intruders, asking what their business was, but they had been informed that there was a possibility of a pair of powerful adventurers entering illegally. And their explicit orders were not to engage, but to report back to their superior.

The scouts were not specialized for battle, but they all were able of transformation magic that allowed them to be practically unnoticeable to the intruder, as well as granting them the ability to pass their report quickly. 

The pigeon flew to a wooden outpost sitting halfway up the mountain. When he landed, he turned back to his human form, before kneeling to one of said superiors.

"Report! The intruders you spoke about, they're already here!"

"And their location?"

"Near the Great Ice Gorge, Sir!"

"Understood. Thank you for your report. Gather all the men. We're going to intercept them at once. And of course, send a messenger to Lady Vera to inform her of this intrusion."

The man he spoke with was a middle-aged male hobbit, Lotho Marjoram. Even though he was Thomas Marjoram’s father, his features were nothing like him. He was rough-looking with a square jaw and broad shoulders, with only his black hair marking their similarity. As a hobbit, he couldn't grow any facial hair, with his roughness stemming from the sharp look on his eyes and the scar on his cheek—a scar he got when he fought for his wife, Myrtle. However, contrary to the popular opinion amongst his men, he didn't wear it with pride. He wore it with fear.

There was once a time he was a proud adventuring hobbit. But that era had vanished, even to his own memories.

Now, he was just another one of Vera's loyal puppet.

"So they come after all."

Approaching behind him with her boots digging through the snow was her lovely wife, Myrtle. Her gnomish features were soft and delicate, a full reminisce of her mother. However, unlike Vera, there's a constant shadow of fear behind her eyes—fear that he took notice ever since the first time they met.

And now, it's a fear they both shared.

"Yes, my dear," he replied softly, though with a grin smile.

"So we have to fight them after all?"

"Yes, my dear."

"There's no other way, is there?"

"No, my dear."

…

"Do you think—"

"We do not think, my dear. We simply do what she asks of us. After all, it's for our own good, and our son's as well." His left hand went around her, wrapping around her waist.

"... You're right. This is for the greater good. They're fools if they think they can stand against Mother."

"Indeed. No one can stand against her. As one of this fair nation's rulers, she's an absolute existence. Just two adventurers can never hope to match her, even if they're a pair of S-ranks."

He spoke from experience. He used to think he was a big hotshot, being one of the rare few who could reach such a rank. He thanked Vera every day for showing how foolish he had been.

“We shall depart right away. They shall never reach Lady Vera’s halls while we’re still alive.”

\---------

**Hugo**

Two hours had passed since we started our climb. Thanks to Mother’s Ramp Barrier spell, we were making good progress. According to Father’s estimation, we were already halfway up the mountain. Thankfully, it wasn’t that tall of a mountain in the first place. We would be screwed if it’s as tall as Mount Everest back home.

In front of us was a narrow passage between two towering tall ice cliffs. They were so tall that we couldn’t get a good look on what’s above them.

“Father, I don’t think we should go this way.” I spoke up. “We can get ambushed very easily in a place like this.” It’s just common sense really. I could just imagine a group of ice mages standing on top of those cliffs, just collapsing the entire thing right on top of our heads.

“Hmm, you’re right. Renee, can you make the steps for us to go up there? I’ll carry you while Hugo can fly on his own using his magic.”

“Ah, that form, isn’t it?” Mother replied with a smile. “Yep. A ramp would be too long and steep. It’d be better if I make it in that form instead.”

Stepping forward, she raised her staff and declared, “Barrier! Platform Mode!” Immediately, a series of translucent square-shaped floors appeared in the middle of the air, going upwards until it reached the top of the cliff. They were not that big, but enough so that an adult could stand safely on top of them without falling.

It’s too bad that I am unable to fly them upwards with my wind magic, or else I wouldn’t have to let Mother do all the work. My control wasn’t good enough for that unfortunately, since I was only used to using it on my own light body.

Father then grabbed Mother’s waist, before doing a series of tall jumps that must be superhuman. I soon followed using my Wind Step spell.

On top of the cliff was only more ice. It seemed we had arrived at a literal field of them. The ground was made out of pure ice. There was no dirt or even snow around. It was truly a pure and unblemished ice field, as far as the eye can see.

“Oh dear.” Mother spoke first. “Well, this is unfortunate.”

“This is going to be hard to walk on for sure.” Father then stepped onto the ice. “Yep. This is slippery alright. I don’t think it’s wise for us to walk up here. Our movements are going to be severely hindered.”

“Tch, if only we had bought ice skates before we went here…” I grumbled under my breath. But what’s done is done. I can’t turn back the clock on that. Not to mention that I don’t really know how to ice skate in the first place, and Father and Mother probably wouldn’t know it either. We don’t live in a snowy region like this after all.

“What should we do then?” Mother asked. “Should we turn back and walk through the path from before? I can certainly help our feet get a better grip by conjuring my barrier as a floor but we don’t know how long this ice field would last. I’ll run out of mana doing that,” she said with a regretful look on her face.

“That’s fine. We’ll take the lower road instead,” Father answered. “Though Hugo, occasionally, you will fly upwards with your magic to scout. You’re alright with that?”

I readily nodded.

I don’t like it though. I’m not a claustrophobic person or anything but walking inside a crack in the middle of an ice field, it really feels like a bad idea.

We have no choice though. We didn’t have any other routes we could easily turn back to. This was definitely the fastest way to take if we were aiming for the top of the mountain.

\--------

We traveled inside the crevice for half an hour before suddenly, the weather changed drastically.

The blue sky from before disappeared, replaced by a furious snowstorm that covered our sight in pure white.

It only started with snow falling, but not even five minutes later, before we knew it, we were in the middle of a full blown snowstorm.

"...This is magic. Renee, cover us with your barrier. Now!"

"Got it!"

The moment she erected it, the snow and cold wind that battered my body disappeared. _Her barrier can protect from harsh weather as well, huh?_

"Keep it up. And prepare for ambush."

Father was right. With our severely reduced visibility and hearing, it would be so easy to launch an attack without us noticing. I didn't see anything the last time I did my scouting though.

Even so, I still drew my wand and unsheathed my sword. I wasn't going to underestimate our current situation. Father did the same thing, taking out his greatsword from his back.

We progressed like this for a good while, until…

CRACK

_Hmm?_

CRACK CRACK

_That’s…_

"Renee! Platforms! Now!" Father shouted.

_Shit shit shit the ice cliffs to our sides are cracking, isn't it?_

"Hugo! Fly up! But stay close to me!"

Father didn't hesitate. He immediately grabbed Mother and jumped up as fast as he could using her platforms.

CRACK CRACK CRACK

_Damn it! I can't see anything in this snowstorm!_

Thankfully though, it seemed we managed to avoid being buried alive, as judging by the crashing noises, the ice only fell down after we were safely up.

Only for us to walk straight into a trap.

"Cold Blast!"

"Cold Blast!"

"Cold Blast!"

Numerous amounts of the Advanced-level Ice spell were fired right towards us from all directions. _Shit! They've been waiting above the ice all this time!_

"Hugo, duck!"

Hearing Father's yell, I immediately lowered my height, just in time before the swing of his greatsword formed a circular wave that repelled all the fired spells away from us. Any later and my head would've been flying off my torso. In fact, I could feel my soul nearly leaving my body as the slash cut a lock of my hair. And the powerful woosh sound it made didn't help matters either.

_...G-gah, I might have dribbled a little from that..._

I recognized the technique he used to be the same as the one Sherry used to disperse my own Cold Blast. Only far more powerful, as he completely destroyed what must be ten or twenty or even more Cold Blasts fired off simultaneously.

"Hugo! Go to the ice!"

Using the opening he had made, he took Mother and jumped straight to the edge of the ice cliff, one that was still relatively intact. I quickly followed.

And now, being on firm ground, I could start casting other spells than just my Wind Step.

"Barrier!"

Mother erected the normal barrier back up, not having to keep up the platforms anymore.

_This snowstorm—I can't see a thing! I don't know where to aim my spell!_

..Oh right, I can just use that!

“Air Sunder!”

Using the Advanced-level Wind spell, I blew away the snowstorm momentarily, letting me see through it, even if just for a single moment.

And that was enough, as I could see five figures nearby, all wearing white. And they were all in the middle of chanting another spell!

 _I have to stop it!_ “Flame Wall!"

Unlike them, I could cast my Advanced-level spell far quicker. So even though they were already Midway through their chants, I managed to launch my spell earlier than them.

“Guwaaahhh!”

They were standing nicely on a line, so my Flame Wall could hit all of them at once.

My sense of victory was short-lived however as immediately after, Father shouted, "Renee! Incoming!"

_Incoming? Incoming wha—_

A powerful cold spell suddenly rammed right onto Mother’s barrier, visibly making her flinch.

“T-this is a Master-level spell!” She yelled. “M-my normal Barrier can’t hold!”

“Hold on! I’ll go get the mage right away! Hugo, protect your Mother!”

Before I could say anything, he already ran out of the barrier into the snowstorm.

_Damn it, Dad! I can counter this spell with my own! You don’t need to go out on your own like that!_

I began charging up the only Master-level spell I knew. My Boom Cannon. A Master-level spell to fight another Master-level one. It only made sense.

Aiming at where the waves of frost were coming from, I let my spell loose.

“Boom Cannon!”

With a loud explosive sound, my air cannonball flew, right into frost spell.

And immediately, I could tell that my spell had an advantage. It weaved through the frost wave, crashing through any ice and snow like it was nothing—its supersonic speed barely impeded by them.

However, I didn’t hear it—the scream of pain that should come when my spell hit the caster.

_Did they dodge it? With that speed? I know it’s going slower thanks to the frost, but it’s not that slow!_

At the very least, I managed to relieve the pressure on Mother’s barrier.

“Thunder Strike!”

“Rock Cannon!”

“Cold Blast!”

Or so I thought, before those three Advanced-level spells stroke it simultaneously, destroying the barrier while in its weakened state. It knocked her off balance, making her fall down, thanks to the slippery ice we were standing on not giving any grip to our boots.

“Mom!”

“Hugo, don’t look at me! Look at the follow-up attack!” She yelled.

_H-huh, wha— oh crap!”_

A giant-sized white wolf suddenly appeared out of nowhere and leaped towards me, fully intending to bite my head off with its large jaw.

_I got no choice! I have to summon those two!_

Those two, of course, being my two fairy summons.

"Yes, Master, I'm here to—uwaahhh!"

The mud sprite was more ready than the high fairy, and she promptly formed a sphere of hard mud around herself and the high fairy, protecting themselves from a snap from its jaw.

_Sorry, you two! But I need you to act as a meat shield for a while!_

"Flame Strike!"

A quick Intermediate-level Fire spell, right at the beast's eyes. It screamed in pain as my wand torched it like a flamethrower before retreating, spitting the mud ball in the process.

"Grrrr!"

"Awoooo!"

To my horror, there isn't just one of them. There were at least a dozen of them, surrounding us completely.

And they all now rushed towards us, knowing that just one of them wouldn't be enough.

_Tch, this is bad! I can't take them all at once!_

"High Barrier!"

Right before they landed, they were thrown back by a translucent dome that they crashed painfully into.

It was Mother. She had recovered, and apparently, while she was down, she was chanting her Master-level Barrier spell under her breath.

“Hugo! Now’s your chance! High Barrier will hurt anyone that attacks it in a melee range!”

_She’s right! The wolves are now all prone on the ground, unable to recover right away from their failed attack! This is my chance!_

“Flame Wall!”

I created a ring of fire around us that enveloped all the incapacitated wolves before they could escape. And it worked, as I could hear their squeals and yelps of pain as they were being burned alive. They’re most likely snow wolves, so they would be weak to fire.

Only after those noises died down that I turned off my spell.

_W-wait, t-those are—_

Only to find out that I just killed fifteen people with a single spell.

They were transformation mages, and they had turned to those wolves in order to attack us up close and personal.

I could only look at horror at their charred, burnt remains. Most of them were gnomes, just like their mistress, with only two being humans.

And I just killed them. Ended their lives like it was nothing.

My body shook, and I felt I was going to puke right then and there.

Before Mother pulled me into a hug from behind, calming me down.

“It’s alright, Hugo, it’s alright. You did nothing wrong. You were only defending me after all. And you did it because I told you to as well.”

“You can’t lose it now. There are still enemies nearby. I need you to protect me, my dear.” She whispered behind my ear.

_T-that’s right… what am I thinking?_

_I can’t waver! I’ve sworn to save Marina, even if I have to kill other people to do it!_

“Good. You’re calming down.” I could tell that she was smiling as she said it. “Now, we should go chase after your father.”


	46. Cold Death

**Lotho**

_It… it shouldn’t have gone like this!_

_I thought they would just lose to our ambush right away! If not by the collapsing ice, at the barrage of Cold Blast we sprung on them! To think that the father would be strong enough to deflect all of them like that! He might be a fellow S-rank adventurer, but he’s definitely stronger than me! And now, he’s hunting me down, knowing that I’m the strongest and most dangerous mage around!_

_The plan was to incapacitate them with our ice spells before offering them to Lady Vera! But now, that option clearly has gone out of the window!_

_And my Cold Nova… what was that counter spell? I’ve never seen anything like it! If I had been slower by a millisecond to dodge, I would have my head blown off! I thought they wouldn't have their mage with them!_

_This ain't right! This ain't right at all!_

_…._

_N-no, I can still do this! I have to do this! O-or else Lady Vera would—_

His newfound fear for Alan was still unmatched by the deeply rooted fear he had for Vera.

He too had climbed this mountain once, thinking foolishly that he was going to snatch his would-to-be-wife away from her mother, who had forced her to return back home. He did it with a party of ten, with the rest being A-rank adventurers. They called themselves the Miracle Company, as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that they were all hobbits, and how hobbits were usually viewed as a weak race by the world, neither strong physically nor magically. For them to reach that rank as adventurers, it could only be a miracle for sure.

He met Myrtle when she ran away from the Academy, as back then, she still had some spirit inside her to oppose her mother.

She ended up joining their ranks. And it didn’t take long until he started to fancy her.

He thought it would be just like any other quest. A difficult one to be sure but not impossible. They would sneak in, grab Myrtle, and then ran away to the Holy Continent where they would be safe from Vera’s reach.

Only for him to be completely destroyed by her.

She killed his entire party one by one in a sadistic and gruesome way, making their body parts fall one by one from cold as he could only watch in horror, begging for her mercy. 

But she didn't’ stop, not until it was only him remaining.

It crushed him completely. Knowing that his inevitable death was near, he begged her for a chance to meet her daughter one last time.

And that pleased Vera—so much that she decided it would be funny to have him work as her guard and even to marry said daughter.

She knew that she had broken him down completely, and that there was not a chance of him turning against her later on.

And even if he did, it was nothing that a mage of her caliber couldn’t handle.

From that tragedy, Vera also broke her own daughter, ensuring that any disobedience against her will would only be met with suffering and death.

"Myrtle! Stop the snowstorm! We don't need it anymore! We have to fight the father together, while he's separated from the mother!" He shouted. Not directly, of course, as he wouldn’t want the information to be relayed to the father as well. He used a special spell that allowed him to send his voice through the snowstorm only to the intended recipient. Of course, it wasn’t him or her who invented said spell. It was Vera, and she graciously decided to teach it to them.

“Got it!” she replied.

His wife was the one responsible for the sudden change in weather. She used her Master-level Ice spell, Snowstorm, to perform such a feat.

_We still have an advantage! We are used to moving around on this ice while he isn't! If he loses his balance, then that's an opening we can use! Not to mention that we can see through this snowstorm thanks to our training, while he can't!_

He knew however once the snowstorm stopped, him and her would be vulnerable to the father’s ranged attacks. They would have to use that short moment where the snowstorm hadn't quite dissipated yet to launch a surprise two-pronged attack.

_There he is! He's over there, running towards me!_

He immediately retreated, just in time to dodge his vertical sword swing that left a large gash on the ice where he once stood.

"O spirits of ice! Freeze my enemies to their bones! Cold Blast!"

He didn't intend to really harm him with it. He only wanted to draw him in towards his direction, away from his wife.

His spell never landed, as expected. The brute of a man cut through it like it was nothing. But it was enough to give him his location.

_Good! He's heading this way!_

_Come on, Myrtle! Where's your Cold Nova?_

He's waiting for his wife's attack, hoping that the father would be blindsided by it. Then, he could start to chant his own Cold Nova, to finish him off.

He fired off a couple more Cold Blasts, dodging out of his swings as well. He always had pride over his exceptional agility.

And then, it finally happened. Right as the father launched another slashing attack, a wave of cold moved towards him at high speed from the back.

He immediately turned around to repel it, but he wasn't fast enough to perform another swing. Instead, he's only capable of blocking it using his greatsword.

_This is it! This is my chance!_

"O spirits of ice! Grant me your strength! Envelop my enemies with your cold embrace! Wrap them in ice and snow and deliver to them a freezing grave! Shatter them and break them like the foolish beings they are! Cold Nova!"

He fired off his own spell. And Alan, with half of his body being frozen, and the other half going that way soon enough, could not dodge in the slightest.

_We won! We—_

SPLAT

He didn't see it coming.

Not in the slightest.

His head disappeared, obliterated into tiny, bloody chunks as Hugo's Boom Cannon crashed into it.

He fell to the icy ground—a gory, yet painless, instantaneous death.

\----------

**Myrtle**

She didn’t realize her husband’s death until a few seconds later, where she gave a glance to where he stood.

And when she did, she screamed his name, so loudly that it could pierce through the loudness of the dying snowstorm.

And then, she too received a quick and painless death, as Hugo’s second Boom Cannon pierced her torso.

She fell to the ground, just like her husband did.

\----------

**Hugo**

_I-I did it! I saved Father! I took down the two mages attacking him!_

_It was truly a gamble. I had to use the bright light produced by their spell to estimate where their location could be._

_But I had no other choice. If I hadn’t done that, Father would’ve died for sure, with his inner organs being frozen, especially his heart and his brain._

_And I did. I took them both down, each with a single spell._

_Mother is now rushing to his place so she can heal his wounds. I’ve no doubt that she will be able to._

_But that scream… that came from one of them, didn’t it?_

The snowstorm soon disappeared, revealing back the clear blue skies above us.

And then, I could see the true extent of what I had just done.

A man, or a hobbit rather, laid down on the ice on the pool of his own blood, decapitated, with his head nowhere to be found. Gory chunks were spread away from him, with some that I could identify as bits and pieces of hobbit brain.

And then, a woman, a gnomish one, with a large gaping hole on her torso, also laying down on her own blood, with her own gory chunks of her inner organs spread near her.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I might just have killed a pair of lovers, with the female being killed last, thus the scream of anguish she let out.

_...W-what have I… what have I done?_

My whole body shook again, and this time, I couldn’t stop myself from retching a couple of times before puking my breakfast entirely.

I fell to my knees, tears falling down my face. I curled down like a ball, shaking furiously as if I was having a high fever.

Scorching those people from before was one thing, but this… I could clearly see how they looked before they died, and the gory mess I had created through my spell.

When Mother picked me up and embraced me, I cried like Erika would cry—a loud and absolutely pathetic cry.

“U-uwaaaaahhh!”

I knew this was an unsightly display. I knew that I was breaking my promise to Father and Mother that I could take a life without hesitation.

But I was never a strong person. I flinched at the sight of blood. I had to force myself to hug Sherry when she bathed herself in monster blood that one time.

I wasn’t like her, who could probably kill without hesitation if the enemy threatened those she cared about.

I wasn’t like Marina either, who could most likely keep herself calm in a situation like this, separating her emotions from the battlefield.

I was just myself, a failure from another world who only got this far because he had to force himself to try his best every day.

Mother didn’t say anything. She just rubbed my back gently as she let me wet her robes with my tears.

\-----------------

**Thomas**

"M-Marina?"

Slowly, I opened the door to her room.

She was still in the same position from before, looking away from me while her blanket covered her head.

_Should I tell her that her family is coming to see her? But Grandmother told me not to…_

"Marina, I'm coming in, alright."

"Go away!"

There she goes again, yelling at me like that.

Time to use my fake tears again, I suppose.

"M-Marina, why are you so angry at me? D-did I do anything wrong?" I made sure my voice shook, while applying my water magic at my face.

"GO! AWAY!"

"M-Marina! Please!"

I walked up to her and put my hands on her shoulders.

Only for her to suddenly retaliate by scratching my eyes with her long nails.

"O-owww! W-what was that for?"

"Leave! I don't want to see anyone!" She quickly turned her back at me again.

I thought of leaving, not wanting her to end up scratching me again. But I remembered what Grandmother said, that this was just her being stubborn, and that I should push until she surrendered.

_That's it! I should just hug her! Then she shouldn’t be able to resist me any longer!_

With a nervous gulp, I approached her once again. But this time, I didn't hesitate. I jumped straight into her bed, wrapping my arms around her, before giving a nice firm grope on her soft, lovely breasts.

"Hehe, don't be so grumpy, Big Si—guwaarghh! Gah!"

_She-she hit me in the stomach with her elbow! A-and she pushed off the bed! Uuuu, my face hurts…_

"Get your filthy hands off me!"

I slowly stood up, still rubbing my tender face that just hit the hard floor.

_D-damn it! My nose is now bleeding!_

_Why isn't she surrendering? Those girls always said that my groping skills are second to none!_

_I have no choice! I have to retreat for now!_

_Uuurghh, this sucks…_

\---------

After that, I got one of the maids to have a look on my nose, enjoying the close-up view of her large breasts as she bent forward to take a look at it.

“This is no big deal, Young Master. Look, the blood has already stopped leaking.”

“But it hurts so much… Can you make it hurt less?”

“I can’t use healing magic, Young Master.”

Her name was Veronica, and I suppose you could call her my personal maid. She was the one to take care of me when Mother couldn’t in the past, though lately, since I had to go to the Academy, she had stopped being my maid, reassigned by Grandmother to be a general maid instead.

She was in her forties, but she certainly didn’t look like it. She was still as pretty as ever, with black hair that was tied to a bun and a pair of bountiful breasts that any breast-loving men (like me) would die for.

If only she would stop being so cold, she would even be prettier.

She had always been like this as long as I knew her. I used to wish to make her my friend, but every time she would put a distance between us, telling me that she was just a maid while I was an honored member of the Marjoram family.

I believed it was just an excuse though. I felt she always just disliked me, for some reason.

“Veronica, how should a man win over a girl that doesn’t like him?”

There. I asked her. Maybe she could give me some advice on how to deal with Marina.

“Are you talking about that guest, Young Master?”

“Yes, I am,” I replied with a sigh. “Even with Grandmother’s love potion, I still can’t make her accept me.”

“I see.” She pursed her lips for a moment before answering. “What did Lady Vera say?”

“Grandmother said that I should just push forward with her. But when I did, I got this bloody nose instead…”

"Hmm…" She put a finger on her lips. "Have you tried kissing her?"

"Kissing?"

"Yes. It's the best way to convey your feelings to her."

"Really? Ooh, why didn't I think of that? Of course a kiss would be the best way! Just like in those stories where the hero forcefully kisses the stubborn heroine! Thank you, Veronica!" I gave her a hug. Unfortunately, I could only reach up to her waist, so no burying my face on her soft chest. Although, I could only give her butt a firm squeeze.

"Then, since I am no longer needed, I shall return to my other duties."

She released herself from my grip before walking off.

Tch, how boring. She's always like that! Never reacts to my touch whatsoever!

\-----------

After washing and cleaning up my nose, I went back to Marina. _This time, I'm going to just go straight for the kiss!_

I decided not to alert her of my entrance, sneaking in as silently as I could. I'm a hobbit after all, so I should be good at this kind of stuff.

"A-ahnn…"

_Wait, what is she doing?_

"Ahnnn, hyaannnn..."

_Those lewd moans… and those movements under her sheet..._

_S-she's… she's…_

"H-Hugo… Hugo! Aahnnnn, Hugo!"

_...E-eh?_

_S-she's not doing it to me. But rather, to her little brother?_

_W-why? B-But the potion… the potion should—"_

"Aaahh, I-I'm coming, Hugo!"

And then, a long relieved sigh escaped her lips.

"U-uwaah, Grandmother!"

I slammed the door shut, unable to accept what I just saw. I ran straight upstairs to tell what I just saw to her.

_W-why him? Why wasn't it me she masturbates to? T-this doesn't make any sense!_

_I-it's not fair. Why can't it be me instead?!_

Before I could reach the throne room however, I found her walking down the great hall with her staff in hand.

"Oh, good timing." She smiled. "Tell the servants to evacuate the premises. You too. Go with them to Mau Uvarsa.”

“W-wait, what do you mean, Grandmother?”

“Your father and mother failed. Our little Marina’s family is still coming over here to get her.”

“F-failed? You mean they—”

“Yes, they unfortunately perished in combat. I thought they would be stronger than that, but apparently not. So now I have to be the one to do the dirty work.”

“P-perished?” A look of horror crept into my face. “Y-you mean, they’re—”

“Stop stuttering, boy! You’re starting to annoy me!” She slapped me with her staff, sending me to the ground. “Yes, they’re dead. And you’ll suffer the same fate if you don’t do as I say! I’m going to go all out with my magic. You know what that means, right?”

“D-dead? Father and Mo—ugaahhh!”

She slapped me again with her staff.

“And Marina, I’ll take care of her, don’t worry. I’ll freeze her in my special ice so she wouldn’t be hurt even if I went on a rampage with my spells.”

“A-alright then, Grandmother. “ I stood up. “I-I’ll tell Veronica and the others to leave the mountain at once. But my Father and Mother, can you tell me what hap— Gwahh!”

I fell over once again, clutching the spot at my stomach she just stabbed with the bottom of her staff.

“Stupid, useless boy. You’re just as worthless as the corpses of your father and mother.”

I could only watch as she walked past me, treating me like I wasn’t even there.

There was not a single tear on her face, even though her own daughter had just been killed. In fact, once her conversation with me was over, she was smiling.

_S-she never… she never really loves me or my mother and father, does she?_

My tears started to fall again. But I quickly collected myself, wiping them with my sleeves.

We had to leave. I never saw Grandmother actually fighting with all her power, but I had heard enough from my father.

She really could kill us without her intending to do it.

\---------

**Vera**

_Aah, what a mess this turns out to be…_

_Those two aren’t good enough for the job after all. Now I have to be the one to do it myself._

_I’m glad I decided to send off that fairy to look at the situation, even though she arrived when the fighting was already over. Too bad. I would certainly love a more detailed description on how those two fought. Not that I’ll need it of course. I already know the father is the offensive swordsman type while the mother is the defensive cleric type. That just leaves the son._

_Yep, from what Alyssum told me, they actually had another person with them. And it’s their ten year old kid! Ha, I imagine no adventurer is insane enough to accept their request to fight against me, so they have to settle with their dear little boy._

_Most likely, he’s covering for their missing mage member.. Even if I assume that he’s just as a genius as his dear big sister is, at best, he might have a single Master-level spell under his belt._

_Hmm, if he really does, then I will like to get my hands on him as well. I’ll need to break his will first though. Maybe by killing off his parents? Oh, I can do it in front of Marina as well! Two birds with one stone!_

_Oh, it’s been a long time since I’m having this much fun._


	47. The Ice Witch

**Marina**

_I had to fight it… I had to fight it!_

_I had to fight this overwhelming, burning urge inside me!_

"M-Marina?"

_There he comes! Don't look at him! Don't listen to him! Don't talk to him!"_

"Marina, I'm coming in, alright."

"Go away!"

"M-Marina, why are you so angry at me? D-did I do anything wrong?"

"GO! AWAY!"

"Marina! Please!"

At this point, my entire body was shaking.

I could hear his voice shuddering. He's probably crying right now.

I knew that if I saw him tearing up, I wouldn't be able to resist anymore. So I had to look away. And cover my ears as much as I could as well.

_I want to comfort him… I want to comfort him so bad! I want to hug him, cuddle him, and tell him that it's alright and that I'm sorry._

And then, I felt his touch on my shoulder.

I gasped. In a split second, I retaliated, scratching his eyes with my nails. They were long, thanks to not being able to clip my fingernails all this time.

"O-owww! W-what was that for?"

"Leave! I don't want to see anyone!"

_That touch… that single touch was nearly enough to send me over the edge. I had to do that or else I would’ve lost myself._

I didn't say anything else to him, hoping that he would just leave on his own volition.

But then, something even worse happened—something that caught me off-guard completely. He threw himself into my bed and groped my breasts from behind.

My mind went blank, and I immediately felt my squirt dampening my panties.

And then, I elbowed him and shoved him off the bed.

"Get your dirty hands off me!" I yelled.

I didn't know whether it was luck or my own determination that I was still able to resist that. But I did, and I didn't even think while doing it. I simply acted out of pure reflex.

I then felt it—a painful sensation on my tongue as well as a strange metallic taste filling the inside of my mouth.

_It seems to stop myself from moaning, I had bitten my own tongue to the point that it bled._

I would normally feel grossed by it, but at this point, I would rather bleed than to surrender myself to him.

And then, I heard him leave.

I took a big sigh of relief.

_To think that just a short grope like that was enough to make me come immediately…_

_And now, my desires for him are only burning even harder._

_I want him to grope me even more. And not only that, I want him to… to do_ **_that_ ** _to me. I want him to fill up my itching flower with his—_

I slapped myself, stopping my train of thought from reaching the inevitable conclusion.

I found that pain was one way I could keep my sanity. But for how long? I knew it was only a temporary measure at best. If he threw himself at me again…

_I have to… I have to reduce this lust somehow…_

My left hand traveled downwards to the front of my dress, touching the fabric.

_It's wet… I really leaked that much…_

I then lifted it and bunched it upwards, allowing my hand to touch the soaking wet panties that laid underneath.

"A-ahnn!" A moan escaped my mouth.

_It’s still so sensitive, even though I just finished a while ago. Another effect of the potion, I suppose…_

_...T-these thoughts—_

_N-no, I-I can’t! I won’t pleasure myself to these!_

Those thoughts were of course, thoughts of Thomas. From how much I wanted to play with his little body, to how much I wanted him to play with me… it was all dirty, filthy thoughts.

And I was disgusted by myself to even think of them.

_I-I can’t do it! Not when I’m thinking about him! He’ll just win over me even more!_

_I-is there some way that I could not think about him while doing it? I don’t usually imagine anything when I’m doing it, but now, my head is just filled with him!_

And then, an idea came into my head—an idea that truly horrified me to the core.

_I-if, if I can switch his image to Hugo’s…_

Yes, I was truly suggesting switching my masturbation session towards my little brother instead.

The rational side of my mind spoke. “It makes sense. In a way, he resembles Thomas quite a lot. He’s also cute and he’s just slightly taller than the hobbit. He might have blonde hair as opposed to black, but you can take care of that in your imagination. And you actually like him. So why don’t just use him for this purpose?” 

But then, the other, more moralistic side spoke otherwise. “How can you do that?! He’s your own little brother, you know!”

In the end, the rational side won over.

_P-please… forgive your big sister, Hugo..._

_She has no other choice… She has to do this, or else she wouldn’t be able to keep her virtue… She would offer myself to that creep, and then, it would be all over…_

And so, I did it.

I did it over and over again.

At first, it was difficult, switching the image of Thomas that constantly were stuck inside my mind with Hugo’s. But I concentrated as best as I could, forcing myself to imagine all the cuteness that he had displayed to me over the years. His smile, his laugh, and his blush whenever he got flustered—I drew all that from my memories. I even teared up a little, grateful that I had yet to forget about him.

And then, I started rubbing it.

Back and forth and back and forth in a steady rhythm, making sure that it was Hugo I was imagining, and not Thomas.

Eventually, I managed to go all the way, to the point that I started mumbling his name.

I came multiple times, thanks to the love potion increasing my lust to a near endless level.

And every time I did, I felt an awful, terrible guilt. _I might not be able to look him in the eye ever again after this..._

I started to sob, ashamed of what I had done. 

I never thought that I would ever cry after I pleasured myself.

To my consolation, after multiple times of doing it, I could finally sense a lowering of my desire.

_It’s working! It’s working after al—_

BAM

Suddenly, the door to my room opened with a bang, revealing the ice devil that was responsible for all my misery.

Naturally, I immediately put on my stern expression. She wasn’t Thomas, so I could do it just fine. I also made sure to put my dress back down so she wouldn’t realize what I just did.

“What do you want? I don’t need to relieve myself just yet, you know.” I said with a cold glare.

The one thing I could be grateful of her was that several times throughout the day, she would come over and free me of the ice that kept my feet stuck to the bed, just so I could use the chamberpot. Of course, I had tried to use the opportunity to run away, though I couldn’t get far at all before she froze my feet back. She would also use these visits to reinject the mana disruption poison into my body, making sure that I would still be unable to use my magic.

“Oh no, I don’t come here for that, my dear,” she replied, still with that disgustingly smug smile on her face. “I come here to bring you good news! Your family—they’re here, you know!”

My heart skipped a beat. I could feel my eyes widening. “...You’re lying. I-I don’t—I don’t believe it.”

“Suit yourself. I'm off to give them my greeting, by the way. As for you…"

THWACK

The last thing I saw was her slapping me right at my face with her staff.

\-------

**Hugo**

Thanks to Mother's warm embrace, it didn't take long until I calmed down.

"All better?" She asked with a smile, once I was finished with my pathetic crying.

"Y-yeah. Sorry about that…" She then let me down. "I lost my composure, seeing those two…"

"It's alright, dearie. It's alright." She bent down, rubbing my head. "It just shows that you're a kind boy. You don't take pleasure in killing others, even if they're your enemies. And that's a perfectly fine way to feel."

"But, I shouldn't have—"

"I reacted the same way, you know. When I first killed a man." 

_That forlorn expression on her face… she still remembers it… even to this day…_

_Will I remember this for the rest of my life as well?_

"Hugo." Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by Father, who was standing nearby. "Good job back there. You saved my behind." He patted me on the shoulder. "Really should've expected a flank attack to happen in a snowstorm like that."

He didn't need to say anything else. Just his proud smile was enough to cheer me up.

Afterwards, we pressed forward. My fairies had returned back on their own, it seemed, probably when I was crying in Mother's arms. I felt bad, not giving them the payment as usual.

_Should I even use them at the upcoming battle with Vera? I don't think they're strong enough to fight against her. Sure, they won't die, just vanishing back if they got too injured, but they would still feel the pain. I only called them back there because I got no other option._

We continued our climb up the mountains, remaining wary of any more possible ambushes. There's no guarantee that what we faced before was all of Vera's forces after all.

Another two hours passed however, and no other attack occurred. And we were now definitely nearing the peak of the mountain.

Instead of being happy however, I only felt a slowly climbing sense of dread. I imagined Vera to be hiding at every corner, above every cliff, and behind every rock.

_She must be planning to ambush us again. And this time, she’ll be there with the rest of her forces. Or would she be the type to just wait until we reach her mansion before she’s going to fight us? Or she could even be the type to just leave all the fighting to her subordinates while she takes a nap in her room. That would be the ideal situation to be sure._

_I’m not that lucky of a person though. And remembering our meeting with her, she seems to be the type that takes sadistic pleasure on tormenting her enemies. So she might be participating in the assault personally after all._

_Worst case scenario, she takes us completely off-guard and obliterates us with her spell before we can do anything._

And that’s why I couldn’t be calm in the slightest, even though we were now so close to saving Marina.

And looking at Father and Mother’s expression, they were feeling the same way.

Suddenly, Father raised his hand, telling us to stay back.

“Look. Over there, on top of that tall hill. At the far end.” He pointed.

I followed and saw a tiny silhouette of what was definitely something like a mansion.

“There it is! That’s Vera’s mansion, isn’t it?” I exclaimed.

“Most likely,” Father returned. “Still, we would have to climb up this long and steep snowy hill to get there. If I were her, this would be where I blast us with magic, since she has the height and range advantage.”

“Is there no other route we can take?” Mother asked.

“Unlikely. This hill seems to be a full 360 degrees one. No matter which direction we come in from, we will have to climb it anyways to reach her house.”

As they were having their discussion, I looked around, just in case there was something Father missed in the area.

“Father, why don’t we take that road instead?” I pointed at a dirt trail going all the way up to the mansion.

“That just makes us even more obvious, no?”

“I don’t think it matters,” I argued back. “I have a feeling that Vera should be able to see this hill in its entirety well enough from up there. And the road would certainly help with our mobility. We want to get up close to her as fast as we can, right?”

“...True enough. The best way to fight a mage is to get up close and personal with them after all.”

After some more thinking, he finally decided. “Alright. We’ll do it your way. We’ll take the road and then run as fast as we can, straight to the mansion.”

I couldn’t help but smile, feeling happy that my suggestion was accepted by him.

\------------

We then circled around towards the dirt road first, staying away from the snowy hill. This would be the road you would normally take if you have an official business with her, I imagine. Naturally, we didn’t take it since we wanted to hide away from the mountain guards, though that didn’t work perfectly well, as you’ve already witnessed.

Once we stood on said road, we took a good look on how it would carry us up the hill.

“Hmm, it’s not a straight line to be sure. It bends to the left and right, seeking the least steep part of the hill, so that horse-drawn coaches or carriages could climb all the way up there.”

“I think we should just follow the road when it’s a straight line, Father,” I responded. “So we’ll traverse through the snow if needed. I’ll use my Fire spell to melt the snow so we can have an easier time running through it.”

“Alright. We’ll do that.” He gave a grin. “Renee, you’re alright with me carrying you all the way? You can’t run very fast like us after all.”

“I’m fine with that,” she replied, though not without a small blush on her cheeks.

“Good. Hugo, try to use your Wind Step magic as much as you could. I’ll run at full speed so you’ll need it to keep up.”

“Got it, Father.” I was just a ten year old kid after all. My legs were just shorter than Father’s. Not to mention his superior stamina as well.

Father then bent down, allowing Mother to climb up on him on his back. Damn, her breasts were fully pressed to his back (though his sheathed greatsword was on the way). He must be happy with that. Not to mention that the one hand that held her was placed suspiciously close to her bottom.

“Hugo, ready?”

“Ready, Father.”

“I’ll give the signal. In three, two, one—Wait, hold on, there’s someone approaching us from the top of the hill!”

“That’s…”

“That’s Vera!” I shouted.

Immediately, I readied my wand, while Mother started chanting after Father dropped her while he himself drew his greatsword.

The ice witch was sliding down the hill as if she was a professional ice-skater, using her staff as her snowboard. 

“High Barrier!”

Mother’s barrier was erected, just in time as the witch stopped, right in front of us. With a kick of her feet, her staff righted itself to be grabbed by her right hand.

“Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood!” she said with a proud smile. “And of course, your little son as well. May I enquire about your purpose in trespassing upon my domain?”

“Cut the crap,” Father answered first, his hand gripping the handle of his sword tightly. “You kidnapped my daughter and I want her back.”

“Kidnapped? Oh my, it seems you’ve misunderstood. She came here willingly with my grandson! He finally managed to win over her heart, you see!"

_Bullshit! You'd expect us to believe that? After your own guards just tried to kill us?_

"Then, take us to her." Mother spoke next, her expression even colder than the snowstorm we fought off before.

"Sure! Follow me then! Just up this hill!"

She then turned her back and started to walk forward as she casually hummed.

Mother exchanged looks with Father, before nodding.

And then, Father swung her sword, cutting the ice witch in half.

Or rather, a pile of snow shaped like her.

"Ahahahahaha! I suppose you're not stupid enough to fall for that! Too bad. I really wanted this to be a quick fight, you know."

The weather immediately changed, as a fierce snowstorm blew down from the top of the hill, reducing our visibility as before.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to the domain of the great Vera Marjoram!” Her voice echoed in the snowstorm, as if it was being carried by the harsh wind itself.

“Using an ice decoy? What’s the matter, O Great Marjoram? Scared for your pretty little face to be cut by my husband’s sword?” Mother yelled, a terrifying smirk on her face. Welp, she sure is angry now.

“If you release Marina now, I won’t kill you. I’ll just take off an arm and that would be that.” Father spoke next. “As long as she’s still unhurt, that is.” Father’s expression was just as scary as Mother’s. In fact, this was the first time I’d ever seen him this scary-looking.

“Oh, rest assured. She’s perfectly fine. She’s just slowly coming around to accept my grandson, you know. A dash of love potion in her food and drink would do that.“

_The letter was right! She’s really using something like that to control her mind!_

“...Well, that’s your life forfeit right there,” Father responded, swinging his blade. “I don’t forgive anyone who treats my daughter like that.”

“Interesting! So you think you can kill me? Why don’t you try then? Climb up this hill. I’m right at the very top.”

“Renee. Hugo. We’ll carefully climb up this hill. Keep up the barrier at all times, Renee. Don’t switch into offense unless you really need to. Hugo, you snipe anything that pops up with that Wind spell of yours. But if you can get an aim at Vera, speak to me first. We’ll send a combined attack at her from two directions. I doubt your spell would be strong enough to take her on its own.”

“Right, Father.” I nodded.

“If we can’t do that, then our goal would be to close in at her. But if she decides to flee, then rescuing Marina would be our priority, no matter how angry we are at her.”

Angry?

Ah, that’s right. I should be feeling angry, shouldn’t I?

But, for some reason, I don’t feel it. At least, not as much as I would expect.

I think it’s because I already expected her to do something like this ever since the letter came to us. Just from the way she carried herself when we met her.

“Oh, one more thing.” Suddenly, the witch spoke again through the snowstorm.

“Your dear Marina—she has such lovely, lovely moans. To think that she is hiding such lewdness behind the stony expression she wore everyday… ah, how wonderful! My grandson is having so much fun nailing her everyday, you know! I must thank you two for raising such a wonderful daughter for my grandson!”

... _W-w-w-what?_

“That’s right! Your effort, coming all this way to this province and climbing up this mountain—all that... is useless! She’s already too far gone! She’s his perfectly willing fiance right now! Or, if you’d prefer, his sex sla—”

“Hugo, wait!”

I didn’t hear Father’s words.

In fact, I couldn’t hear anything at all.

I ran forward, up the hill, using my Wind Step spell at full power.

All I cared about was to turn her head to one gory, messy mush with my spell.


	48. The Ice Witch Pt. 2

**Vera**

_Ha, stupid boy! You just walked to your own death!_

_It’s a shame though that the other two don’t really respond to my provocation._

_Oh well, as expected from ex S rank adventurers, I suppose._

_No matter. Their barrier would shatter far before they could reach my location._

Of course, Vera was lying out of her teeth. She simply wanted to provoke the family to just charge at her like the absolute morons that they were.

She didn’t want Marina to be a simple sex slave to her grandson. She wanted her to retain her genius magical mind while at the same time broken enough so that she would obey her every word. And the way to do that, at first, was to make her genuinely fall for her grandson. Or at the very least, make her lose her virginity to him. Not through rape though, but with she herself offering it to him. She wanted to make her addicted to the taste of his manhood. Not to mention the shame she would bear for not being able to resist her burning urges. It would be better that way, she believed, to break a proud person such as her. 

A long time ago, when she was still a simple wanderer, she heard many tales and stories of princesses or noble daughters being seduced by a handsome rouge to the point that she would decide to abandon everything—their wealth, their etiquette lessons, and their entire dignified upbringing, just to be able to follow their “love”. And of course, a lot of those cases had said rouge stealing the lady’s virtue first, but they wouldn’t do it forcibly. They would make those princesses do it willingly.

And of course, once a princess lost its virtue, their worth decreased dramatically. And that still didn’t account the scandal that would befall their family.

And thus, a once proud princess would be forced to become a commoner. If they were lucky, the rogue actually loved them and would care for them. But most of the time, the rouge would just lead her to his kidnapper buddies, sending a ransom letter to her family. And if they didn’t want to pay, and a lot of them wouldn’t, since she lost her virtue and all, she would end up as an expensive slave, to be sold to the highest bidder.

She pitied those girls who could not control their lusts. Oh, how blessed she was to be born without such feelings! Even her late husband didn’t know the truth for his entire life, believing that she actually loved him! What a stupid fool!

And thus, she formed said plan for Marina. There wouldn’t be a need for the love potion in the first place, if her grandson was actually a competent womanizer.

_Alright! Time to concentrate the cold at this location!_

She lifted her staff, and the already shining tip shone even further, as she adjusted her Grandmaster-level Ice spell—Ice Age. It was a much powerful version of Snowstorm. In its original form, it could create harshly cold winds and snowfall throughout the entire mountain. However, with this modification, she could increase its freezing power in exchange for reducing its range.

_Heh, that boy… A Wind mage, huh? He reminds me of that old hag Lana. She would use her wind spell in the manner, dancing around in the sky like it was nothing._

_Too bad for him though. He’s not a Grandmaster-level Wind mage like she was. He wouldn’t be able to counter my cold, and in just a few moments, he would turn into a human popsicle._ _And then, no doubt his parents would rush forward to save him, where then I would spring my trap._

_Aah, this is no fun at all. I don’t like it when they make it too easy, you know._

_...And there he goes, falling down to the snow as he’s no longer able to channel his mana to his feet. Ha, what a joke._

_…_

_Eh, what?_

_What is he doing? Is he?_

_Magma Burst?_

BOOM!

To her surprise, a spring of lava suddenly burst forth from the ground just inches away from Hugo, giving him the heat needed to defrost himself.

_H-how? How can he cast that spell while in that condition? And it’s a Fire and Earth hybrid spell! I thought he’s supposed to be only good with Wind magic!_

_Tch, he really is just as skilled as his sister!_

\-----------

**Hugo**

_T-that was… that was close! Too close!_

_I really, seriously almost died there! And I would’ve been if not I hadn’t trained my hybrid spells to this level!_

_The blizzard! It suddenly turned really cold, to the point that my muscles were starting to freeze!_

_Damn it, I’ve been had! That was her just taunting us to make us a mistake, wasn’t it? We weren’t too late to save Marina, were we? Please, whatever God is listening out there, please make it be a lie!_

I felt tears escaping once again, but I quickly stopped myself.

I had no time for that. I had to take down this—this ice bitch, who had made all this happen in the first place.

And I have to focus, just like I’ve promised to Father. I need to keep a calm head, or else I’ll be dead like before.

For now, I have to retreat, back to the barri—

Time froze.

As I was in mid-air, planning to fly back while casting Magma Burst along the way to keep me warm, I realized that the ground I was on had disappeared.

Replaced by the gaping maw of a giant white snake.

_T-this snake—it’s hiding under the pile of snow?!_

“F-fairies! Come out!”

“Master, what’s the—”

“...Tch."

With speed that truly surprised me, the earth sprite formed a pair of mud hands that threw both me and the high fairy away from the giant snake.

Only for her to be swallowed by it moments later.

I could only stare in shock, as I felt my connection with her shattering.

The snake towered over me with its impressive size. His entire body wasn’t even out from under the snow, yet it was already at least twenty meters tall, if not more. And the diameter of its body was around five meters thick at the very least.

Immediately I retaliated, both in anger and in fear that it would try to swallow me again. I fired my Boom Cannon at it, aiming at its head.

"SHAAAAHHHH!"

The force sent it falling down to the snow. But I knew that I hadn't killed it, as even my pride and joy, my Master-level spell that I had invented myself, had failed to pierce its skin.

"Haaaahhhh!"

Then, I heard a yell. It was Father’s, and he jumped so high above me as if he was flying.

He brought his sword down, intending to stab the snake at its head while the immobilizing effect of my spell still remained.

Only for a human-sized fairy to appear behind him, stabbing him through his stomach with an ice sword she created out of her palm.

“G-guwahhh!” A spurt of blood escaped his mouth.

“Father!” I yelled.

_That fairy—it’s Vera’s summon, isn’t it? Damn it, the book only spoke of the giant snake!_

Even with the surprise attack, Father still managed to stab his sword at the snake, making it scream in pain once more. However, his blow was severely weakened as a result. It failed to pierce the head all the way through.

“Holy Bolt!”

A flash of light came from behind, crashing into the fairy in a bright explosion. When the light died down, she wasn’t there anymore.

The spell belonged to Mother, who was running after Father.

“Hugo! Cast your lava spell right now!” She shouted, before she started chanting.

“R-right! Lava Burst!”

I aimed it at the snake's lower torso, fearing that I might hit Father with it if I cast it near its head. Not to mention that our bodies would start freezing up again really soon without its blazing warmth.

It was effective enough to make it screech in pain, but I didn't know how much damage it was doing to it 

“Master! That fairy! It was a Great Fairy! A snow one! I can still sense her presence! She must have disguised herself as a snowflake!” My remaining fairy spoke. "Don't worry though! I can sense where she is since I'm a fairy as well!"

_A snowflake? How in the world am I supposed to keep track of a single snowflake in this intense snowstorm? Damn it, I just have to rely on her, I suppose!_

The snake screeched again before lifting itself up with Father still on top of it—his sword stuck inside its hard skin.

“O blessed light! Judge those who defile your name and purify the unworthy from this world! Holy Barrage!"

A series of light orbs appeared from the tip of Mother's staff, flying towards the giant snake, crashing at various parts of his body with what looked like holy explosions. It was enough to make it decide to retreat, though still carrying Father on top of its head. 

"Master! Behind her!"

A snowflake, behind Mother's back, suddenly transformed into the fairy from before.

I snapped out of it, immediately firing off a Flame Whip before she could do the same backstabbing move she used on Father.

"Kyaaah!"

She let out a pained scream as my spell burned into her flesh. Since she was a snow fairy, it probably was extra painful for her.

I pulled her to my direction, but she turned back into a snowflake again mid-air, making my whip lose its grip.

Meanwhile, at the distance, covered by the harsh snow, I could hear more screeches and tremors made by the giant snake.

"I'm going after your father! Can you handle that fairy on your own, Hugo?"

"Don't worry! I got this covered!"

_Judging by that stab, Father really needs some healing spell right now! I can’t hold her behind!_

"Master, behind you!"

"Shit!"

I quickly turned around, just in time to block her sword with my own.

"Get away from Master!"

My fairy fired off a blast of water, only for it to freeze mid-air.

And finally, I got a nice, close-up look on this opponent of mine.

She was a fairy all right, though human-sized and with wings made out of icicles. She was taller than me, and for a fairy, she was pushing me down with her strength.

Just like her element, she was cold-looking yet beautiful. She had a long azure hair that reached down to her feet with snowflakes decorating it all over. She wore a long white robe that reminded me of those togas the Ancient Greeks liked to wear.

And then, I saw it. Icicles forming in mid-air, all aimed towards me.

“W-Wind Step!”

I immediately blew myself backwards in an attempt to dodge them.

“G-gahhh! Aarghh!”

But I was too slow. A couple of them managed to pierce my body—one on my left shoulder, one at my right stomach, and one at my left thigh. I didn’t need to look down to feel the blood leaking out of the wounds, forming a puddle under me.

_I-it hurts! It hurts so bad! This is the first time I am actually hurt this badly in combat before!_

_M-my body… i-it’s shaking… A-and my tears… i-it’s coming out in droves..._

_A-and this chill on the back of my neck…_

_I-I’m… scared? I-is this… the fear of death?_

I lost my balance, making me kneel on the snow.

I remembered. Ten years ago, I threw myself into a raging river to save a kid from drowning.

No, to be more exact, I did to kill myself. I never planned on surviving in the first place.

Back then, I didn’t fear death, as I felt there was nothing for me to live for.

But now, now that I had a warm family that loved me, and a life that I could be proud of—I feared it. I feared it to my very bones.

The warmth disappeared. My Lava Burst had stopped. Soon enough, the cold would surround me once again.

_I-I can’t… I can’t die… not before I save Marina!_

I aimed my wand at the fairy, intending to use another Flame Whip to quickly debilitate her.

Only for her to stand there with a swarm of the same icicles that she had made again.

_H-heh… Too slow, I suppose..._

They fired, and I could only close my eyes, bracing for the inevitable end.

Only to realize that they never came.

When I opened my eyes, there was a bright figure standing before me.

_N-no way…_

_This is… straight from a shonen anime..._

It was my High Fairy. And she had just evolved into a Great Fairy, melting all the icicles with a wall of searing hot water she just created in front of her.

“You’re not going to harm Master anymore!”

She flew, forming her own sword created by hot water. The snow fairy, clearly taken aback by this sudden development, tried to block her sword with her own.

“Give up! You know you can’t win!”

“I exist for my mistress. I shall not betray her.”

“Your sword! It’s melting!”

It was true. Her sword’s coldness couldn’t compete with the heated sword my Great Fairy possessed.

“I exist for my mistress. I shall not betray her.”

“You.. you gave your name to her, didn’t you?”

“...I am Alyssum. I exist for my mistress. I shall not betray her.”

With a sad look on her face, she fired off a strong torrent of hot water with her free hand, causing the snow fairy to scream out in pain as she too started to melt.

“Finishing Blow! Hot Spring Slash!”

Like a cheesy tokusatsu protagonist, she yelled those words as she split the fairy into two by a two-handed overhead swing.

_Of course! That makes sense. She's a spring fairy. So she evolves to a hot spring fairy._

_...Did she really do that just because she wants to protect me that badly? She even gets the right element that the other fairy is weak to._

It was over. The snow fairy, weakened by Mother’s attack from before, couldn’t win against the newly evolved fairy. Her ice-making power, as well as her body herself, was weak to the power of searing hot spring water that she possessed.

She wasn’t dead of course, as summons wouldn’t die permanently when they got defeated in combat, but she wasn’t coming back anytime soon.

_...Just like my Earth Sprite._

_Damn it, I would have to make it up to her when this whole mess is over._

But that name thing… so she was permanently bound to Vera.

And that’s what she got in return. She basically turned her into a soulless robot.

...There’s only one way to free her, and that is to end her master’s life. As I doubt Vera would ever release her from her servitude on her own.

I was then broken out of my somber reverie, as High Fairy, now Great Fairy, gave herself cheers for successfully driving her off. She’s not sad at all that one of her kind is treated like that?

“Yaay, I won! How about that, Master? I’m finally useful enough for you!" She came over to me with a big smile. "O-oh, right! Your wounds!"

She then poured me with her spring water. The icicles melted away as my wounds started to close.

_That's right. They say hot spring water can have healing properties. Though of course, not to this extent…_

And just like that, I was restored back to top condition, as if I just had been healed by Mother.

I stood up, only to realize that she was now taller than me, thanks to her rapid growth in size. _Well, this feels odd…_

"Thank you." I smiled. "Without you, I would've died for sure back then."

"Ehehehe! No problem!" She grinned, scratching the back of her head.

"But to think you would just suddenly evolve like that… I didn’t see that coming at all! How did you do that really?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I… don't know, Master. I just wanted to protect you so badly that I transformed on my own. You're my favorite person after all so I can't let you get hurt!"

_That's it? Just because she wants to protect me? Sheesh, this really sounds like a cliched shonen anime now._

_But cliche or not, it saved my butt. So I won't complain._

“SHAAAAHHH!”

_Oh crap, I forgot! Father and Mother are still battling against that giant snake!_

“Spring Fairy! Come! We have to get to them!” I told her, before I started to run there, aided by my Wind Step.

“Don’t worry, Master! I’ll keep you warm!” She then hugged me from the back, melting any ice and frost that might threaten to paralyze me. She was also flying with her wings, so she barely weighed anything, if at all.

I heard several more pained screeches coming from the snake, until I could see Father and Mother at a distance. Barely, mind you. Only thanks to Spring Fairy here letting out heat that melted the incoming snow, I could make out a blurry image of their current situation.

They were fighting inside Mother’s barrier, which I imagined would protect them from the extreme cold.

And they… were at a definite disadvantage.

The giant snake, though looking severely wounded, with numerous bleeding gashes and wounds all across its body, was still actively attacking them, ramming its head and slapping its tail to the barrier. Even from there, I could feel the impact. I thought Mother's High Barrier was supposed to harm anything hitting it with melee attacks. Either the snake didn't really feel it, or it simply didn't care.

And yet, it wasn't the worst part.

Vera was also there, and she was barraging them with her Ice spells, laughing maniacally in the process while gleefully taunting them. This made Father have to fight with one hand, as he dodged her spells while carrying Mother who was less mobile than him.

I couldn't help but be amazed as well however, to how well Father fought. He really was fending off both the snake and Vera with his ranged sword slashes. Every time he slashed, it was as if the air itself was split apart. It was even stronger than my Boom Cannon, as it could leave a wound on the snake when it landed.

_...Gah, this is no time for that! I have to help them! I’m sure they won’t be able to last for long!_

I looked back at Vera. Good. She didn’t seem to notice my presence in the slightest. Too preoccupied with her throwing off her volleys of spells at them.

If I could just land my Boom Cannon without her realizing, then it’s game over. She should nowhere be as tough as her monster snake. I could end her in one strike, just like I did with those two mages from before. Mages are the squishy type in this world after all. They’re extremely weak to surprise and quick attacks. And my Boom Cannon certainly is very quick, as it travels at the speed of sound.

But damn it! It’s hard to aim at her when she’s moving all around like that! And how is she moving around like that anyway? She’s using her staff as a snowboard even though its tip is shining? That means she’s currently using it to cast a spell right?

...Oh, I get it! She’s manipulating ice, just like I manipulate wind. And she has that rare ability of dual casting, allowing her to cast two spells at once.

...Wait. But she can fire her spells simultaneously while she’s moving. And this snowstorm isn’t receding at all either. That’s three spells at once, no? What’s going on here? Don’t tell me she can do triple casting as well! That’s insane! Totally unfair!

...Or maybe… Marina told me once about how Selendia could make her Rainstorm last for a good while without her actively maintaining it. And seeing how Vera is also another Grandmaster-level mage like her, she could probably do the same thing with this snowstorm. Her biography didn’t mention anything about it though… maybe she kept it a secret?

...Oh, why do I care? Dual casting, triple casting, it doesn’t matter. I will take her down with just a single shot. I’ll be screwed if she starts attacking in this direction as well. Sure, I now have Great Fairy, but I doubt even her hot water can stand a barrage of Cold Novas that Vera’s sending over and over.

"What's the matter, Master? Aren't we joining the fight?" she asked innocently.

"Not yet. I'm aiming for an ambush here. See that woman, speeding through the snow and firing off all those spells?"

"The little girl, Master?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes. That one. I want to take her down from here."

I aimed my wand at her, focusing just slightly above the light her staff was emitting.

_Come on… come on… come on!_

I held the spell on the tip, patiently waiting until that perfect moment.

_There!_

I fired, praying that the spell would hit her.

Only for a giant yeti to suddenly appear out of nowhere, sacrificing himself to block my magic from reaching her.

_T-that was… that was just like what I did with the fairies!_

I screwed up. Once again, I had made a tactical mistake. I didn’t expect her to have yet another familiar hidden away from the fight.

And now, she noticed my presence.

And she didn’t hesitate at all to jet straight towards my location.


	49. Tears

**Vera**

_...How dare he... _

_ HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE? _

_ He—he nearly got me! Me, the great Vera Marjoram! One of the Magocracy's ruling mages!  _

_ What was that spell?! If I hadn’t summoned Wendigo, I would’ve died to that spell! Even Lana didn’t have a spell like that! That speed and destructive power—it can only be a Master-level Wind spell! _

_ He actually manages to take down Alyssum too! To think he actually has his own Great Fairy! Gah, once again, I’ve underestimated him! _

_ But no matter. This is an excellent chance. He’s stupid enough to expose himself out of the barrier. I’ll just dispose of him first before finishing off his parents. That spell might be powerful, but he no doubt needs a long chanting time for it. And I won’t give him that chance again! _

_ It’s a shame that such a gem of a talent has to die, but it’s too dangerous to keep him alive in this situation, after what he just did. _

The ice witch immediately switched her target towards Hugo, using her ice magic to cross the snow field at incredible speed. She held her right hand upfront, gathering her mana into it before firing a Cold Nova straight at him. Using his Wind Step however, he managed to dodge out of the way. It wasn’t over though, as she moved the angle of her spell, continuously chasing after him as Cold Nova isn’t just a one-shot spell like his Boom Cannon. As long as she maintained her focus, she didn’t have to renew the mana gathering phase to remain firing the cold wave.

_ Ha, gotcha! _

A splash of the Nova managed to land onto Hugo, freezing his legs solid.

Only for his Great Fairy to melt it right away.

_ Grr, fine! Double spell then! _

She raised her other hand, before it too fired a Cold Nova towards Hugo.

Only to immediately stop it as she had to dodge a slash from Alan.

_ Tch, that snake can't even do its job properly! _

_ Fine! You want me to get serious? Then I'll get serious! _

_ To think that I would have to use that spell just for a bunch of nobodies like them! _

_ Hey, snake! Come over here! _

The snake, who was still busy keeping Hugo’s parents from reaching their son, immediately obeyed. It buried its giant body through the snow, popping back up right where Vera was.

And swallowing her whole in the process, before burying itself back under the snow.

\-----------

**Hugo**

Somehow, I actually managed to dodge all of Vera's attacks and get inside Mother's barrier safely.

I nearly didn’t make it too. Only thanks to my Great Fairy that I could make it here.

“Hugo... Oh Hugo... Thank the Saint that you’re alright...”

Mother was smiling brightly, even though she was clearly severely tired, as she was panting heavily, with her unable to stand up normally, having to lean on her staff.

Father too was panting, and the moment there was a lull in the attacks, he kneeled down, stabbing his greatsword to the snow.

...Wait, a lull in attack? What happened to the snake and Vera?

I looked around. There was no sign of their presence. They had disappeared completely.

“D-did Vera… did she retreat?”

“N-no, she’s planning another sneak attack,” Father answered. “She pulled her snake back and told it to swallow her before burying itself under this hill. She’s hiding inside its stomach, using its ability to silently traverse through snow to hide herself.”

“W-we have to use this chance to retreat, Alan. I-I can’t keep up my barrier for much longer. My mana is nearly entirely gone,” Mother spoke.

“Understood. We’ll make a beeline to—wait, that rumble—EVERYONE, RUN!!"

Father immediately tackled Mother as he leaped away, while I reflectively used my Wind Step to blast myself backwards. Just in time before the snowy ground under us burst forth, revealing the snake's wide open jaw. 

And Vera, who was standing inside with her two hands glowing brightly—all with a triumphant grin on her face.

She jumped out and aimed one hand towards me while the other went towards Father and Mother instead.

“Absolute! Zero!”

An immensely powerful blast of cold fired off from her two hands. They were nothing like the Cold Novas she had been throwing before.

Two Grandmaster-level Ice spells, casted simultaneously. She must have used her snake as a cover to give her the time to chant them both.

What happened afterwards were a series of events happening near simultaneously.

Great Fairy erected a wall of hot water to block the spell heading towards me. Only for said water to immediately turn into ice, before she herself was frozen completely.

Father, seeing that Vera wasn’t just attacking them but also me, sent a powerful slash to intercept the spell. It crashed with it, weakening it considerably, but not enough to dispel it completely.

And then, the spell nearly reached me. I could feel the intense freeze enveloping my skin in the millisecond it almost touched me.

I was lucky. I fired off my Boom Cannon, charged mid-air as I flew backwards, just in time to dissipate the remaining spell.

It flew straight to Vera, flying right towards her head.

Her attention, devoted entirely towards Father and Mother, didn’t see the spell coming until the very last second.

And by then, it was already too late. 

Her triumphant expression turned into horror, before my spell decapitated her in a single strike.

She had no other summon that could take the blow.

Her body fell down to the snow, and soon after, her snake vanished.

_ We did it… _

_ We finally did it... _

My back landed on the snow, chills enveloping my body. I didn’t escape the powerful spell completely, even after all that, and I could feel my body temperature being dangerously low right now. Great Fairy had sacrificed herself to block the spell, so I couldn’t ask her to warm me up again. I saw her body shattering into pieces in the process.

_ Father! Mother! We’ve— _

_ Father? Mother? _

My eyes darted around.

I can’t find them. I can’t find them anywhere. Weren’t they just right there a second ago?

...Wait, the spell that was aimed for them—what happened to it? Did they dodge it?

I then noticed a large formation of ice crystals in a straight line that certainly wasn’t there before. 

RIght at the trajectory of the spell going after them.

My heart dropped.

I walked there, unable to even run at my current state.

And then, I fell on my knees.

_ N-no, t-this can't— _

I could see them—bits and pieces of frozen flesh and body parts with their clothing. There were a pair of ears, a finger, a half-exposed bone with a sinew, and even a whole foot. Even the remnants of Father’s sword and Mother’s staff were there, all scattered and separated.

_ H-hey, t-this is not funny… Mom, Dad, w-where are you two really? _

_ Come on Mom, Dad, we've won. Stop hiding. You two can come out safely now. _

_ … _

_ P-please…. _

_ Please! _

And then, I saw them at a distance.

Two round objects, sitting side by side on the snow.

Father and Mother's decapitated heads.

I was looking right at their remains.

They had suffered the same fate as Great Fairy, who shattered into a million pieces when the spell hit her.

But unlike her, there was no respawn mechanic that they could use. They were humans. Normal, ordinary humans. Mortals with a limited lifespan. Not summoned Feys who can never die.

And I had lost them. I had lost them forever.

"U-uwaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

I cried.

I cried until I couldn’t anymore.

I cried until everything turned black.

\--------------------

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a well-lit ceiling—a beautiful sapphire blue chandelier brightening the room with its candles. And then, I felt the softness under me, telling me that I was most likely laying down on a bed right now.

_ I’m… not dead? _

_ I should have lost my consciousness back then. Then why am I not dead? My body couldn’t have withstood the cold on its own. _

“Oh, thank Mira, you’re alive!”

I slowly looked to my right and saw a girl sitting on a chair, wiping off her tears with her long sleeves. She looked like a witch, with a tall and large black hat decorated with stars underneath. And she had long red hair that went down to her waist on the front, tied in a pair of loose braids.

“I-I really thought you’re already too far gone for my spell to heal! When I found you, you were nearly buried completely under the snow. It was pure luck that the snowstorm had died down when I reached the top of the mountain, and that I found your hand jutting out like that. And when I pulled you out, you were as cold as ice, you know! I had to use my secret family spell to—” She abruptly covered her hands with her mouth. “—Oops. I can’t tell that to an outsider. Grandpa will be mad!”

I looked at her as if I was looking at a ghost—my brain still not quite processing her words.

“Oh, we haven’t met yet, have we? I’m Alincia! Marina’s friend! And you must be Hugo, right, her little brother?” She smiled.

“Y-you.. A-Alincia…” My voice croaked.

“R-right, have something warm to drink first.”

She helped me sit up before bringing a glass of water to my lips. Using her magic, she heated up the glass, turning the cold water into a warm one. I slowly chugged it down.

“There! Should be easier to talk now!” She put the glass back down on the nearby bedside table.

"W-where is this? W-where's Marina?" I yelled.

"H-hey, calm down! This is Vera's mansion. I had to carry you all the way here after you collapsed outside.”

"A-are you with the Ice Witch?" I pushed myself away as far as possible from her.  _ Damn it, my wand! Where is it? _

"No, I'm not!" She huffed, folding her hands. "I'm Marina's friend, remember? In fact, I came all the way here to rescue her myself. And your wand is right there, on the table.”

I looked to the direction she pointed to, and sure enough, just behind the glass from before, there was my wand, along with my Bag of Holding. Naturally, I quickly snatched them both.

“Look, I had to go through hell to get here, you know! I had to fight off that bubble girl who told me that she wasn’t going to allow me to go, when I finally realized her scheme. She brought me away from the Academy just so I wouldn’t meet with you guys when you came there to check up on Marina. And then, I had to hire some guy I never even met before to take me here with his horse. And it was a painful, non-stop ride all the way here. My butt is still sore from that.”

“And after all that, you guys already did everything, didn’t you? How in the world did you manage to defeat Vera on your own? I saw her staff near where I found you, also sticking out of the snow. And she would never abandon it if she wasn’t dead.”

_ Right… I killed Vera… It was me who blew up her head with my spell. _

“And Marina's just fine! Although… well, can you walk? I'd rather show it to you, to be honest.” Her smile switched to a sad one.

“M-Marina? What happened to her?” I nearly jumped out the bed.

"W-whoa, calm down! it’s nothing too bad. She should recover in a few days on her own.”

Taking her word, I methodically put one foot to the floor before the other. And then, I lifted myself off the bed. I still staggered a little at first, but I quickly stabilized.

"She's sleeping in the next room. Follow me.” She smiled as she took the lead.

The hallway we exited to was completely empty—not a single soul in sight. Not to mention the fact that there were numerous icicles stuck on the walls and ceilings, while a layer of snow nearly obscured the floor.

“What happened to the people here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t Vera have lots of servants around?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. It’s already like this when I got here.” She shook her head. “My guess though that Vera probably told them to evacuate. You see all the frost and snow around? Those must have come from Vera’s snowstorm spell. Made by a mage her tier—no windows or doors should be able to stand against it for long, so the cold would seep through, endangering whoever stayed behind. Really, it’s such a bother. I had to clean up first with my Fire magic before I could use that room for you to rest.”

We then entered the next room, and sure enough, Marina was there, laying down on her own bed.

“Big Sis!”

I immediately rushed forward, grabbing her hands.

Only to find out that they were cold. Really cold.

Even colder than a corpse.

“Why is she—”

“It’s Vera’s spell, I think. Grandpa told me once about it. There’s an Ice spell that can keep the victim in a state of cold sleep, preserving their life perfectly without any need of sustenance or even air. Before I got here, she was actually inside a giant ice crystal. And I had to melt it first before I could get to her. And man, what a tough ice that was! There was no doubt that Vera made it intentionally as well, to protect her if the ceiling decides to collapse or something while she was fighting outside. Using that cold sleep spell, Marina could be preserved inside safely, since she no longer needs to breathe after all.”

“S-so she’s not dead?”

“Of course not, silly! Or else I would still be wailing loudly when you woke up!” She grinned. "In fact, she should wake up and recover with no problem whatsoever in just a few days. So don't you worry about a thing, alright?" She patted me on the shoulder.

I looked back at Marina, still rubbing her hands with my own. She had a calm expression, almost as if she really was just sleeping normally. Only, I could tell that her chest wasn’t rising up and down in the slightest.  _ She’s really not breathing, huh? _

And then, I remembered—the things that Vera had said.

“Hmm? Why are you turning pale all of a sudden?”

“It’s… well…”

I told her what she had said, in the most polite words I could.

“Ah, that…” She paused, looking away with a blush. “Don’t worry.” She looked back and gave a bashful smile. “I… well… I’ve checked on her down there and her… well, thingy is still intact…”

“W-wait, don’t get me wrong! I-I’m not a pervert or anything! It’s just that… well, I know exactly what Vera was planning with that grandson of her, so I took the liberty to check immediately. I-it’s not like you can do the checking after all. Y-you’re a boy! I don’t care if you’re his little brother but you can’t do that! Not to a girl!” She huffed again.

I took a big sigh of relief, placing one hand on my chest.  _ Oh thank God. It was a lie after all! It was just her trying to taunt us. _

“Oh, that’s right. Where are your parents? You came with them, right?”

My smile immediately vanished, as a rush of my memories resurfaced.

"They… they didn't… they didn't make it…"

Before I knew it, tears started to fall down from my face again.

I bolted, running away from her before she could say anything.

\----------

I went outside, back to the place where I saw them fall.

No, I didn't even get to see that. I didn't get to see their last moments, as Vera's spell shattered Mother's barrier before freezing the two. And I didn't get to see either the moment they shattered into a million pieces. I was too preoccupied with my own trouble.

On the other hand, Father paid attention to me in that split second. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to protect myself from the spell, he used his sword to save me first.

I killed him. I killed Father. And Mother as well in the process.

If it weren't for my weakness, they would have survived against that spell. If I had been stronger, I would’ve been able to repel or dodge that spell on my own. There would be no need for Father to do that.

I fell to my knees yet again. I felt sick to my stomach. My whole body shook, and my tears refused to stop.

...Why?

Why am I here in the first place?

I am a failure. A complete failure.

I disappointed my parents in my first life. And now, I took their lives in the second.

...I should've never been reincarnated in the first place. I should've drowned in that river like the trash that I am. Then maybe, the Hugo that would be born without me would be able to keep them safe.

...I shouldn’t have gone with them in the first place. I was so much weaker than them. I was their burden, the weak link in their party. I was nowhere near Myrilla’s level as a mage.

_ "You'll keep Father and Mother safe as well?" _

_ "Yep! No question about it! Leave it all to your big brother!" _

To think I was so arrogant, so stupid, to make that promise to Erika… What would I say to her when I returned? What could I say to her crying face, as she demands me to return them like I have promised?

And not only her, but Marina as well… how would she feel that when she woke up, her father and mother were no longer in this world—all because of me. If it were her in my position, they would’ve survived to be sure.

Not only have I failed to be a good son to Father and Mother, I’ve failed to be a good brother as well to them both. 

Erika would certainly hate me, for breaking my promise and taking away her father and mother from her.

Marina, on the other hand, might keep up her cheerful demeanor towards me. She might even say that it’s not my fault that Alan and Renee are dead.

But I know, that deep down, she won’t truly ever forgive me. Her smiles will always have that underlying coldness, and her eyes will never look at me the same way again.

I can’t. I can’t return to such a place.

It’s all over. I no longer have any home to return to.

And that’s what I deserve. A garbage human being like me never deserves a warm and loving family in the first place.

_ Heh, maybe I should just… end it all… all over again… _

_ Maybe I can get another chance at life… at a different world entirely… as a different person… _

_ It will be nice if I can be a girl this time... _

I pointed my wand right at the bottom of my head.

_ It’s only going to take a second. It won’t even hurt. _

_... _

**_"T-that's to remember me, alright? D-don't go kissing any other girls while I'm gone!"_ **

Sherry.

That’s right. I still had Sherry.

Sherry, who I had promised to be faithful to.

Sherry, who had promised to be my wife.

Sherry, who had promised to be stronger for my sake.

I put the wand down.

That’s right. I couldn’t die yet. I still had her.

My future was now clear.

I would go to her. I would travel all the way to her village in the Demon Continent. I would tell her everything that had transpired while she was gone.

And then, I would wait for her judgment.

If she still somehow felt any love towards me after my confession, then I would start a loving family with her, just like she wanted. It would be my third chance in life.

I looked back at the mansion in the distance.

_ She’ll be fine. She has Alincia taking care of her. _

_ Don’t worry, Sis. You’ll never see me again for the rest of your life. _

_ And I’m sorry, for being such a pathetic failure of a brother. _

And then, I ran.


	50. The Flame Witch’s Feelings

**Alincia**

“Hugo, wait!” I shouted.

Too late. Or rather, he probably didn’t want to listen.

They didn’t make it? So they—

If only—if only I had made it here faster, then maybe I could—

\--------------

Nine days ago, I was still in the capital. Or rather, I was at the hills to the east of it, not that far from the capital itself.

Elun had invited me for a trip to hone my magic, saying that she could teach me a trick or two on how to use magic in a real combat situation better. I knew she was far more experienced in the matter, as she was already out there, doing work for the Council. So I gladly accepted, thinking that I could get even stronger than I currently was.

_Not to mention if I prove myself to her, then maybe she’ll tell me where that accursed necromancer is hiding!_

With such hopes, I departed with her.

Once we were there, she indeed started to teach me how to fight better. Using the monsters there as punchbags, she told me many things, from how to start a fight, how to keep your distance from the opponent, and even how to escape and retreat if you find yourself outmatched.

Those poor mountain wolves though… they stood no chance whatsoever against her, even when there's a whole pack of them.

Even so, while I was watching and learning from her, the restlessness in my heart wouldn't disappear.

_Ooh, Marina, are you really fine there?_

The letter I sent had yet to get a return, which I thought was just because the letter itself might have arrived earlier than the person herself. If they decided to not rush back home, then they very well could still be in Minitumala or Rau Uvarsa, looking around and taking it easy. I paid for the fastest delivery I could find after all.

And so I decided to ask Elun about it once again.

“Hey, Elun.” I approached her after she finished one of her demonstrations. “Do you think Marina is alright over there with Thomas and his grandmother?”

“Hmm? Of course she is!” she replied with her usual smile. “Why are you so worried all of a sudden?”

I sighed. “It’s just that… I still don’t believe she’s going with him, you know. She always hated him. And now she’s perfectly willing to sit in a stagecoach with him for how long to travel to his home all the way in the Marjoram Province? I still can’t believe it…”

“I see… Well, I’m not her friend. You are. So you would know this stuff better than me.”

“Hey, Elun… can we… can we take a trip there? To Vera’s place, I mean?”

Hearing my plea, she snorted. “So you don’t want to train with me anymore?”

“No! Not at all! But I can’t stay calm when I don’t know for sure how Marina is!” Before I knew it, I started shouting to her.

And then, the bubble mage took a deep sigh. “You wouldn’t like it. The truth, I mean.”

My heart dropped. “What do you mean?! What happened to her?” I walked forward and yanked her collar downwards, since I was shorter than her. “Tell me, you—”

“Let’s just say that she didn't come entirely voluntary." She grinned.

_I was right! Marina's in trouble after all!_

I pushed her away before I bolted, running straight back towards the city.

"Aahh!"

Only for a searing pain to suddenly appear on the back of my left thigh, making me trip and stumble to the ground.

_W-what?_

I looked back and saw a wound there. A bleeding one.

"Oh dear."

I looked up and saw Elun, now surrounded by her bubbles.

"I'm sorry, Alincia. But I can't let you go there. It's your Grandfather's order, you know."

My eyes widened. She fired off another bubble in high speed, hitting me on the right shoulder this time.

“Gah!”

The wound wasn’t deep. But it hurt. It was as if a small arrow had pierced my skin.

I pressed the wound with my hand. Sure enough, it was bleeding as well.

“A-are you crazy? Y-you can’t just attack me like this! I-I’ll tell Grandpa on you!”

"Oh? But he himself already told me I can use violence to stop you."

“G-Grandpa—Grandpa did?”

“So, if you truly want to save that girl, you have only one choice. Fight me. Fight me as if I was the one who took away your dear friend.”

\------------

What happened afterwards was a blur.

I decided to fight, knowing that Marina was definitely in danger. I used my fire magic to cauterize my wounds, clenching through the pain in the process.

And then, I stood up and fired a Fireball right towards her.

Naturally, her bubbles blocked it, with her not getting a single scratch or burn from it. But it was enough to allow me to put a good distance between us.

I had no intention to really fight her though. I knew I wouldn't be able to win. She was just too skilled with her magic.

I just needed to lose her. That's all I needed. Then, I could go and help Marina.

It was not an easy feat however, as bubble girl chased after me, moving at high speed using her water jet magic. I could see her sky blue panties clearly, thanks to her short skirt blowing freely in the wind.

"Hey, I can see your panties, you know!" I yelled with a grin. "So why don't you just let me go, alright?"

"Why, I can see yours as well. Cute pair, by the way. A bit childish for my taste though."

"Wha—kyaah!"

I promptly pressed the front of my dress down. Like she said, it was blowing upwards, as I too was moving fast downhill using my fire jet spell. Marina was the one who taught me that by the way.

"Uuuu…"

I was so embarrassed! My bear print panties were showing and I didn't even notice! I thought my dress would be long enough to cover them! I wasn't the one wearing that black miniskirt like her!

But then again, my own dress still ended above my knees. Shorter than Marina's. And I already caught a glimpse of Marina's panties a couple of times when a strong wind blew.

...Aaah, what am I doing? This is no time to be thinking about such things! I have to get away from Bubble Girl here! And fast!

And in the end, I managed to do exactly that, after I cast my Master-level Fire spell at her, Explosion. I didn’t see what happened to her afterwards though, as I left right away, not wanting to waste another second on her. I hoped she didn’t die from that.

...No, I didn’t think she would in the first place, since I could tell she was holding back as she fought and chased after me. I might have wounded her quite considerably though, to the point that she could not chase me any longer.

Or maybe she just decided to let me go, after seeing myself using my strongest spell with a full intent to kill her.

It was a test, I imagine. Grandfather’s test. He probably wanted to see my resolve first before I was allowed to intervene in another Council member’s business. He wanted to see my resolve in saving Marina and how far I would want to go. That’s why Elun taunted me all the way, telling me that I had to fight her with my full strength.

I could just imagine him saying, "If you want to save your friend so badly, then fight for it like a true Salamander." It’s just the kind of thing he would say. As long as I don’t die or get permanently crippled, it’s fine with that old coot.

Naturally, this also meant I couldn't rely on his help to free Marina. He'll just tell me to do it on my own.

But to think he would use Elun, Selendia’s daughter, for that purpose. Did Selendia agree with this? I could never understand that scary woman. And Grandpa rarely talked about her either.

After escaping, I was lucky enough to find a letter courier riding his horse on the road. I stopped him with a Flame Wall, nearly giving him and his poor horse a heart attack, and then demanded for him to take me to Rau Uvarsa, declaring my Salamander name. I even showed him the family emblem I always carried around with me, just for this purpose.

And that’s how I managed to get to Rau Uvarsa in record time.

Of course, once I was there, I still needed to climb the mountain on my own. But it was no problem, I could force the guards on the front to open the gate, once again flashing my family emblem to them. I didn’t care that I was announcing my arrival to Vera. Even if Grandfather was alright with me getting hurt and injured, he wouldn't be alright with me actually dying for real.

And this was really important, as from the gate guards, I then knew that Marina's family had come to the mountain, just a few hours before me. They warned me that there would be a fight and I shouldn't climb up since it would be dangerous.

Of course, I ignored them and pressed on. It was now more important for me to get there as I could help them in saving Marina. I was even perfectly willing to be a meat shield to them, so that Vera couldn't kill them without killing me.

But when I arrived, it was already too late. The fight was already over, and all I found was him. Hugo. Half-buried under the snow.

And Vera's decapitated body near him.

They had won, but all of them had paid for it with their lives.

Or so I thought, before I still felt a pulse from the young boy.

I dragged him out and went to the mansion, asking for help from the servants, only to find that it was completely empty and abandoned, and full of ice and snow.

I had no choice. I had to be the one to heal him.

I cleared the nearest empty room I could find with my flames before carrying him there.

And then, I used the secret family spell that Gramps always told never to use for anyone else but myself or a member of the family.

The Salamander Flame Regeneration spell.

It was a spell that allowed recovery and granted protection from even the most extreme state of cold. It would be the perfect counter to any ordinary ice mage as you would be practically impervious to cold while you don it in your body.

I didn’t even tell Marina that I could do this spell, even though according to Grandfather, who had taught it to me, the complexity required to cast it was around Master-level.

So the truth was, I already mastered two Master-level spells now.

I carefully used it on the boy, concentrating fully as I would kill him if I messed up for even just a sec. One of his blood vessels could burst inside his body, leading to internal hemorrhaging that would no doubt lead to death.

And then, slowly, his color returned. He had returned from the brink of death.

He didn’t wake up immediately however, so I decided to explore the rest of the mansion. I originally expected the worst, that Vera had relocated Marina somewhere else, but to my relief, she was still there, frozen inside a giant ice crystal in what I assumed to be her room.

I carefully melt said crystal with my magic, only to find out that she was in a state of cold sleep.

I was then so grateful of my old self for actually listening to Grandpa’s explanations, as if I hadn’t, I would’ve thought of her as dead for sure.

He had told me of such a spell before—a spell that induced cold sleep to the victim. He or she wouldn’t need food or water or even air as they were suspended in that state. And when they woke up, it was as if they just woke up from a normal sleep.

Gramps would teach me all sorts of spells (eating up all those summer vacations I was supposed to have), even if for just the knowledge of them. I always thought that it was stupid, since I would never be able to cast all those complex water or ice spells, but now, I finally understood why he taught them.

I needed them to really know what the opponent was using, since a lot of high-level complex spells weren’t just sending icicles or thunder in your way. They worked far more subtly, in a matter that wouldn’t be obvious right away. Like this spell for example.

And according to him, a spell like this would just wear off on its own in a few days. So there was no need for me to do anything.

And then, I was suddenly reminded of why I went all the way here in the first place.

_That shitty hobbit! He’s gone and run like the coward he is, hasn’t he?_

I just realized that I hadn’t met Thomas. And that made me furious. I was truly, honestly considering of burning him to a crisp with my spell.

_He couldn’t have actually done_ **_that_ ** _to her, could he?_

_I-if he did, then I don’t care if I’m going to provoke a war between Gramps and Vera! I’m going to kill him!_

_...Ehe...ehehehehehehe! That’s right! Vera is already dead! That means…_

I started to imagine all the ways I could torture him.

_R-right. That could wait. I have to check if he really did it to her._

_And there’s only one way to do that, isn’t it?_

I gave another look at Marina’s unconscious body, before my face started to redden.

_I-I’m not a pervert! I-it’s not like I want to have a closeup look! I-I just have to confirm it, t-that’s all._

I gulped. Should I be the one doing this? Should I even be doing this in the first place?

_N-no. I can’t let her little brother to be the one doing it. They might be related, but he’s still a boy after all. She would be sullied if he’s the one doing it. It has to be me! Another girl!_

I braced myself. And then I gently lifted her dress, pulled down her panties, and went down there.

...

_O-oh, thank Mira that she’s still intact down there!_

I quickly retreated, pulling her skimpy, all too thin black lace panties upwards before fixing her dress.

_She's fine then. She's perfectly fine._

With great relief, I returned back to her still unconscious little brother, waiting until he opened his eyes.

\-------------

And now, I am in this situation, with him running away in tears after he said that his parents had perished.

_So Vera got to them after all…_

I was hoping otherwise, that they were just off somewhere else, since I didn’t find their body.

But now, I knew it was just a false hope I told myself. So that I wouldn’t feel guilty for coming too late to help them.

_If only… if only I had come sooner, I could’ve helped them against Vera. I could’ve prevented their death!_

And that’s why I didn’t chase after him.

I couldn’t really comfort him. Not like this.

I went back to Marina’s room, wondering how I was going to bring her the bad news when she woke up.

 _I_ smiled wryly. _Maybe she'll hate me, for not coming just a little bit sooner._

_Or maybe she won’t. She’ll blame herself instead, for having to be rescued like this._

_But I won’t let you blame yourself, Marina. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s Vera and Thomas. And the former is already dead. If you want revenge on Thomas as well, then we can go together to hunt him down._

_And of course, if you need a shoulder to cry to, I will be there too. I’ll pat your head and comfort you, just like you comforted me when Big Sis died._

\----------

Thankfully, they didn’t really take anything off the mansion when they decided to abandon it, so I could still find some food in the kitchen to eat.

It was just bread unfortunately, because I couldn’t cook in the slightest. I just roasted the bread with my fire spell and ate it.

_Oh, that’s right. Where’s Hugo? He hasn’t returned yet. It’s been a while since he left._

After eating, I went out to go look for him. _Don’t tell him he got lost or anything._

To my horror however, after searching for what could’ve been an entire hour, I couldn’t find him. I’d called his name over and over, but he didn’t answer back..

And then, I noticed footsteps heading down the mountains. They were those of a boy his age.

_...No way. Why would he do that? Why would he be climbing down the mountain when his sister is right here?_

_Should I chase after him? But I have Marina to watch over._

_Damnit, what are you doing, Hugo?_

Ultimately, I decided on staying, trusting that he could take care of himself. Marina always mentioned how he was smarter and older than kids his age. Not to mention that his parents actually took him to fight against Vera. And he ended up being the only survivor.

And speaking of that, after searching for the nearby area more closely, I found them. The bodies of his parents.

When I first dug them out, I nearly screamed. And I ended up puking the bread I had eaten, unable to stomach what I saw.

They weren’t whole. They were mutilated into so many frozen pieces that even now, after I dug out the whole area, I couldn’t find all of the parts. It was as if they were shattered into pieces.

_It’s the work of Vera’s ice spell, isn’t it?_

_I only wish that their death was a painless one..._

I didn’t know what to do with them, so I just left them there, after burying them back under the snow manually using a shovel.

_Did Hugo see the moment it happened—his parents shattering into pieces right in front of his young eyes? Is that why he ran away?_

_D-don’t tell me that he felt guilt over it, and now he can’t face Marina?_

_T-that’s… that’s dumb! Really dumb! It’s Vera he should be angry at! Not himself!_

_Should I really chase after him after all? But he already got such a headstart. Not to mention it’s getting dark as well. And I can’t abandon Marina on her own either…_

I bit my lip. Once again, I decided to stay, praying that he would eventually return to his senses and come back here to his sister. Marina would need him, I had no doubt about that. 

And yet, he never did.


	51. The Council’s Schemes

**Selendia**

In the skies, under the dark night, was a giant transparent jellyfish.

It continuously fired off a jet of water from its bottom, maintaining its altitude in the process.

And inside said jellyfish was two figures—two women, one wearing a white and cyan maid dress with a pair of peculiar fins attached to the sides of her head while the other wore a luxurious deep blue dress, wielding a staff on her right hand.

It was Selendia Brine and her maid.

“Do you believe they could do it? That they could win against her, Ma’am?” the maid asked, her tone curious yet respectful.

“Hmm, maybe they could. I certainly hope they do. Vera will most likely underestimate them. She wouldn’t use her artifact to be sure, and she wouldn’t go all-out immediately as well. That sadist always loves torturing her victims after all.”

“If they can’t?”

“Well, it would just be a polite visit. We’re neighbors after all.”

The jellyfish then rapidly descended, free falling as it no longer fired off its water.

And then, it landed right in front of Vera’s mansion, only resuming to shoot out its water when it was about to land so its occupancy would feel a softer, more comfortable landing.

The jellyfish then disappeared, leaving only the two figures behind outside.

“No snowstorm. That means the fight is over.”

“There are no guards around, Ma’am. Vera must have told everyone to evacuate."

"Yes, I can see that."

"A-apologies…"

The water mage then casually walked into the already opened gate, before turning around to glance at her maid.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go inside. Let’s see if our little Vera is triumphant or not.”

"R-right, Ma'am."

It didn’t take long for them to find out that there were only two people inside—Alincia and Marina, both sleeping soundly in their own rooms. And after looking around outside, the maid also found Vera’s body and staff, almost buried under the snow.

When the maid reported it to Selendia, she was having a seat on Vera’s throne, finding the chair far more suited for her than Vera’s small body.

“So they actually did it. They managed to kill Vera.” The mage began to laugh uncontrollably,, covering her mouth with her left hand in the process. “Oh, it went just like I wanted! I thought the chance of two ex-S-rank adventurers and their son winning against her would be slim, but they did it anyway! That gnome really did use one of Mira’s artifacts to win against Lana all those years ago! She isn’t an Archmage-level mage after all! Not in the slightest!”

Archmage. One step beyond Grandmaster. No one in the Magocracy currently laid claim to the title, as you would need to be able to cast one of the legendary spells Mira herself apparently used a millenia ago. In the Magocracy’s history, the true history, hidden from the public, only a few had ever reached that height. And if a mage reached that level, they could very well make themselves a Mage-King. The mage families occupying the Council would have to bow down to them. The Magocracy’s history books claimed that only Mira had ever reached said heights, hiding away any records of other mages reaching that level, so that no one would question the ruling Council’s legitimacy. The Magocracy also taught its citizens that the many Saints of the Milicis Faith were never actually Saint-level in their Holy Magic (as the two positions were equivalent). After all, they never displayed any Saint-level Holy Magic to the public. Not to mention that if they were truly Saint-level, they would have them on the front lines, not hidden away from the fight.

“I assume the rest of the Council would be overjoyed as well, wouldn’t they, Ma’am?”

“Indeed. We’ve only been tolerating her for so long because of the chance that she really had reached Archmage-level in her Ice spell, as she demonstrated in her fight against Lana. But now, with how she died so pathetically to a bunch of nobodies, there was no doubt that she was just a weakling. Possibly even the weakest amongst all of us. She only got that strong because of that artifact.”

“Do you think she’ll keep it in this place, Ma’am?”

“I doubt it. It must be in a safer place somewhere, away from any and all prying eyes. That’s why we’re here, to find any clues where she could be hiding it.”

She then rose. “I’ll go look in her library right now. Tell Alincia not to disturb me when she wakes up.”

“Oh.” She suddenly stopped for a bit before she left the room, tilting her head backwards to her maid with a smile. “And cook her some breakfast, would you? The poor girl must be starving.”

\---------

**Alincia**

“U-uuuhhh…”

I slowly opened my eyes, before stretching my arms upwards, yawning in the process.

I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes, before yawning once again.

_That's right. I'm sleeping in Vera's mansion right now._

_Hmm?_

_What's this smell?_

_This smells like… bacon?_

_But who could—_

I quickly jumped out of my bed, wore my leggings and sandals, and ran out of the room, immediately running to the kitchen.

Only to find a complete stranger there, cooking what indeed looked like bacon on one of the stoves.

"Oh, you've woken up, Miss Salamander. Please wait just a few more moments. Your breakfast will be ready soon." She gave me a sideways glance.

I was speechless. The situation was too bizarre and unexpected for me to comprehend.

"W-who are you? You're one of Vera's servants?" I drew my wand from my pocket.

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lifted the pan and then put the cooked bacon on a plate she had placed on the nearby table. Only after that she turned to face me.

"You don't remember me, Miss Salamander? I believe we've met before."

I paused, looking at her more carefully. She was mature yet youthful-looking. Judging by her outfit, she looked to be a maid. Hmm? Those fins… she's a sea-folk? And those large breasts—their shape jutting out her uniform…

"Ah, I remember!" I pointed my finger. "You're Selendia's personal maid, aren't you? You're the maid that would always be beside her whenever she goes, aren't you? I'll never forget that scary lady with her creepy grin!"

"Please address Milady with the proper respect."

_Eek, a chill just crawls on the back of my neck! T-that glare… s-scary..._

"A-ah, sorry about that," I quickly apologized. "...Wait, hold on! Why are you even here?"

"Because Milady is here."

"Selendi—I-I mean, Mrs. Brine. She's here?"

"Yes. She's currently upstairs, at the library. And she has asked not to be interrupted, so there's no need for Young Miss to wait for her to have your breakfast. And, before Young Miss asks, we haven't touched your friend in the slightest. Rest assured that Milady wishes her no harm."

“I-I see…”

“Wait, no, why are you two even—” Her sharp glare returned. “I-I mean, why are Mrs. Brine here?” I quickly corrected myself yet again. “T-this is Vera’s territory! Shouldn’t you two be back in your own territory?”

_...Hmm? She’s pausing? She’s not answering immediately?”_

“...Milady has a certain matter that she needs to attend to here. That’s all there is to it.”

_...Ah, I got it!_

“Ha!” My confident smile returned. “I know what your master is doing! She’s ransacking Vera’s magic books and research notes, isn’t she? Grandpa always says that we have to guard our magic knowledge from any outsiders, even if that outsider is another member of the Council. And now, she’s here to plunder the Marjoram Family’s knowledge, knowing that Vera is dead. Am I right, or am I right?”

No response.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your—”

“I have no need to converse further with you. Please enjoy your breakfast.”

Deciding that the conversation was over, she exited the room.

_What? Running away? As if I’ll let you!_

“You know that I got here first right?” I shouted at her down the hallway. “Shouldn’t I be the one to get the right to Vera’s knowledge?”

She stopped in her tracks, before turning back, immediately sending me that terrifyingly sharp glare once again.

“You’re welcome to try. But you shall have to fight my mistress for that.” Water suddenly manifested near her right hand, before transforming into a solid trident, promptly aimed right at my direction. “And I will not hesitate to pierce anyone who threatens her, no matter who they are.”

_W-what is this… p-pressure?_

_M-my legs are shaking. I-I can’t move._

_I-I can’t speak either. M-my body… i-it’s not moving the way I want it to._

I could only stand there like an idiot, completely speechless as the maid went upstairs, no doubt going to meet up with her master.

_T-the pressure… i-it’s gone. W-what was that?_

I now knew that there wasn’t a chance for me to get my hands on those grimoires anymore.

_Dammit, I should’ve taken them last night! They must have come when I was asleep!_

_And I want to give them to Marina too…_

Unlike Grandpa, I wasn’t obsessed with “reaching the new heights of magic” as he always said. I just felt that Marina deserved them, after all the things she had gone through. I was sure that she could make great use of them. She was a magic prodigy after all! And I’d certainly rather have her possess the grimoires rather than that scary lady and her scary fish maid!

\-----------

After having my breakfast, which I begrudgingly accepted as delicious even though the one who made it was that maid, I decided to pay a visit to the library on the second floor. Only to find that maid standing in front of the door, shooing me away.

"Hey! I just want to greet her, you know!"

"Mistress doesn't want to be disturbed. And you are a disturbance."

“You know I can report this to Grandpa, right? Do the rest of the Council even approve of—”

“Yes, they do. Now go away and attend to your sleeping friend or something. I won’t tolerate you disturbing Milady with your noiseness.”

_Tch, she just drops all pretense of politeness towards me now. If only you work for my family instead, I’ll have you fired at once! Fired, you hear that?_

In the end, I had to retreat. There was no other entrance to the place, and there weren’t any windows either that I could use as an entry point. Vera probably designed the room intentionally that way. I couldn’t imagine spending hours inside a library with no fresh air coming in though. Not that I would ever spend hours reading books in a library in the first place. Books are just not my thing.

I didn’t know whether the maid was telling the truth, that they were really approved by the Council on doing this, but I was definitely going to report them to Grandpa for sure!

I ended up spending my free time just watching over Marina. I couldn’t trust those bunch to guard her of course! Sure, they really didn’t do anything to her, but they must know that it was her family who killed Vera. In fact, now that I thought about it, it’s more likely that they were involved in this whole mess from the start.

_...Oh I am such a complete idiot!_

In my surprise of their sudden appearance, I had completely forgotten that Elun was Selendia’s daughter. And since she knew what was going on, then Selendia must know as well!

Furious, I once again climbed upstairs to face the maid once more.

“Hey! You two know about this whole kidnapping business, don’t you?” I yelled right to her face.

“Kidnapping business?”

“Don’t play dumb! Marina got kidnapped under Vera’s orders and you knew about it!”

“Oh, about that. I believe it would be best if Young Miss discusses it with my mistress instead.”

“Then let me in!”

“Apologies, but you’ll have to wait until she’s finished. It shouldn’t take much longer.”

Seeing her neutral, unconcerned expression… it only made my blood boil even more. It’s as if she doesn’t care about Marina’s horrible treatment in the slightest.

“MOVE. OUT. OF. THE. WAY!”

Without thinking, I sent a slap right towards her face. And not just a normal one, but a flame-covered, superhot one as I instinctively cast a Fireball on said hand at the same time.

Only for her to grab my hand with her own mid-air before it could even land, somehow dousing the flames in the process.

“W-wha—”

SLAPPP

She slapped me back, sending me flying to the floor.

“You’re just like your sister, aren’t you? Doesn’t know her own limits. Always underestimates her opponent,” she spoke coldly. “If you weren’t Master Merlinus’ granddaughter, I would have killed you right on the spot.”

And then, the door behind her suddenly opened.

“Oh my, what is going on here?”

It was her mistress, and her eyes immediately darted towards me, who was still knocked down on the floor, glaring in complete anger and contempt.

“Did you knock her down, Lucentia?"

"I did, Milady. She tried to hit me so she could barge in."

"I see. Well, that's a shame."

She then walked towards me before kneeling down, offering her hand.

"Apologies. Lucentia can really be too overzealous at times."

I slapped her hand away.

"You know about Marina's kidnapping, don't you?" I yelled as I stood up on my own. "How could you not do anything about it, huh? And not only that, you sent Elun to stop me from rescuing her! Do you know just what—"

"Of course I do," she quickly interrupted me, standing back up and towering over me with that unnerving smile of hers. "In fact, all of the Council members knew, even your grandfather. Vera herself brought it up in one of our meetings, saying that she wanted Marina to be part of her family. And we all agreed to turn a blind eye on her actions."

"But that's—you can't just do that to someone!" I yelled back. "Do you know that Marina has lost her father and mother thanks to Vera and your stupid Council for just allowing this to happen? Don't we have a law that forbids kidnapping someone?"

"Oh, but we can." Her smile widened, making it even more unnerving. "We can do whatever we want to her. Or to any other weakling that is unfortunate enough to attract our attention. The law exists only for the weak and foolish. We stood above the law, my dear. We are the Sages of Mira, the inheritor of her wisdom. Haven't Merlinus taught you girl, that power is everything in this world?"

For the first time in my life, I felt repulsion towards Grandfather.

I always accepted his teachings, that strength was a virtue. Even if I wasn’t that strong myself, I looked up to strong people, like Big Sis and him. Even if he was always strict and demanding towards me, I still held some fondness and admiration towards him. And I knew that Big Sis felt the same, knowing just how hard she tried to make him proud. It was the same with Marina. One of the reasons why I admired her so much was because she’s strong.

And yet, only now I realized where that way of thinking could lead.

Grandfather let Vera kidnap Marina, possibly because he believed that if Marina wasn’t strong enough to fight against her, then she deserved to be kidnapped. Grandfather also prevented me from chasing after her, only telling Elun to let me go if I could prove my power to her. And he most likely believed that if I wanted to save Marina that bad, I had to do it by my own strength. He wouldn’t care in the slightest how much Marina and her family suffered from Vera’s actions.

"You—you're monsters! All of you! Marina suffered so much because of you all! And yet… and yet, you don't even have a single speck of compassion towards her!" Before I knew it, tears started to fall out of my eyes as I clenched my fists.

"But that’s wrong. I do have compassion for her. Now, come. Wipe those tears. We're going to meet with your friend."

"Compassion? What kind of compassion? It's far too late for you to decide to apologize! Marina lost her parents to Vera! Hey, don’t just ignore me and run away!”

In the end, I had to follow her and the maid all the way to Marina’s room.

“Look at her! She’s like this because of you just allowing Vera to do what she wants!”

“She’s just cold sleeping, right? Why haven’t you woken her up? You should be able to do it, with that family spell of yours.”

“W-wait, you know about the Flame Regeneration?”

“I see. So that information was right after all. Thank you for clarifying that,” she replied with a small grin.

 _Oh crap!_ My hands immediately went to cover my mouth.

"...Wait, how did you get that information in the first place? Have you been spying on Grandfather? Hehe, you're in trouble now! Just wait until I tell him!" I grinned triumphantly.

"Oh no, I just had one of my people ask one of his servants. They didn't even know they were leaking quite the precious information. Just like you, my dear.

_Hmph! I don't believe that for a second! I'm definitely telling Grandpa!_

"Well, let me guess, you're afraid of accidentally killing her in the process, aren't you? I know how the cold spell works. And I know it would be incredibly difficult for a mage of your level to lift it without killing her in the process."

...She's right. I certainly could have tried. But what's the point, when she should wake up on her own if I would wait for a few days? Not to mention that the spell is nothing like her little brother's hypothermia. He would have definitely died if I didn't cure him. And so I did, thankfully not popping any of his blood vessels in the process.

But this is an intentionally casted cold sleep spell. I will be attempting to dispel a spell cast by a Grandmaster-level mage. It's too risky! There's no way I'll do it, especially when there's no good reason to do so!

"However, I can help you with that. I can stabilize her body with my healing water while you warm her back up as carefully as you could.”

I looked at her in disbelief. Did she really just offer to help me heal Marina?

“Look, your friend here—she’ll soon be declared as a criminal by the Council. She’ll be blamed for Vera’s death. Her punishment would be even graver than that necromancer girl who killed your big sister. This is my compassion. I want to give her a headstart, so that she can run away from this country before the Council officially gives that declaration.”

“Y-you can’t be—”

“Oh, I'm serious. And not just her either. Her entire family would be branded as criminals as well. The Council wouldn’t care if they are foreigners. We can demand the king of Marchen for their extradition and he will obey, no questions asked. She will have to travel far away, to a country that won’t kneel to the Magocracy. She still has a little sister back home, right? And a little brother as well, if I remember correctly."

"That's—that's not fair! Not only you let Vera kidnap her and murder her parents, you're not forcing her to run to some faraway country on her own?"

"The world is never fair, my dear," she replied with a smile. "This is simply the cards that are dealt to her."

"No!" I stamped my right foot to the floor. "I am not going to let you or the rest of the Council do this! I'm going to tell Grandpa to go against this stupid decision!"

"Feel free to do that. He'll probably ask you to fight him first though."

"Hmph, I'll do exactly that! But I still don’t trust you enough and your water magic! You’re part of the Council that will vote for her criminal status, right? You can just kill her right now, or even make me kill her accidentally just because you find it funny!”

“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes. “I am not a sadist like Vera. I don’t enjoy inflicting needless suffering to people. And I could’ve just killed her when you were asleep if I wanted her dead."

She then walked away to the corner of the room, before sighing, speaking with her back turned to me. "I sympathize with her a little. You see, I was nearly a victim of forced marriage myself, just like her. So I would rather have her live a happy life."

"Then you should've stopped this from happening in the first place!" I shouted.

She turned back to face me with an uncharastically glum expression. "Well, as a Council member, I can't do that. And I can’t tell you why unfortunately. If you really want to know, confront your Grandfather about it.”

“Then at the very least don’t make her a criminal!”

“Just my vote wouldn’t be enough.”

My body shook. My anger once again was reaching its boiling point.

“...I’m sick of it. I’m sick of everyone hiding everything from me.”

“Then you know what to do. That old coot will only listen to power.”

“I promise. I promise I’ll make him tell everything, even if I have to fight him for it! And I’ll make him and the rest of the Council members change their minds as well!” 

“Good girl.” She patted my head through the hat. “Merlinus would be happy to hear that for sure.”

In the end, I decided not to take on her offer. I still couldn’t trust her fully in the end.

She and her maid left soon after, telling that I and Marina would be welcome to take anything left in the house. So she probably already got the grimoires that she wanted. She also promised me that she would try to delay the announcement of Marina’s bounty as much as she could.

As for myself, I started training my magic right away.

Fine. Grandpa wanted strength? I’ll show him strength. Maybe I won’t be able to beat him right away. Maybe Marina would have to flee for a time. But I promise her that one day, she will be welcome once again in the Magocracy. She and her entire family.

I didn’t know what happened to her little brother. He never returned. I just hoped that he would be wise enough to realize that the Magocracy would be after him as well.

I just hope that Marina will recover soon. In the meantime, I’ll gather up all the valuables and magic books I reckon she can use for her journey. Vera’s servants never returned, as well as her grandson. They probably have realized Vera has fallen, and thus they decide to flee instead.

Good. Because if I see Thomas, I’ll burn him with my flames until he begs for mercy. Only after he regrets what he’s done to Marina, then I’ll take his life.. He no longer has his grandma to protect him after all.

I never killed anyone before, and I’m perfectly fine with him being the first.


	52. Goodbyes (End of The Childhood Arc)

**Marina**

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Alincia, crying her heart out with a smile before throwing herself at me for a hug.

She then told me everything. How Vera had died, how she had come here to rescue me—

And how Father and Mother had perished.

My eyes widened in shock, but I didn’t say anything.

I didn’t even shed a tear.

"U-uwaaaa, I'm sorry! If I had come sooner, then they might have lived! I didn't even get to help them! Vera was already dead when I arrived!"

As she hugged me with her tears, I didn’t feel anything.

Or rather, my mind refused to feel anything.

It was as if I was still a dream, and all this wasn’t real. I was still walking in clouds, with my mind unable to comprehend the tragedy that I just heard.

"...I see. So they came after all. Vera was speaking the truth." I looked away, expressionless, my gaze staring into nothing.

"I-I can take you to them. But they… their bodies…"

I didn’t need to hear her actually say it. Just looking at her expression was enough.

Their body must have not survived intact, which wouldn’t be out of place if they were fighting such a powerful mage.

"...Take me to them.” I told her firmly, still not showing any signs of weakness.

And so she did, though not before handing me back my wand that she had found from Vera's study. I pocketed it immediately.

Outside, not that far off from the mansion, she took me to a certain spot on the middle of the snowy hill the mansion was located on.

"I-I'll have to dig through the snow first,” she declared. So their bodies must be buried underneath.

I let her do the job with her fire magic, watching quietly as my gaze was fixated downwards. I wasn’t especially preparing myself for the worst. Instead, I was just doing it mechanically, not really thinking about it in the slightest.

And then, I found them. Or rather, what remained of them.

And they were indeed in a horrible state. Just as I had feared.

I stared at them wordlessly for at least several minutes—I didn’t know exactly how long. There was no doubt about it. They were dead. Even though I could barely recognize them, I still knew they were Father and Mother, all thanks to their heads that had survived relatively well.

I didn’t know how I should react. Should I cry? But my tears weren’t coming out. Should I scream? But I didn’t want to scream. Should I fall down and beg at their corpse for them to return? That would be silly.

Instead, all I felt was anger—anger like I had never felt before.

"M-Marina?" She spoke 

“...Stay back, Alincia. I’m going to bury them.”

“B-bury them? Here?”

“I can’t bring them home. Not in this state. But I won’t let them become food for monsters as well once the snow thawed.”

She did as I requested, giving a good distance away from where the remains were.

I took out my wand, transformed it to its staff form, before I began to chant.

“O spirits of the Earth! Listen to my plea! As you give stability and protection to those who walk on the land, let those who stood on your forbidden soil be accursed! Let them fall to a pit that they would never escape from! Let them fall to the depths of the Earth itself, swallowed by your jaws whole! Manifest your will by crumbling the very ground itself! Crumbling Earth!"

I aimed it not at the snow hill itself, but at the ground underneath it.

“E-Earthquake?” Alincia yelped.

The snow nearby began to get sucked down into the forming pit down below. I took a few steps backwards, as well as Alincia, making sure that we wouldn’t be caught by the falling snow.

And of course, in the process, the remains of my father and mother fell down as well, right down to the earth itself.

Eventually, the rumbling stopped as the pit I formed filled up with snow.

"Y-you're okay with this, Marina? Just burying them here?"

I nodded silently. I felt if I had tried to collect their remnants, digging through all the snow by hand hoping I could reassemble them, I would have broken down completely in the process.

I remembered a tale about how some warriors wanted to die gloriously in the battlefield, instead of dying of old age on a bed. He even joked that he would perfectly be fine with dying in a fight, as long as he fought for his family, against an insurmountable opponent that even he would have trouble with.

Is this it, Father? Is this what you want? You have defeated a Grandmaster-level mage, a member of the Magocracy’s Council and one of the strongest people in the world. And you have succeeded in defeating her, even at the cost of your own life.

How about you, Mother? Are you happy now in the heavens above, knowing that I am saved because of you? Of course you are. You will sacrifice yourself for me and Hugo and Erika without question. I know it even without you saying it.

_Drip_

_Drip drip_

Ah…

It seems the rainfall is coming after all.

I turned my back to Alincia, not wanting her to see that I was crying.

But she took notice anyway, and she gave me a hug from behind, not saying anything at all, knowing that I hated to be seen in tears by others.

We stayed like that for a good while until my tears dried.

\-------------

We then moved on to Vera’s corpse next.

She was headless, but otherwise intact, although she was nearly buried under the snow completely.

“Huh? Where’s her staff? I swear she’s still gripping it the last time I saw her,” Alincia spoke. “Wait, don’t tell me those two took it with them!”

I didn’t care about her staff. I ignored Alincia completely to charge up my Fire and Earth spell.

“Magma Burst.”

A jet of magma spew forth from under the snow, obliterating the body completely until nothing remained.

_You will not get the satisfaction of being buried as an intact corpse, Vera. Neither you or your grandson._

I thought of throwing my staff as well to the lava, knowing that it was given by her. But I refrained from doing so. As much it disgusted me to be using anything she gave to me, it was a useful weapon. And I had gotten well-acquainted with it, almost like a trusted friend.

No, it would be a shame to just leave it behind. Instead, Vera should be angry instead in the afterlife that I ended up triumphant in the end, and still using the staff she bought expensively for me as a bribe.

Afterwards, Alincia and I returned back inside the mansion, without a word spoken between us.

\---------

We then ate together silently in the dining room. Just some dry, leftover bread that was as hard as bricks. I ate them anyway, not because I felt especially hungry, but just because I could.

“O-oh I forget to tell you. Your little brother was here too. But he left five days ago and he never returned.”

I paused.

“Hugo was?” I looked at her.

“Y-yeah. I think he fought with your parents against Vera, actually.”

"...Did you notice anything strange when he left?"

"Well, he's—he was crying. After I asked what happened to his parents, he ran away after he told me that they're gone. And that's when I last saw him. I did notice his footsteps going down the mountain, using the eastern route."

"...That idiot."

I stood up, fully intending to chase after him immediately.

_He must be blaming himself for their death. And now he decided to run away._

_I thought you're a smart and wise boy, Hugo. But this… this is exactly something a child would do._

_If there's anyone to blame, it would be me. It's for my sake that you and them came here and fought Vera, knowing very well how powerful she was. If I had just thrown my pride and stubbornness away, I could've stopped their death._

_Or, the even wiser thing is to just blame Vera, the monster behind this all._

"W-wait, Marina! You can't chase after him! You don't know where he is now!" Alincia stopped me, hugging me from the back 

"He must be near Mau Uvarsa. He took the east path, right?"

"No, please! Listen to me first! You're going to become a criminal soon! You, him, and your little sister back home! You can’t spend time looking for him!”

At first, I was going to ignore her plea. I was not going to leave my little brother in this accursed country, especially when I knew he would be hunted down too.

But then, I realized something. He took the east route instead of the west. Why would he do that? If he wanted to go home, then he would take the west.

Then I imagined the map of the country inside my head.

And I realized where he could possibly be going.

_...That idiot! He’s going to the Holy Continent, isn’t he?!_

If you were aiming for the port town Tulpio, then yes, you would take the east route. You could go north from Mau Uvarsa, get to the Brine Province, and then took the river transport for a quick ride to the port town.

_...He’s going to go chase after Sherry, isn’t he? After he reaches the continent, he’ll go all the way across it to the far north. Then he’ll take another ship from there to the Demon Continent._

_That’s… that’s completely outrageous! What can he do on his own, going all the way there without anyone more experienced in adventuring to accompany him?_

_If not for the fact that I have to fetch Erika first back home, I can go after him! The Holy Continent is a safe place to run from the Magocracy after all, especially if you go all the way to the Holy Capital. They won’t dare to chase us all the way there! Then I can get a job as an adventurer and we can start a new life together there!_

_But now, I have no choice but to take the northwestern route. It would be too risky to go back into the Magocracy after I get Erika._

_I have to go to Grandfather’s place, drop Erika there, and then go after him._

_I’ll knock some sense into him, and drag him back home. Even if it will take me years to do it._

_But for now, please be safe, Hugo. Please be safe._

_I’ve lost Father and Mother. I can’t lose you too as well..._

\---------

"...I see. So that's how it's going to be."

I was now sitting once again at the dining table.

"That's something they would do indeed," I said with a bitter smile.

"D-don't worry, Marina! I'll get Grandpa to change his mind! And Selendia already agreed to vouch for your innocence as well!"

"...Do you believe them?"

"H-huh?"

"Do you believe them to keep their word? Or rather, do you still believe them to be just rulers, after what they did to me?"

"W-well, what they did was certainly horrible! And I'm still angry with them! And I no longer think of them as just after letting this whole thing happen for sure! But I can still change their minds so you won't have to leave!"

"Then, I wouldn't be kowtowing to them if I were you." I stood up, looking away from her. "I had enough. I had enough of this country altogether. I'll never forgive it for what they did to me and my family." I then looked down at her before resuming. "You're Merlinus' granddaughter, so I wouldn't expect you to understand. As her granddaughter, you would always possess some amount of familial love towards him, even if you hated him right now But I am different. I have nothing but pure spite for him and the other Council members. And I won't step in in this country anymore as long as they are still in charge."

"W-wha—but you can't! W-what about your study at the Academy? You haven't even graduated yet!"

"Do you think I'll care about such a trivial thing anymore?"

"B-But I'll—I'll be lonely if you're gone!"

"Then, would you rather come with me instead?"

She paused speechless. She was taken completely off-guard by my declarement.

"I…" Her eyes darted away. "I can't… Grandpa will…"

"...I understand." I walked over and patted her on the shoulder, giving her a smile. "You belong here, Alincia. One day, you'll take your grandfather's place. And I hope you can be a better ruler than he is."

"U-uwaaahhh! I'm sorryyyyyy!'

Before I knew it, she threw herself at me again.

_Unfortunately, your path and mine split here, Alincia._

_I shall travel to the far west, to my own grandfather’s land. We might never see each other again. And perhaps, we might even become enemies in the future, should the Magocracy decide to insist on chasing me or any of my remaining family._

_But even so, I wish you the best of luck. And may Mira be with you._

\--------

Afterwards, she led me to the loot she had gathered from the mansion. Apparently, Selendia was gracious enough to let me take everything left behind that she hadn’t plundered first.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a mountain of gold around. Not like Vera was a dragon in the first place. Instead, there were only jewelries left behind, and not many of them either. Vera didn’t seem to be a fan of collecting them in the first place.

However, what’s more valuable to me was the grimoires she left behind. I made a visit to the library, and began to scramble through the place. As expected, many of the books were missing, most likely taken by Selendia, and some of them were just useless like books about the spells I already knew, but some of them indeed contained knowledge of spells that I had yet to know. I believed I could grow more as a mage from them, if I spent my time learning their contents. Though I didn’t know if I could reach Master-level at the element of Ice in the first place. But I certainly would try.

“With the jewels, I believed I would have enough money to flee with my little sister. So you don’t have to worry, Alincia,” I said to her with a smile, after she offered to give me more money for the road. “Not to mention that you don’t exactly have much money in the first place, do you? You get your allowance from your grandfather after all.”

I didn’t tell her where I was going, so that she would genuinely not know where to look for me if the Magocracy decided to hunt me down. Thankfully, I never mentioned to her where my extended family lived. Or to anyone else for that matter.

“How would you return back to Marchen, Marina?” she then asked me. “Can you ride a horse?”

“No, unfortunately. I would have to hire someone to take me there on horseback.”

“Ooh, then I’ll introduce you to Mr. Courier!”

“Mr… Courier?”

“Yes! He’s the guy that helped me get here all the way from Mira! I can ask him to help you as well! I-if he’s still in the city that is. He’s a courier after all…”

I took up on her offer. And, after packing and then storing as much as I could all the jewelries and books and even some valuable-looking candelabras and plates into my dimensional storage (its space is limited unfortunately), we departed.

But not before I did one final thing.

“Crumbling Earth!”

With my spell, I made the entire mansion fall to the earth, erasing any remaining wealth and prestige that Vera and her family might once have with said house.

“Might as well do this, since I’m going to be branded a criminal and all.”

Judging by Alincia’s scared expression, my smile at that moment must be quite the evil-looking one indeed.

\----------------

We reached Rau Uvarsa in record time, as we were just running downhill while taking the relatively smooth dirt road. To our surprise, the guards at the front gate had abandoned their posts completely, leaving the gate wide open.

_They already knew that their mistress was assassinated, huh?_

The atmosphere in the province capital was one of clear unrest, as its citizens all whispered with each other with a scared tone, fearing what would happen to them now that their patron and ruler Vera was dead. They were mostly gnomes, and they practically worshipped her for being one of them. I tried to ignore all the praises they were giving to her, as well as the curses they gave to her murderer, even if I had to grit my teeth in the process.

We went to the post office, and, to my fortune, the person Alincia hitched a ride on was there.

He quickly agreed, not even asking any questions after Alincia showed her family emblem. Such was the power of being one of the ruling houses in this country.

At the stables, Alincia and I said our goodbyes. Possibly for the final time.

“U-uwaaaahh! Be careful, alright, Marina? I'll miss you so much!" She hugged me yet again.

"I'll miss you too, Alincia." I hugged her back, patting her on the back of her head. "Thank you for being my friend all these years."

"I-I should be the one thanking you, Marina! You're always there to comfort me from the start. At first, I thought you were just a stuck-up girl like Big Sis said, so I teased you a lot. And yet, when Big Sis passed away, you didn’t push me away. You embraced me and told me that everything was going to be alright. You even told me that you’re willing to be a replacement big sister for me, if I missed her that much.”

“Ssh, don’t say that out loud. You’re embarrassing me, you know,” I replied with a smile, a little blush forming on my face.

“And then.. And then you teached me magic as well. You made me become so much better at it! And now, I’m a Master-level mage, just like Big Sis!”

“That’s from your own hard work, no? You always trained hard at night, even passing out in the process a couple of times. Not to mention that I have to be the one thanking you, Because without you healing my little brother with your magic, he would’ve died for sure.”

She had told me about how she found Hugo unconscious in the snow when she arrived. It really was sheer luck that he even survived, which I was deeply grateful for.

“I-I could only do that because you’ve trained me!”

“That’s true. But that’s a good lesson to take, isn’t it? That if you do a good thing for someone, then, one day, that good thing will be repaid, perhaps even in a way that you wouldn’t expect in the slightest.”

She sniffled, wiping her face with her long sleeves.

“I-I swear I’ll repay you one day as well! I’ll work even harder to become a mage even stronger than Grandpa! Then I’ll replace him and reform the Council! That way, you’ll be willing to go back to the Magocracy, right?”

“...Perhaps I would.”


	53. Extra: The Budding Necromancer

**Four years ago...**

"Hey, where are you going this summer break? Papa's taking me to Durcesa, you know!”

“Eeh, how nice! My papa isn’t taking me anywhere! I’m stuck with his boring etiquette lessons instead! Etiquette lessons! I’m not some highborn noble lady! I’m a mage!”

“Hehe, he’s still big about you being a court mage? Doesn’t he want you to inherit his business instead?”

“Haven’t I told you? That’s for my big brother. Not that I’d want to. I’m not good at all with numbers and bookkeeping and all that junk!”

Cheerful conversations could be heard everywhere in the Mira Magic Academy as students in droves left the premises. It was summer break, and they were leaving to be back with their families. Most of them had stagecoaches waiting to pick them up. Only some left by walking, like a certain redhead girl this short tale would be about.

She walked at the sidelines with no other student beside her to converse with, unlike the others. She hugged a book close to her chest—her eyes looking straight to the road in front of her. Her expression was neutral, though perhaps there was a little sign of distaste in the corner of her mouth. She wore a dull and cheap-looking black robe, unlike the other students who wore colorful and stylish outfits. Looking closer, you can see that it had been repaired so many times, to the point that it had patches all over the garment. In fact, it looked closer to the rags the poor would wear than a proper mage robe.

And then, said robe caught fire.

She yelped, and she immediately patted her burning bottom with her book.

It died down, but not before it made a hole at said robe, revealing the fact that she was currently not wearing any underwear.

"Oh my, would you look at that? You're quite the pervert, aren't you?"

A fancy-looking stagecoach had stopped near her, with another redhead sneering at her through the window. Just from her gaudy robes, you could tell that she was rich, the complete opposite of the poor-looking girl she was sneering at. One of her arms was outside the window. She didn't even bother to hide the wand she had used to start a fire on her robe.

"Where are you going this summer, Felicia? I never know where your home is, come to think of it. Oh, right, you don't have any, don't you?"

Felicia didn't reply. She didn't even give her a look as she hurried her steps, covering the hole on her thin robe with her right hand.

This offended the rich redhead. She never liked to be ignored like that.

"Everyone! We have quite the pervert here! She doesn't wear any panties under her robes, can you believe that? That goes against the academy's dress code, isn't it?"

"Really? Eww, gross. What kind of a lady wouldn't wear undergarments."

"Even her entire outfit is gross. It's an eyesore to look at and I bet it smells bad as well."

"Really, how did she even pay for her tuition in the first place? Don't tell me that she stole the gold from somewhere?"

"I heard she's one of those scholarship folks."

"Ah, that explains it. Those folks are dirt poor bums after all."

As if rehearsed, the surrounding students all three harsh words to the poor girl. Not a single one of them stood for her, or even whispered a kind word for her under their breath.

She continued to walk, enduring the derisive laughter entering her ears. Her cheeks were red of humiliation, and her eyes were shivering, almost as if she was holding back tears. She now placed her book on her exposed bum.

Only when she was out of sight of them that she bit her thumb until it started to bleed—her tearful eyes immediately switching to that of pure anger.

No matter how many times she ended up in a situation like that, she could never get used to it. Ever since she got better grades in alchemy than that Merinda girl, she immediately turned hostile against her, even though in every other grade, Merinda was much better than her.

She knew that if she were to fight, she would win. An arrogant girl like her would be easily caught off-guard by the many tricks she had under her sleeves. In fact, she could easily humiliate her in public if she wanted to—the same way she had humiliated her so many times.

However, she had sworn to herself, that she would not draw attention to herself and not to show herself to be a capable fighter. She would only be good at alchemy, and that's that.

It would be disastrous for her plan if the Academy, or even the Council, would start paying attention to her.

_I’m not a complete fool like that little girl._

She was referring to the one and only Marina Greenwood, who had made a complete spectacle of herself when she entered the school last year. As a result, she drew the attention of Merinda as well, as she ended up becoming her newest victim.

She ended up having to walk across town still with her exposed buttocks, awkwardly covering them with her book, drawing some not-so-polite stares from onlookers. She had run out of panties to wear, thanks to them either becoming too small or their cheap waistbands breaking apart. She was poor, so terribly so, especially since she had to pay the rent for her shack on her meager adventurer income, as well as all the alchemical reagents and tools she needed for her experiments. Her clothes could wait.

Her shack—she wouldn't call it a house, was located at the southern outskirts of the city. It was used to be a storage house of her landlord, but it was no longer in use due to its deteriorating condition. And she had been able to rent it at a relatively cheap price, though she agreed it could be cheaper.

It was the ideal place to be used as her lab, since the owner never checked on her or the shack, as long as she paid her on time.

Once there, she opened the door and closed it behind her.

She was immediately greeted by the familiar scent of herbs and drugs and all the strange concoctions she had on the shelves. She took out her wand and lit the candle hanging inside a lamp chained to the ceiling. It was dim, but she was already completely used to it. She then put the book on her work table.

_That's right. I need to check the corpse first._

She then went to a trapdoor in the corner of the room, lifting it open with both of her hands. As she was no longer in public, she no longer cared about exposing herself to anyone. She bent down freely, giving an excellent view of her soft and full bum as she lifted over the cover.

She then climbed down to the basement, using the ladder that was already put there beforehand.

And this was where her true, forbidden research was kept hidden, away from the prying eyes of the world.

A foul odor of death and decay entered her nostrils, but she was already used to it, just like she was used with the smell of alchemical components up above.

Inside were at least a dozen animal and monster corpses, either hung on the wall or put on the tables and shelves that filled the room. From household pets to cats and dogs, to actual monsters like wolves and bats.

She walked over to the corpse at the end of the room. It was a corpse of a giant snake. She took it down from the wall and immediately examined it with her bare hands.

"Tch, another failure. It decomposes too quickly again."

She returned it back to the wall before biting her right thumb again. It was her habit. Every time something didn't go her way, she would bring it to her mouth and press it with her teeth.

"This isn't good. My research isn't progressing anywhere. If only I can get that necromancy book… but that old coot isn't giving me the permission I need. Even though I had acted like a model student to him…"

"I have no choice. I would have to use my body once again. I know he has been leering at me for a good while. He wants me."

For just a split second, a sad smile appeared on her face.

Before turning to a wide grin.

"It's fine, isn't it? I have promised to myself. I will use whatever means is necessary to advance my research. I will give my everything. My heart. My body. Even my very soul. If I could bring my ideal world to existence."

"A world free of death."

\---------

The next day, after another night spent falling asleep on her work table as she worked on her formulas, she departed back to the city to visit the Adventurer's Guild.

Of course, she had fixed the hole on her robe for yesterday. Her mother teaching her how to sew really came in handy. She wouldn't need to waste money going to the tailor or buying a new robe.

Summer break was the perfect opportunity to earn money, as she could take more well-paying quests that would take her quite a distance away from the city. Ranking wise, she already reached C-rank, due to the amount of quests she had done over the years.

She went to the job posting board, looking around for any quests that would yield the most money with the least amount of effort needed.

_Hmm? What's this? A B-rank quest to gather alchemical ingredients?_

_..._

_Perfect. I could find all of these in one mountain. It would take more than a month going back and forth from me, but the payment is worth it, so I don't mind._

_But to think I would have to return to that place…_

She took the parchment and gave it to the receptionist. You are allowed to take a quest one rank higher, so a C-rank like her can take a B-rank quest just fine.

\-----------

She then departed immediately, opting for travelling by foot instead of taking a stagecoach to the south. She didn't have any money to waste, even though taking them could significantly cut the amount of days she would have to travel.

Her destination was to the south of Mira, which meant she would enter the part of the Magocracy that’s under the jurisdiction of the Vehta Family and its ruling patriarch, Monas Vehta. He was a Grandmaster-level Earth mage, which reflected in his green and lush territory, filled with many forests. In fact, to enter his territory from Mira, you had to pass through a forest first. The Kuluasa Forest was its name. You would be able to find a town built just outside of it on the other side, named the same as said forest.

The Kuluasa Forest was, unfortunately, not that safe of a route to take. Even though the road cut straight through said forest, with a decent chunk of the trees sacrificed for said purpose, the monsters from the remaining green part of the forest would sometimes pop out and attack travelers. They were weak, thankfully enough, though it meant merchants and other travelers who couldn’t defend themselves would have to hire an adventurer or two to guard them as they crossed said forest.

Monsters weren’t the only thing you had to worry about however, as lately, there had been talks of a new bandit gang taking camp in the area, ransacking any travelers that were unfortunate enough to lack the ability to defend themselves.

It wasn’t that odd however, as bandits would come and go in the forest, usually after someone wealthy enough to ask for an extermination mission of them came along and posted a high level request on the Guild.

The locals who frequently traveled through it had petitioned both the Capital and the Vehta Family for a constant patrol in the forest to make the route safer, but so far, neither of them seemed to care enough to bother.

Which was why she ended up having to face them on their own.

\--------

“Alright, pretty little missy! You’re a mage, aren’t cha? Now take out your wand and throw it on the ground, or else my archer friends up there on the trees would turn you to cheese before you could even chant a single word.”

The big brute of a man in front of her had jumped down from a tree as she was traversing the road, brandishing a giant axe that he was holding in a single hand.

Night had fallen, and he wisely abused the reduced visibility so his ambush would be more successful.

And behind her were two sword-wielding bandits, preventing her from just turning tail and fleeing.

Most mages would just surrender at this point. Mages were creatures that were weak to ambushes after all. With no chance to cast their spells, they might as well be ordinary citizens who couldn’t defend themselves.

"Come on, Missy! I really ain't wanna wound that pretty face of yours! Girls as good-looking as you would fetch a pretty price on the market after all!" 

The slave trade wasn't that popular in the Magocracy, but black markets still existed. The Council didn't really ban its practice after all. The only reason it wasn't popular was because the nation itself had no need to rely on it for its income.

"Or would'cha rather be my girl instead? I promise I'll make you feel really good, hehe…" He licked his lips in a most repulsive manner.

"You'll do."

"Huh? What? Speak up, Missy! I can't hear—Ugaaahh!"

He looked down.

And saw that his abdomen was bleeding profusely, as if he had just been stabbed by a sword.

The two behind her saw what happened, and they were just as baffled.

"A-a shadow… a shadow just—Guwaaahhh!"

"Y-you bitch!"

The one remaining man charged forward and slashed at her.

Only to find that his blade went through her like she wasn't even there.

"Graahhh!"

A shadow pierced through his chest, and the last thing he saw was the demonic grin on her face.

"Aaarghh!"

"Ugyaahh!"

"Raaghh!"

The archers all fell down one by one from their trees, pierced by similar shadows in their vital organs.

They thought they were doing the ambushing, but it was the opposite.

She already knew they were there from the start, and she already cast her shadow magic in anticipation beforehand. The girl they ambushed—she was nothing more than her shadow clone. The real her was hidden in the shadows from the beginning.

Her clone vanished, and her real self rose up from the nearby shadow.

With a gleeful grin, she walked over to the big guy's corpse and pointed her wand at him.

"Reanimate."

The corpse immediately twitched all over, as if an electric current was passing through it.

And then, it stood, grabbing back it's giant axe in the process.

"Now, let's see how long you can last."

\---------

She made it through the rest of the forest safely, with only just a handful of monsters that she joyfully slaughtered using her zombie bandit.

That joy abruptly ended however when the zombie, after just four hours of usage, shriveled and fell apart.

Such was the current limitation of her necromantic ability. She wasn’t yet able to control more than one corpse at the same time, and she couldn’t make it last for long.

It was already a miracle she could learn necromancy in the first place. She did it by applying the magic theory of golem control to corpses, combining it with some dark magic on the side. Unlike golems, who always had a control unit inside it that could receive commands from the mage and relay it to the rest of the body, she had to rely on the brain inside the corpse instead.

_I need it… I need that book…_

The Book of Necromancy, apparently written by the Necromancer King himself 500 years ago.

She had reached her limits. She needed the knowledge written in it if she were to get anywhere close to her goal.

After resting at the town just outside the forest, she headed west. It was another ten days of walking through the countryside until she reached her hometown.

And along the way, she passed through numerous empty and abandoned villages, with its houses overgrown with vines and moss, barely keeping itself from collapsing.

It was the result of the Crystal Plague.

Eight years ago, a strange plague devastated the region. It slowly made anyone afflicted to grow mana crystals on their bodies, until they eventually suffered organ failure from their organs crystallizing, leading to certain death.

The strangest part of the plague however was that the ones afflicted were only those with no magic potential. Magicians were entirely fine. The non-mages, however, they all suffered.

No cure was ever found. The plague eventually stopped on its own, but not before killing so many people in the process.

Including her entire family.

\---------

She stood on the hill at the edge of her village, where her old house used to be.

From there, she could see the mountain she was heading to. How many times had she gone there to gather medicinal herbs, when she still had her dream to become an alchemist?

_"I wanna be a great alchemist when I grow up, Daddy! I want to heal everyone with my medicine so everyone can be happy!"_

How foolish.

There are so many ailments and diseases out there with no cure to be found. Even if she were a genius that devoted her entire short, human life to find new cures, she would only be able to find a handful of them in her lifetime. Alchemy is hard. Really hard. Far more technical than just casting fireballs or healing spells. Especially medicinal alchemy, where you need to also study the inner workings of the human body, a field of knowledge woefully underdeveloped. And yet, it is the only way to develop cures for rare, incurable diseases as healing magic is oriented far more towards healing wounds and afflictions you can get in battle. 

There is only one permanent, ideal solution to eradicate the world of all illnesses forever.

To turn everyone into immortal undead. 

Only then the mythical Panacea would become a reality. Not through alchemy, but through the power of necromancy.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Oh hey, you can actually put images in this site. Then, I suppose I can post the artwork I stole off various sources that I used as a basis for the characters' looks, starting from the necromancer girl.**

****


	54. An Old Acquaintance (Start of The Adolescence Arc)

**Hugo**

_It's not fair!_

_Not fair not fair not fair!_

_Why does it end up this way? Why God why?_

_I'm an isekai protagonist! I'm supposed to be overpowered as all hell while having hot chicks all fall over me!_

_But now, I'm still a weakling! And I'm traveling alone in this goddamn snow without any girls to warm me up! The childhood friend type girl is off on the other side of the world and my cute sisters hate me now! And my beautiful big-boobed mom is a chopped-up frozen corpse, because I failed to save her and Father._

_Is this it? Is this how it goes? My life will decline once again after childhood, just like before?_

_It's not fair, goddamnit, it's just not fair!_

Such thoughts swam inside my mind over and over again as I ran across the freezing taiga. With no one around, I didn't care that I was crying and wailing in the most uncool, unsightly manner. Not only that tears were falling down my face, snot was falling out of my nose as well.

Some snow wolves tried to chase me but they couldn't even keep up with my speed.

I was crushed. Completely and absolutely crushed.

I didn't even look where I was running, going off the road as I wished. I just knew that I was heading northeast, to where my destination was.

I traveled in that state of mind for a week, stopping in the occasional villages for food and shelter. I was lucky that Father entrusted me with quite the generous amount of money when we departed from home.

...No, it wasn’t luck, was it? It was him anticipating if something ever happened to him and/or Mother.

And it did.

My sleep was, naturally, nowhere near a good night’s sleep.

Every night I would have nightmares of Father and Mother, shattering into pieces right in front of my eyes. Their decapitated heads would then speak, telling me that I wasn't good enough, that I was holding them back.

And then I would see Erika, shouting to my face that she hated me. Marina would be there as well, giving me a look of disapointment.

I would wake up in cold sweat in the middle of the night, with tears in my eyes.

It got so bad that one night, I actually wet the bed from it. Imagine that. A ten year old that still wets his bed.

I shamefully admitted it to the innkeeper, giving her some extra coins before running away.

It's what I deserved really. I was a pathetic failure. I was nowhere near those cool fantasy protagonists I liked to read about. Might as well add bedwetting to my long list of failures.

Eventually, I saw it. Lake Nurion. It was a large freshwater lake near the border between the Marjoram Province and the Brine Province.

For the next three days, I would run around it. I might be in my reckless mindset right now, but I wasn’t reckless enough to decide to just cross it using magic. I couldn’t even see the other end.

And then, I finally arrived at the Town of Nurion proper. And thus, I had crossed into Brine Province at last.

I gave one last look back at the taiga plains I had left behind.

_I hope Marina’s all right now. Maybe she’s already getting back home at this point._

_And sorry, for being a coward who decides to run away from his failure._

\--------------

From there, I took the river cruise, going north where I would disembark at Loinavuta. And from there, it was just a short walk away from Tulpio, the port town where I could finally leave this blasted place.

_Holy shit, that was close._

The ticket for the trip was much more expensive than I had imagined. I nearly wasn’t able to pay it.

_Oh God, now how would I pay for the ship to the Holy Continent? The ticket there must be even more expensive!_

_...I didn’t think this through, did I?_

I thought I could make it to the Holy Continent with just my current funds. But it seemed I would have to take jobs as an adventurer if I was to buy my passage there.

The ship simply employed the current of the river heading to the sea to propel it forward. I originally thought they would utilize water magic to just boost the river forward, but I realized no water mage would last that long constantly casting their spell. And if they had a bunch of water mages, I imagined the expense each trip would take would skyrocket enormously.

They did have a water mage onboard though—a pretty young lady with teal hair, tied in a ponytail. It seemed it was her job to make sure that everything went smoothly on our trip. In fact, she did just that, as she took care of a river octopus that blocked our passage. She was an Advanced-level mage at the very least, judging by the spell she used.

_This is how you can get a stable job as a mage, I suppose._

In four days, I arrived at my destination.

\-------------

The trip from Loinavuta to Tulpio only took me three days.

Once again, I was running, though at this point, I believed I might have calmed down, if only just for a little bit.

I decided that I would register at the Adventurer’s Guild in Tulpio, hoping that I wouldn’t get in trouble by doing so.

After all, I just killed one of their heads of state. Surely they would put a bounty on my head sooner or later.

But I got no other option. Unless I smuggled myself into one of the ships…

You know, that might be the better option. I’m already a criminal after all. And possibly a big shot one at that. Being a stowaway is far less of a crime than assassinating one of the Council members, I imagine.

I’ll consider my options once I get there.

\----------

_Well, this place sure is a busy one._

After three days on the road, I finally arrived at the port town.

And it was absolutely bustling with activity.

Even though it was winter, the weather was mild enough that the usual business and commerce proceedings were not impeded in the slightest. I could see multiple big ships docking on its port, even from the entrance of the town, as the whole place was built on a slope heading down to said port.

That salty scent you would find in the beaches back home assaulted my nose here as well. Even in another world, an ocean is an ocean after all.

I decided to go to the docks first, just to see if there really was a way for me to smuggle myself in. Of course, I also had to be sure that the ship really was going to the Holy Continent though.

On the way, I passed through the town market. Like your typical open market, it was loud and crowded, with a lot of merchants inviting in customers with their shouts and yells. Some sold fishes and other aquatic animals like octopuses and the like, which I could safely assume was caught straight from the nearby ocean. Some sold miscellaneous curiosities—magic items and the like. I took a look at one and immediately determined that it was fake. No magic inside it whatsoever.

I didn't say anything to the shopkeeper though. I'm not some sort of hero of justice who can't overlook even the slightest evil.

I'm just a failed trash. That's what I am.

_Hmm? What's that?_

_Is that merchant selling books?_

I walked over to the stall. It was somewhat secluded from the others with the merchant just chilling with his own book up on his face.

I picked up one of his books. The title was "The Adventure of The Strongest Knight."

_Probably just the usual fantasy fanfare._

_..._

_Wait, t-this is…_

It's a porn book.

It's absolutely, 200%, a porn book.

It was a story about the titular knight, bedding all kinds of women in his journey to save the princess, whom he bedded in the end as well. Every woman received their own graphic picture as they were conquered by the protagonist, from the innocent barmaiden to the haughty female dragonkin that had kidnapped the princess.

"You want that, boy? 1 gold coin."

I jumped, surprised by the shopkeeper who was now glaring right at me. Nice, he's probably mad I'm skimming through his book without paying.

"Hold on, that look… Boy, something horrible had happened to you, hadn't it?"

_Huh?_

"Those eyes… they look like they've seen death. And recently at that." He scratched his beard. "Fine. You can take some of my books for free. They don't really sell anyways. Bah, you're what, ten years old, yet you already have those haunted eyes? What is wrong with the world these days?"

"R-really?"

"Yes, really. I just hope they could be of comfort to you, boy. Though, take my advice. There's nothing better than a real woman, gahahahaha!"

_Real woman? Does he mean prostitutes?_

_I'm not old enough for that. I haven't even hit puberty yet._

_Not to mention that not only I'll be trash, I'll be cheating trash as well if I start going to such places._

_But porn books are okay, r-right?_

In the end, I took up his offer, though I couldn't fit much in my Bag of Holding. So I only took a handful.

"T-thank you, Sir!" I gave him a smile.

"Now move along, kiddo. You're traveling, aren't'cha? I wish you the best of luck." He grinned, his two missing teeth showing.

And with that, I'm all stocked up on entertainment for a good while.

\----------

I continued drudging through the market, trying my best to keep my Bag of Holding close so no thieves or pickpockets would be able to steal it from me. At times like these, I wish I can use Marina's spatial magic thingy. Then I won't have to walk around with an obvious bag like I'm doing right now.

"Come! Come! Take a look! Our Bramblewood Company sells all sorts of magic items! And they're all guaranteed to work 100%! And if they don't, we'll return your money!"

_Argh! That's loud! So high-pitched too!_

My gaze naturally turned to the source.

_That's… a lizardgirl?_

She was indeed one, red-skinned and all scaly with a lizard head. She wore a simple white dress, with what looked like a necklace made out of some animal tooth worn around her neck. Like a professional salesgirl, she was all smiles as she tried to attract customers to come to her shop.

Beside her was another red-scaled lizardkin, only that they were a tall and buff-looking man instead. He wielded what looked like a halberd, wearing some leather armor as well. _The bodyguard, I guess. Maybe he's even related to the lizardgirl. Brothers and sisters, maybe?_

And then, behind the two of them, the person who actually sat inside the stall, was a Hobbit girl.

She casually sat on a lazy chair, leaning backward with her eyes closed with a pipe in her mouth. Smoke clouds would come out frequently from the other tip, forming a ring-like shape.

_...Wait, have I seen her before? She looks familiar…_

And then, it hit me.

_She's that hobbit girl Marina saved all those years ago! What's her name again? Umm, right, she's Sophie! Sophie Bramblewood!_

"Oi, you thief!"

Suddenly, a bald middle-aged man came forward and slammed what looked like a dagger on the counter.

The big lizardman immediately moved in, but hobbit girl raised her arms, opening her eyes in the process.

"Is something the matter, dear customer?"

"You lied to me, you little bitch! This dagger doesn't work!"

"Ho, this is the Dagger of Safe Cutting, isn't it? What might be the problem?"

"I still cut my finger, even though you say it can never happen if I use this dagger to cook! Look!"

He showed off his bandaged index finger. Sure enough, you could see how the white fabric was reddened.

She gave a good look at the finger for a moment, even giving it a sniff, before letting out a sigh.

"Sir, it's not nice to lie, you know. You're not really wounded, are you? That's just strawberry jam you slathered inside the bandage."

"What? How dare you, you shitty hobbit! You accuse me of being a liar? I'll have you know that I'm the owner of—"

"Take him away, Rudferd." She waved her hand. The lizardman immediately moved, lifting the irate customer mid-sentence and throwing him off the premises, straight to the dirt.

“And give him his dagger back.”

The lizardman then threw said dagger to him, landing right beside his face in quite the threatening manner.

“You’re no longer welcome in this establishment.” He finally spoke. “Don’t bother Miss Bramblewood anymore.”

“Y-you… you uppity—Gaaah! Mark my words, you shitty hobbit! I’ll make you pay for this!”

The man then ran away, but not without taking his dagger with him.

“Alright everyone! Please, don’t mind that! Take your time looking at my merchandise! Like Rina said, it’s guaranteed to work 100%! Here, at the Bramblewood Company, we only sell the real deal! We don’t cheat or lie or scam our customers ever! Your satisfaction is completely guaranteed, so feel free to spend your money on anything you’re interested in!”

Witnessing all this, my jaw nearly dropped.

_T-this is… this is the same Sophie Bramblewood that Marina rescued just a few years back? The same timid and scared merchant girl that just started her business?”_

_Just a few years and she’s transformed completely like this?_

If I had to make a comparison, it’s as if your usual moeblob had transformed into a mob boss. She even kinda acted like that, with how she ordered the lizardman around. Not to mention that pipe of hers… God it felt so weird watching a little girl smoke, though obviously, she’s a hobbit, so she would still look like that even if she’s an adult for a good while. Signs of aging on a hobbit only appeared much later in their life.

And then, her eyes rested on me.

And it promptly widened in surprise.

“Hey, you! Hey kid! You’re Hugo, right?! Hugo Greenwood!”

_Oh shit._

I didn’t want to show myself to her. In fact, I was just about to continue on, pretending not to recognize her.

What would I do if she starts to ask about Marina?

A radiant smile appeared on the hobbit's face. She put down her pipe, most likely putting it in a cabinet underneath her. And then, without any hesitation, she jumped off her chair, did a somersault mid-air, before running right towards me.

"You're him! You're really him!"

"U-uh, excuse me, Miss, I don't think we've ever met before…" I lied, pretending not to know her.

"Whaaat? Don't tell me that you've forgotten about me? I'm Sophie! Sophie Bramblewood! The hobbit girl your sister saved three years ago!"

"O-oh, really?"

"Really! What are you doing here anyway? And where's Marina, huh? Where's your big sister? You're on some sort of family vacation? Going to the Holy Continent? That's one heck of a vacation if that's true!"

"N-no, I'm…"

I averted my gaze. I couldn't look at her bright blue eyes. 

"...O-oh no, don't tell me… you ran away from home because you did something stupid and you ended all the way here?"

_Bingo. She read me like a book._

\-------

I silently let her grab my hand before dragging me to her shop.

"Alright, everyone! I'm sorry but we're going to close now!" She shooed away her customers. They all left with disappointed looks on their faces, which made me feel even worse than I already was.

"H-hey, you don't have to do this, you know."

"Nonsense! I want to have a nice chat with you, over a cup of coffee! I can't do that when I’m attending my shop!”

Not listening to my complaint in the slightest, she then ordered her two servants to start packing up, telling them that they were closing early for the day.

“Miss, is he your acquaintance?” The lizardman named Rudferd asked, eyeing me up and down with suspicion.

“Yes, he is. Haven’t I already told you how I started on this line of work? It’s all thanks to his sister that I can be where I am right now!”

“Aah, he’s the little brother, isn’t he?” The little lizard girl then chimed in with a giggle. “I remember now!” She clapped her hands together, smiling cheerfully. She would be a very cute little girl, I imagine, if I was into lizard girls.

“I see. So you’re the little brother of Miss Bramblewood’s benefactor. Forgive me for my insolence.” He gave a little bow.

_Ah, he’s the silent and loyal type. Perfect for a bodyguard. Or a knight, even._

_Makes sense why she would want one of those. If not to guard her and her goods of monster and bandit attacks on the road, then to protect her from scumbags like the guy from before._

_And besides, it looks cool as all hell to have one just hovering near you, obeying your command with just a single gesture._

They packed up quickly, seemingly well-trained in the matter. I still couldn’t run away, since Sophie kept her grasp at my arm while the two worked.

_Why do I have the feeling she’ll know it if I make up a false story to her? She’s gotten way better at distinguishing lies from the truth all these three years, I think. The way she confidently exposes that baldie’s lie, that’s not how an amateur would do things. She has experience doing that kind of thing. A lot of experience even._

_Heh, to think that a timid girl like her could mature this much in just three years… What have I been doing with my life in comparison? Just messing around with magic, only to fail miserably at protecting those I care about..._

“Hey, what’s with that gloomy look? Something bad really must have happened, huh?”

Once again, she read my expression like an open book.

I sighed. This is going to be hard.

* * *

A/N:

Here's how Sophie looks.


	55. Crossing The Sea

_Whoa, that's… pretty cool actually._

After her two employers packed up everything, the big guy rotated a lever on the back, revealing the fact that the whole stall was actually a convertible wagon. 

"Amazed? Good! I paid a fortune for that bad boy, you know. Got a whole team of dwarves working on it. But this way, I could handily set up shop anywhere I want! Which is really really important since I'm a traveling merchant and all." She patted her chest proudly.

“Where are you going anyway?” I asked, out of pure curiosity.

“I think I’m going to Mira next. Get some magic items that I can buy for cheap to be sold somewhere else. Gotta stock up on that kind of stuff, you know!” She grinned.

“And after that?”

“After that? Hmm, I dunno. I can go to Marchen first or I can go straight to the northwest. Haven’t really decided to be honest.”

“You’re not paying a visit to Hobbiton?”

Suddenly, her cheerfulness vanished.

“You see, I’ve… kinda promised to Mom and Pops that I wouldn’t return until I’m a wealthy merchant. Well, it’s less like promising and more like me just shouting it at them before running away.” She confessed with a sad smile. “And business might be good right now, but I’m nowhere near wealthy. You saw how Rina shouted my company’s name? For now, it’s just me and those two. But in the future, I have a dream to open up other branch shops everywhere, like a proper trading company! Tell me, have you heard about the Rinea Corporation over in the Holy Continent?”

“Umm, no? I’ve never been there after all.”

“It’s the biggest trading company in the entire continent! They say it’s so wealthy and powerful that it can easily take over a small kingdom or two if it wants to! It has branches everywhere and it even has its own mercenary group too! Isn’t that just amazing?”

Her eyes were now shining like the stars themselves. Gone were the menacing mob boss-like attitude she showed before. Now she looked more like a little kid who’s excited from getting a candy.

"Aah, one day, I'll make my own company be that big! Just you wait!" She punched the air with a smile. "I'll sell high-quality goods on the cheap, becoming a company that everyone can trust! I want them to smile every time they hear the Bramblewood name!

_This girl…_

_She's disgustingly naive._

_How can she have this much optimism when all she has now is just a single wagon? How many years will it take her to have an international, continent-spanning company like that Rinea Corporation she mentioned? It's like if a mere street ramen seller with just a cart dreaming that he will have numerous ramen restaurants all over the country one day. It's simply impossible._

_...No, it's not impossible. I've heard and read tales about it happening. A real life rags-to-riches story._

_But what are the odds? All you hear are the success stories. Innumerable others failed horribly, getting into an awful amount of debt and then filing bankruptcy in the end. It's even worse if you actually borrow from unofficial lenders like those Yakuza loan sharks. Your life is pretty much over if you can't pay them back._

_You never heard about them, of course. People only care about winners, not losers._

_As for dreamers like her, it's all survivorship bias, nothing more._

"I think you shouldn't dream that high, Sophie." I blurted out. I couldn't help myself. Even if she had gained quite the expertise in being a merchant, she's still naive in the ways of the world. "It's not healthy, you know, putting that high of an expectation on yourself."

"Really?" She looked genuinely curious. "Why not?"

"Because you would only set yourself up for disappointment."

To my surprise, her expression suddenly turned harsh. She now glared at me, with a genuinely angry look.

"That's how you will become a dissapointment in the first place."

_What?!_

"I would rather fail terribly than never trying at all. That way, at least I can be happy that I've given it my all. But you—your way, that's the way of a loser. You will never be happy living like that, wondering what could've been until the day you die."

"To think that I will hear those words coming out from my benefactor's little brother's mouth, I am disappointed in you, Hugo. Do you think Marina will like it if her beloved little brother turns out to be a coward like—"

SLAP

The hobbit fell to the ground.

My right hand… it flew on its own, slapping her with my full strength.

Before I knew it, I fell to the ground too, as a punch landed on my right cheek. Rudferd didn't hesitate to punch me back after I had hit his master.

He then grabbed me at the collar, lifting me up with his left hand to the air. His right hand was forming into a fist, no doubt intended to crash into my face over and over until he was satisfied.

"S-stop, Rudferd. Stop."

Sophie slowly stood up, wiping off the little blood on her lips with her sleeve.

"He's just a child. Put him down."

"But he hit you, Miss."

"True. But it's just him putting on a tantrum. He doesn't really mean it, alright?"

He then threw me down to the dirt.

"Leave. You are no longer welcome to talk to my master."

And I did just that, ignoring Sophie shouting at me to stop.

Only after I stopped running, I realized that once again, I was crying.

"U-uwaaahhh!"

I wailed like a pathetic child. No, even more pathetic, as I wasn't really a ten year old boy.

I hid in one of the nearby alleys, not wanting to be seen in public in my current state.

_T-temper tantrum? W-what does she know? She's just a little girl who knows nothing about the world! I'm far older, far more experienced in life than she is! She has no right to say all that to me!_

Of course, I was just lying to myself.

Deep down, I knew that she was right.

I'm a loser, a coward, and a disappointment. I'm a piece of human garbage through and through.

Not to mention that my dream was as pathetic as its owner. Unlike her, who reached for the skies, all I wanted was just to get a cute, loving girlfriend and then marry her afterwards, which was what every normal person out there already could do without a problem.

I took out one of the books I got from that vendor, quickly giving it a skim. Back in my old life, when I got upset, one way I would calm myself was by reading the books I had. 

It was titled "The Demon King Wants A Family." It was a story about a powerful demon king realizing that he wanted to experience love the same way humans do. He ended up proposing to the human maiden that was sacrificed to him by the other humans, and they immediately fell in love with each other. The demon king loved her for her innocence, and she loved him for being the only person that had ever cared about her and showed her love.

It was less of a porn book and more of just a sweet, saccharine-filled romance, though the author delightfully drew their intimate moments in bed together many times.

The two ended up having an adorable little daughter, and the epilogue was the demon king deciding that he would rather care about his family than to take over the world.

And that was how the world was saved. With love.

_This is it. This is what I want._

_It's terribly cheesy, but it's exactly what I want my life to be._

_I want to have a beautiful woman as a wife, and then cute little children that will call me Daddy or Papa in the most adorable way._

_I even am willing to bear being stuck in a painfully boring dead-end job if I can just have that when I return home._

_Of course, if you tell me to go all out with my wish, then I will also want to become a rich and famous and even a powerful person. I want my name to be entered in the history books, so that I will leave a lasting mark on the world after I died._

_I will also shamelessly wish to have more wives, because like the pervert I am, I want to experience having a harem like all those protagonists I've read about. I want to be surrounded by many beautiful women in bed who all craved for my touches and kisses. Of course, I will be a sex god who can satisfy them all every single night._

_It's a perverse dream, fitting for a perverse person like me. I don't care to better the world or to help people, like Sophie is with her company. I just want to satisfy my sex drive and to pat my own ego in the back._

\--------

In the end, I decided on just smuggling myself across the ocean.

I decided that I didn’t want to stay in this town any longer. Not with that hobbit around.

She’s right. I am a coward. I’m now running away from her. Just like how I ran away from Marina and Erika. At this point, I had accepted that fact.

I scouted the docks with the remaining sunlight, asking around with the sailors there which ships were going to depart to the Holy Continent—the sooner, the better.

After weighing my options, I decided on a cargo ship called the Bountiful Seamaiden. It departed right this night, which would just be perfect for my purpose.

With the pitiful amounts of money that I still thankfully had, I bought water and food for the trip. According to the sailors I’d talked to, it would take only five days to go across, with the ship arriving at the sixth.

Now, the question is, how should I sneak onboard?

Naturally, I would aim for the hull where all the cargo would be stored. With how large the ship was, and with how small I was, it should be easy for me to hide amongst all the crates and containers.

The problem was, how could I get there safely, without being spotted by any of the ship crew? They would certainly have people guarding the place. Not to mention that I would have to enter the ship in the first place. Thank God the port was a deep water port, so I could get direct access to the ship from land. If it was a shallow water port instead, you would need to ride a boat to get onboard the ship, as it couldn’t dock so close to land without grounding itself.

Well, I already knew where the ship was docked. I just had to wait until night fell and then look for my way in. The sailors said that it would depart at midnight, so I had some hours to spare before I would miss it.

\----------

In the end, I could only think up one really risky and honestly pretty dangerous plan.

The ship was large, and on a moonless night like this, you couldn’t even see the part where the hull touched the seawater.

Perfect for a place where I could sneak in.

_Here goes nothing!_

I used my Wind Step as quietly as possible, flew over the surface of the water to that spot of the hull, and froze the water underneath me, creating a platform that I could stand (relatively) safely on. 

_Whew, that’s the hardest part done. They didn’t seem to notice me, thanks to the night being so dark. I’m lucky that it’s winter right now._

Then, I used a precise fire spell to open a peephole in the wood. It’s basically Fireball, only that the heat is completely focused on the tip of my wand.

_Hmm… let’s see here…_

_Umm, it’s all pitch black. That means nobody should be around. Anyone would be carrying lanterns inside the ship._

Using the same fire spell, I made a hole large enough for a child’s body to fit through. The wooden plank fell off inside, nearly giving me a heart attack, but no one seemed to react to the noise.

_Good. There really isn’t anyone there then._

I then sneaked inside, landing on the wooden floor as gently as I could.

I paused for a few moments, sharpening my ears if I could hear anything around.

_Nothing. Then I guess I could light up the room._

I did just that, using another fire spell, revealing the fact that I was lucky enough to end up straight in the cargo bay where they stored all their wooden crates and containers.

_Nice! I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly to be honest!_

I stopped the fire spell, not wanting to accidentally burn something. That would be disastrous.

I then turned back to the hole I just made. Using a hybrid spell of water and earth, I formed hardened mud to block the hole I just made, ensuring that the hull remained watertight.

And with that, my sneaking mission was a complete success.

_Now, all I need to do is find a good spot that I can use as a makeshift camp._

\--------

A few hours later, accompanied by a loud horn that permeated even all this way inside this storage, the ship finally departed.

I took a deep sigh of relief. They didn’t bother doing another throughout check this close to departure, I suppose.

I ended up taking a spot amongst five large crates that formed a U, allowing me to rest my back while at the same time hiding me away from view. I didn’t bother looking at what the crates contained, as I wouldn’t want to risk it by opening them. It could be fishes, it could be precious jewels, or it could be even gunpowder.

I admit it. I actually considered stealing their contents if they really contained jewels, but I stopped myself. I didn’t want to lower myself any further than I already am.

I’ll get my money by doing honest work. Once I’m in the Holy Continent, I would be safe to start anew as an adventurer. I’ll use a fake name even. I don’t believe the Guild has any rules against that.

As the ship started to move, I realized something.

_...Oh right, I don’t know if this body is susceptible to seasickness like my old self was. Oh please, don’t get seasick. I’ll be screwed if I start vomiting around. The noise might alert someone that I’m here._

_I really didn’t think this through, did I?_

\---------

For the next several days, I was stuck there in the dark, spending my time reading the books I had gotten for free using my dimly lit wand as a flashlight. It was all that I could do, other than sleeping, to pass the time. Luckily, no one really checked on the cargo. They probably locked the front door tight with guards standing at all times so they thought there would be no need to ever check the interior of the storage room.

As I had expected, the books were indeed, well, to put it frankly, trashy. They were the kind of books you would only read just to pass time, turning off your brain in the process. They had no merit whatsoever, literary or otherwise.

And yet, I continued to read them anyway. Just because I would imagine myself being in the shoes of the main character.

Currently, I was reading the one titled, "The Retired Hero's Adventures". It was a story about a hero who had saved the world, going around solving people's problems with his overpowered self. It was quite obvious that the author based it off the Legendary Hero himself. He got an innocent cleric, a cool mage, and a beautiful princess all vying for his attention. The princess, by the way, was based by how the Legendary Hero married a princess of some kingdom back then. Said kingdom, of course, would become the Holy Empire in the future. 

The story was terribly boring, with the main character just solving everything with his OPness in one hit. However, you wouldn't read this kind of stuff for the story anyways. You read it for the girls.

And I had to say...

_Aargh, this lucky bastard! He gets all these beautiful girls clinging in his arms!_

_God, I wish he was me! I want to fondle a princess' big boobs all over as she moans cutely! I want to have a cute miniskirt-wearing witch that constantly flashes her panties every time she casts her spell! I want to accidentally walk into a shy priestess while she’s changing her clothes!_

I spent my five days like this. Just reading lewd books in the dark. Probably breathing heavily in the forest. At the very least, I didn’t do **that** as well, seeing how I wasn’t old enough to have the urges yet. So I was just slightly less of a loser than my old self.

And at the sixth, when I heard the horn announcing that land was coming, I opened the hole I had made before, and escaped that way.

I quickly ran off using my Wind Step, no longer caring whether I was seen or not. They wouldn’t be able to catch me anyways.

And with that, I arrived at the Holy Continent at last—at the port town of Frastelleren, at the far south end of the continent. All without a ticket or a pass, which I imagine would be necessary if I had chosen to travel normally. I didn’t have money for the ticket. As for the border pass, I believe you can actually use your Adventurer Card as a replacement, but it would be too risky to register myself on the Guild there, seeing how I’m still in Magocracy territory and all. I don’t want to give them a lead on where my last location is (even though it may be really obvious, seeing how Tulpio is the only port town you can take from the Magocracy to cross over to the Holy Continent). I might be able to buy a pass in some shady black market or something, but it would 1) be risky, and 2) be really expensive. So this is the wiser choice, even if it technically makes me an illegal immigrant.

_Bah, who cares anyway, when I'm already a wanted man?_

I immediately headed to the city’s Adventurer Guild, as I didn’t even have enough money to pay for an inn right now. I would register and finally start my career as an adventurer at last.

On the way there however, I couldn't help but to start reminiscing.

_Heh, I didn’t imagine that it would end this way._

_All these years, I thought I would start my adventuring with Sherry and Marina on my sides._

_But now, there’s only me and me alone._

With a bitter smile, I pushed onward.


	56. Meet The F-rank Trio!

It didn’t take me long to find the Guild. Just a little asking around and I immediately was given the directions I needed by the kind populace.

_Whoa, so this is how an Adventurer Guild looks…_

I looked around in awe, taken aback by the sheer sense of adventure that it exuded.

All around me were all sorts of warriors. First, there were the knight-types. They wore those full heavy armors and they lugged around large shields on their backs. They were all shiny under the sunlight going through the windows. Looking at them like that, it really felt as if I could rely on them to heroically protect me with their lives 

Then, there were the fighter-types. They wore light leather armors instead. Some used normal swords, some used greatswords, and some even carried around two swords, for some cool dual-wielding, I suppose.

After that, there were the clerics. Most of them wore white robes while wielding around staves, with some wearing those priest hats.

Last but not least, there were the mages. Just like back in the Magocracy, a lot of them wore those pointed wizard hats. Some had staves and some preferred rods and wands. None of them seemed to be like me though, having both a sword and a wand.

There were a few outliers of course. Rogue-types who wielded dual daggers, ranger-types who had a bow and a quiver filled with arrows, and a few others who defied classification altogether, like that guy who wore a clown outfit. What's that for?

Wait, don't tell me. I don't think I want to know.

And man on man, to my delight, some of the female adventurers were outright gorgeous.

One was a female knight with beautiful long golden hair that reached down to her waist. Her armor outright drew attention to her large breasts, as the breastplate had two large bumps jutting out conspicuously.

Another was a catgirl thief, wearing criminally tight and short black shorts. They were low-rise enough so that her tail could waggle around freely, resulting in me getting a wonderful view of her buttcrack.

But the most beautiful of them all however, was ironically enough, one of the receptionists sitting in the far end of the room. I was lucky enough to be able to go directly to her after I was finished ogling the female adventurers. Embarrassingly however, I wasn’t tall enough for the table to look over it comfortably, so I had to fetch a nearby tall chair to lift myself up.

"Hello! Good morning!" She greeted me with a smile.

And I was immediately smitten by her.

If I were to guess, she looked to be in her early twenties. She had a lovely long brown hair that went down over her shoulders. She wore what looked like a uniform—black vest and white shirt underneath, and it clung to her body wonderfully. Her large breasts were practically bursting out of the seams, pressing all too provocatively on the table.

"Well, you're a young one! What might be your business today, young Sir?”

_Aah, her voice! It’s like the voice of sunlight itself!_

“Sir?”

“A-ah right. I-I want to register please.”

I was taken off-guard, as I was blatantly leering at her breasts. Luckily, thanks to me being just a kid, I suppose, she didn’t seem to notice in the slightest.

“Register? Oh, you mean you’re just starting out?”

“Y-yes, Miss…”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” She clapped her hands together. “From which village did you come from? Or are you from around here?”

“I…”

I paused. I nearly almost told her that I came from across the sea. But there was no reason why I should tell her that, especially since I was supposed to start all over, now that I was in this new continent.

“I-I’m from this town, Miss,” I replied.

“Ah, I see. Please fill this form then. I’ll fetch the Oracle Orb in the meantime.”

“Oracle Orb?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she just gave a smile before sitting up from her seat, turning around before bending over forward, going through the cabinets behind her.

_Uoohhhh!_

My jaw nearly dropped.

_H-her butt! It’s… it’s…_

_It’s gorgeous!_

_The way her black pencil skirt wrapped itself tight around it, to the point that I could see its shape clearly! Not to mention the pantyline she’s proudly showing!_

_What a divine sight! Aah, I am truly blessed! Truly blessed indeed!_

My perverted mind immediately went into overdrive. I could just imagine myself standing behind her, unzipping her skirt, taking off her panties (which should be a sexy black or red pair!) and then plunging myself into her while my two hands groped her breasts.

“Here it is! The Oracle Orb!”

To my grave disappointment, she quickly found the thing she seeked, ending the wonderful sight after just a minute.

“Oh my, you still haven’t filled them? What’s the matter? You can read and write, can’t you?”

“A-ah, r-right…”

My face must be red right now, though judging by her giggle, she didn’t expect the redness to come from me ogling her. She probably thought I was just a normal, ordinary shy boy.

I was so glad that I had this body over my old unattractive one. If I ogled anyone with that body, I would immediately be labeled as a disgusting creep. Which what I deserved really, if I were to be honest.

I looked at the form and saw how simple it was. It only asked for my name and what my combat role was. I guessed she meant my class by the last one.

_Let’s see here… what should my name be?_

I had intended to use a fake name after all. There’s no good reason why I would use my actual name, especially since there’s always a chance of the Magocracy sending assassins at me after what I did to one of their leaders.

_How about… Charles Pendleton?_

It was the first name that popped out in my head. Charles seemed like a good name for a boy, and Pendleton had that fancy feel to it that might hint of me belonging to the upper class. I wouldn’t outright admit to people that I am the son of a noble or anything, but I think it might help with making it easier for people to trust me.

I filled in my fake name, and of course, I entered “mage” as my combat role.

“Thank you, Sir Charles!” She gave another one of her lovely, lovely smiles. “Then, please put your right hand on the Orb.”

There was now a light blue orb sitting on the table, attached to a small pedestal-like box underneath it. It really resembles those crystal orbs you would find when you visit a fortune-teller.

I did as she told, grasping the orb on the topside with my right hand.

_Whoa!_

It immediately shined, nearly making me take off my hand. Whew, I thought it was going to explode or something. It dimmed soon after. So no theatrics like you would get with a fortune-teller.

“Now please take off your hand.”

I complied. Then, she took my form and pressed it into the top of the crystal ball. It shone again once more, before a light clang could be heard from the box underneath it.

And then, a metal card slid out from the small hole on said box.

“Here it is!” She grabbed the card and offered it to me with a smile. “Your very own Adventurer Card!”

I took it from her and immediately gave it a close examination.

It was made out of some kind of metal. Its color was silver, and you could see texts engraved on top of it in black.

Name : Charles Pendleton

Age : 10

Sex : Male

Race : Human

Role : Mage

Rank : F

_Huh, neat. Must be some sort of a magic device. Kinda reminds me of when I got my first debit card, though the form then was far, far longer than this one. And no crystal balls either, naturally._

“Now, I’ll give you an explanation on how you would take quests and report them!” She clapped her hands. Why was she so excited anyways? I never met a customer service worker being this cheerful before. I mean, this is basically one of those jobs after all. Just sitting all day wearing a fake smile, having to put up with rude customers here and there, as well as some perverted one who would ogle you if you’re a beauty like her (oh, I’m sure those exist). If I were in her spot, I would never be able to be as high-spirited as her.

“So, you would first want to check out the boards over there.” She gestured towards them at the side of the room. “You pick the quest you want—can only be one more or less than your current rank, by the way—and then you bring it to me. Got it?"

"Got it, Miss." I gave my brightest smile. "And thank you for the explanation!" 

The method she described was just like how I imagined it though, thus I didn’t really need her to explain it to me in the first place. Gotta be polite after all, especially to pretty girls like her. 

I jumped down from my chair, stuffing the card to my pocket.

"You're welcome!" she replied, standing up and giving me a bow. _Yep, those boobs are bouncy alright._

I remembered Father explaining how you could exchange currency in any Guild branches that I came across, so I should be able to change my money here to Imperial coins, which was the currency most widely accepted in this Holy Continent. But seeing how I only got a handful of copper Magus coins with me, which was the currency of the Magocracy (and Marchen as well), there really was no point in converting them, especially since you would have to pay a certain amount of fee for doing so.

_Heh, she forgot about explaining that to me, now that I think about it. Should I tease her for it?_

_Nah, she probably just thinks there’s no need for it, since I said that I’m a local._

As I walked away, I heard her say to her friend, "What a polite kid! He must come from the wealthy part of town! He might even be a noble!"

 _Hehe, a noble, huh?_ I couldn’t help but grin.

Vanity filled my head. I loved it when someone praised me. Probably because I always hungered for validation from others. It's pathetic, I know. But that's just how I am. I remembered when I strived to get the best grades in elementary school so Mom and Dad would praise. And how much I loved Renee rubbing my head and telling me how I'm a—

_Oh…_

_Goddamnit, why must I think about that now?_

_There goes my self-esteem again._

The light feeling in my heart disappeared, replaced by sadness once again.

\---------

_Hmm, let’s see here..._

Since I was just an F-rank, the only quests I could take were F and E-ranked quests.

_...Wow, these are absolute garbage._

The F-ranked quests are all just menial labor stuff, like finding lost pets or cleaning up warehouses. There’s nothing adventurous about them.

The E-ranked quests on the other hand only sent you out to the outside of the port town to fight against E-rank monsters, like horned rabbits on the plains and rock crabs on the beach. Wasn’t Sherry already able to beat the crap out of a horde of E-rank monsters on her own, barehanded, when she was only like eight, as a way to relieve her stress?

Of course, the pay was garbage as well. But I had no choice. The Guild didn't allow skipping ranks, even if you were wildly overqualified for the job.

I took the quest to kill horned rabbits and take their horns, sighing in the process. _Might as well get this over with so I can get an inn._

\---------

The plains outside of the town were barren, thanks to the season being winter. It probably would turn back green once spring came. It was a little different than the plains back home or the Lazarus Plains near Mira, as there were far more trees around here. Palm trees, in fact. It was quite weird though, seeing them here. I thought palm trees could only grow on beaches.

_Alright, where are you, horned rabbits? I need to pluck those pretty horns off your heads if I’m going to get a place to sleep tonight._

I walked around for a while before I spotted one, just hiding behind one of said palm trees.

_So, how should I get that guy? I wouldn’t want to damage the horn, so it has to be a quick and clean blow._

“Spark!”

I fired off an Intermediate-level Thunder spell. It immediately connected, electrocuting the poor thing to death. It plopped down with only minor burns on its skin. Its horn? Completely undamaged.

_Yep, that would work._

\------------

I spammed the same spell over and over for an hour or two, gathering the horns into my Bag of Holding. _My God this is dull. This is how it feels to be an overpowered character killing small fries in the first area of the game, I suppose._

“Help! Somebody help!”

_Huh? That’s…_

“Please help somebody! Kyaaahh!”

_That’s the scream of a girl in distress!_

I immediately flew using my Wind Step to where the voice was coming from. 

Only to find a trio of adventurers, facing off against a really angry looking giant-sized boar. It was a dire boar—a C-rank monster. 

Two of them were males with the remaining one being a female. They were just around my age, maybe a bit older, and their party composition seemed to be one knight, one fighter, and one mage, with the girl being the latter. Knight boy was blonde haired, fighter boy was dark haired, and mage girl was violet haired. Knight boy didn't Only the mage girl dressed quite peculiarly, as she wasn't wearing the usual mage robes. Instead, she wore a combination of a purple poncho over white wide-sleeved robe and a red long skirt that reminded me of a hakama. Oh, and she also had a red headdress on her head.

“Guaahh!”

The giant boar rammed into the boy knight, shattering his wooden shield and sending him flying backwards.

“Aarghhh, you bastard! Take this!”

The fighter boy furiously stabbed his sword towards the side of the boar, only to find out that he was nowhere near strong enough to really push it all the way in. He then panickedly tried to pull it out, only for the boar to kick him right on the gut, sending him flying just like his friend.

“Felt!”

The girl was now absolutely in tears, and her hands shook as she aimed her staff at the beast.

“O-oh Spirits of the Earth! Grant me your power and—”

_Shit! She’s lost her mind! She can’t just stand there and chant a powerful spell when the boar is right there in front of her!_

“Rock Cannon!”

A boulder flew at high speed right towards the boar’s head. It crashed, and in a single blow, knocked it down dead.

The girl, still in disbelief in what just happened, fell down to the dirt. She didn’t even look at me before rushing to the wounded boy.

“Felt! Oh Felt! Are you alright?”

I rushed there as well, and just from a glance, I could tell that the wound was fatal.

“I-I’m fine, Lily. I just… need to rest…”

_Bullshit! He probably broke his ribs from that kick! He could even have some internal bleeding as well! You’re just acting cool, aren’t you, boy?! You must be awfully in pain right now yet you still smile like that!_

_Damn it, if only I can cast healing spells!_

_...Wait, maybe I can’t, but she can!_

“Great Fairy, come out and heal this boy!”

Immediately, the familiar azure-haired fairy appeared. “Aye aye Sir!” she cheerfully said before moving in to get closer to the wounded boy.

“W-what? A-a fairy?” The girl named Lily looked at her in fright.

“Don’t worry! I’m here to heal him, just like my master told me!” The fairy replied with a smile.

The girl moved to the side, looking towards me with a confused and bewildered look.

The great fairy then moved her hands near the boy’s mouth. “Drink this, alright? It’ll heal you.”

“Drink wha— argglugluglug.” The boy’s mouth was promptly assaulted with a jet of water.

“Don’t spit it out! Drink it all down!” The fairy yelled.

_W-wow, that looks awfully uncomfortable…_

In the end though, the water he drank started to work, and he immediately felt the pain inside him disappear.

“I-it works!” The boy smiled in awe. "I-it doesn't hurt anymore!"

“It does?! Oh, thank you, Miss Fairy!” The girl immediately threw a hug at her.

“Hehe! You're making me blush!"

I smiled as well. _That was close. If I had let another person die on my watch..._

\---------

"Thank you so much!" The three said in unison, bowing as deeply as they could.

_Ah, this feels nice…_

My vanity resurfaced, and I grinned as I looked over the three young adventurers that I just helped.

“No problem! That’s what a senior should do to their juniors after all!" I put my hands on my waist cheekily. _Yep, I'm totally their senior. Even if I might be younger than them, and I haven't even completed my quest yet, and that I just wet my bed a week ago… B-But on fighting skills, I'm totally their senior!_

"Wow, you're really amazing, Senpai! You can kill a big monster like that in just a single spell!” The knight boy said with starstruck eyes.

“Yeah! Wasn’t that an Advanced-level spell? And you can cast it without a chant? That’s really amazing!” This time, Lily was the one to speak, with her eyes being just as bright as him. “I can’t even cast Beginner-level spells without chants yet!”

“What rank are you, Senpai?” The fighter boy named Felt spoke next. “We’re just starting out so we’re still F-ranks.”

“W-well, I’m—” _Shit, what rank should I be if I’m their senior?_ “—C-rank, yes! I’m a C-rank!”

“Woow, a C-rank? That’s awesome!” The knight boy replied. “Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? I’m Byron!”

“I’m Felt!”

“And I’m Lily!”

“And together, we’re the Felton Village Adventurers!” Byron finished it up by punching the air.

_U-uh, right…_

“That’s the name of our party by the way! Since we come from there after all!” Lily beamed.

_Oh, that’s right… Normally, adventurers wouldn’t just go solo. They would have a party consisting of several people doing the same quest together._

_I don’t need that though. At least, not for now. Not when I’m still this low of a rank._

“And I’m Hu—I-I mean, Charles. Charles Pendleton.” _Whew, that was close._

I offered my hand to each of them, which they readily shook with wide smiles on their faces, as if they were shaking hands with a celebrity. Well, I was their savior after all, so it wasn’t odd for them to react that way, especially since they were still young and impressionable.

“I-if I might ask, Senpai, y-you’re here for a quest, right? M-maybe we can help?” Lily spoke, her expression a mixture between shyness and determination. _D-damn, now that she’s all up on my face like this, I just realize how cute she is!_

“N-not really. I can handle it by myself just fine,” I replied. I couldn’t tell them that my quest was just a lowly E-rank one after all, or else my lie might be exposed! “I-in fact, I think it’s too dangerous for you guys! I’m off to hunt monsters far stronger than that boar, you know!” _There. That should deter them. Feels bad lying to them like this though._

“I-I see.... Of course you would take quests like that, huh?” Lily retreated with a look of sadness. _Damn it, don’t give me that look! You’re making me feel even guiltier!_

“Of course, Lily!” Byron interrupted. “A C-rank like Senpai would take quests far more difficult than what we can handle! It’s just common sense, you know!”

“I-I just want to repay his kindness, that’s all…”

“Well, nothing we can do for now,” Felt then chimed in, patting her on the back with a melancholic look. “We’re still too inexperienced. And we lack training as well.”

“What are you doing here anyways?” I asked them, out of curiosity. “You said you’re F-ranks, right? So that means you probably take an E-rank quest. Maybe to gather horns from the Horned Rabbits?”

“Yea, we came here for that,” Byron answered. “But that boar just suddenly came out of nowhere and charged at us! We weren’t planning to fight it in the first place!”

“Then why didn’t you retreat?” I asked again. “No sense in fighting an enemy you won’t gain anything out of, especially one that you didn’t expect at all.”

“W-well, that’s because—”

“He’s stupid enough to think that we can win against it,” Felt replied coldly, sending a glare at the blonde kid. “And I was stupid enough to be persuaded by him, even though I was originally against it.”

“I-I was to blame as well!” Lily interrupted. “I-I thought that if I could just fire off my strongest spell, while Byron and Felt distract the monster, we can win against it!”

“Only to find that we’re completely outmatched. That monster was on another level completely,” Felt admitted with a sigh.

_So this is how it is for the normal folks, isn’t it? A boar like that is like an insurmountable opponent to them. Meanwhile, I was already murdering B-rank monsters a few years back with barely any problem._

_Speaking objectively, I really was born with a cheat after all, to be able to become this strong of a mage this quickly._

_...It’s not enough though. It’s not enough when the opponent is like Vera…_

“Hmm? What’s with the long face, Senpai?” Lily asked with a concerned look.

“O-oh, nothing. Just.. reminiscing of my early days when I just started out like you guys.” I gave them a forced grin.

“Oooh, I would love to hear that, Senpai!” She grabbed my hands, eyes all glimmering with excitement. “We can surely use any advice or experience you can give to us!”

“Hey, Lily, don’t be a nuisance,” Byron interrupted “He has his own quest. You can’t just ask him to stay here and chat with us like that.”

“R-right… sorry…” She withdrew her hands.

 _Thank you, kid._ I gave a little smile towards the boy knight. _As much as I love the praises they have been giving me, especially since one of them is a girl this cute, I really don’t want to lie to them any further. This is already bad enough as it is._

_Not to mention that I really have nothing that I can teach them. I’m just a natural genius with magic. And they’re just ordinary kids. No matter how hard I teach them, I will never be able to bring them up to my level._

_Such is the nature of this world, and my old world as well. It’s a lie that you can accomplish anything with just hard work. You need talent as well._

And with that, the trio decided to retreat for the day. After showering me with another round of praise, and stating that they hoped they could meet up with me again so that they could repay me, they left for the city.


	57. The Joy of Grinding Quests

_And there they went. Really, what a bunch of adorable kids. Hope they’ve learned their lesson on not underestimating their enemies._

_But why would that boar be here in the first place? It’s a C-rank monster. If its habitat is really around here, then the quest to gather materials from those E-rank monsters shouldn’t be classified as E-rank quests in the first place._

_Hmm, maybe it just so happens that the boar wanders off on its own all the way here?_

I watched as they slowly faded to the distance. They should make it to the city safely on their own. I didn’t really see any other dire boards around when I walked through the area.

“Well…” I turned to my fairy summon, which still hadn’t left yet by the way, “It’s just you and me now.” I gave her a wry smile.

“Maaasterrrr!”

Before I could do anything, I was assaulted by softness, as she threw herself onto me, pressing her breasts into my face. I was lucky that she was floating with her wings, or else I might have been knocked down by her weight.

“U-umphhh...umpphhhhhh!”

Her two mounds weren’t that big, but thanks to her grabbing the back of my head so tightly, I could barely breathe. At the very least she smelled really good up this close. It was a fresh and pleasant smell that reminded me of that clean air you could breathe in in the middle of a forest right when the sun just went up.

I would enjoy the sensation, if not for the fact that I was slowly suffocating in the process.

“C-can’t breathe…”

“A-ah, s-sorry!” She quickly released me. “I-I just got carried away! I was so grateful to see that you’re still alive! The last time you summoned me, I couldn’t protect you at all from that spell! I thought you had died from it!” she said, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

“Couldn’t summons feel when their master is dead though? Since their bond would be severed and all?”

“...N-now that you mention it, t-that’s right! I would feel it if you actually have died! Ehe...ehehehehehe!”

_...This fairy really isn’t too bright, is she?_

“Well, I guess I have to apologize to you, don’t I? I summoned you twice without paying for the cost.”

“...Oh, that’s right! I’ve totally forgot about that!”

“Welp, guess that means you don’t really care whether I do it or—”

“N-nonononono! I want the headpat, Master! The headpat and the praise!” She promptly interrupted me.

“Alright, alright.” I chuckled. I’m having too much fun teasing this fairy. Though it felt weird though, now that she’s actually bigger than me. And now, I actually can see her as a normal girl.

_Yeah, those boobs are pretty soft…_ _Maybe I should ask her to let me grope them._

_...N-no, I can’t do that! That’s abusing her summoning contract, isn’t it? Sexual favors certainly aren't part of the package!_

I quickly threw the idea out of the window. Not only that I didn’t want her to see me as a pervert, I remembered the folktales from my old world, about how it’s dangerous to fall in love with the Fair Folk. Though I have to question whether that applies here, especially since this Fey is nowhere near as cunning or tricky as the Fey I’ve read in those old books.

“There, there. You’ve done a good job. Without you, I’d already be dead. Twice.” I said as I patted her head.

“Hehe, thank you, Master!” Her wings fluttered faster, showing her excitement. “Oh, that reminds me, how about Earth Sprite? You haven’t paid her either, have you?”

_Oh right. I completely forgot._

“Earth Sprite! Come out!” I ordered. She immediately manifested in front of me.

“Hmph.” She huffed, throwing her head to the side.

_Oh crap, she’s mad, isn’t she?_

_Well, might as well do it right away._

“Hep!”

“Kyah!”

I lifted her up from behind and hugged her tightly. Whispering to her ear, I said, “Thank you for saving me back then from the snake. I really would’ve died with you, you know.”

And then, she suddenly disappeared.

_H-huh? What just—_

“Hehe, I think she’s just shy, Master!” The other fairy giggled. “She’s blushing terribly, you know, when you did that!”

_Ooh, really? Damn it, I want to see that!_

“Well, Master, if you got nothing else for me to do, I’ll take my exit!”

She vanished as well, but not before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

I smiled.

_Even if I got no one else, I still have my summons with me, I suppose._

\----------

Afterwards, I extracted the meat from the still dead boar, knowing that I could use it as food for quite a good while. _Would have to buy some salt later though, to preserve them._

As I cut through its thick skin however, I started to reminisce how Father taught me to do it for what seemed like an eternity ago.

_"That's not how you do it, Hugo! You have to cut it horizontally, like this!"_

_..._

_"Good! Good! That's how you do it! You're now one step closer to becoming a real adventurer!"_

_..._

_Drip..._

...Oh…

Goddamnit, I'm crying again. 

Heh, glad that no one is around to see me being uncool like this yet again.

I soon finished, and continued my journey onward to gather those horns. As for the remaining carcass, I burned them, just so there wouldn't be an unsightly and smelly corpse left around.

I got as many horns as I could from the rabbits. The quest said that the more I got, the more I would get paid. And after a certain amount, it would count as two quests. And then three. And then four. And so on.

I burned their corpses too once I extracted the horn. Their meat was inedible unfortunately. Supposedly, from the monster encyclopedia I had read, it tasted really, really bad.

And then, when night fell, I returned back to the port town.

\---------

My client was apparently some alchemist with his own shop in the city, so I headed there straight away. I needed the money. Bad. My stomach was grumbling and I hadn't gotten an inn yet either.

It was a decently sized building in the middle of the city. I immediately could tell it was an alchemist's laboratory, thanks to the large sign the owner had put outside.

_Heh, Ravan's Alchemic Atelier, huh? The client really did state his name was Ravan._

I knocked on the front door, patiently waiting until the person inside to respond.

"Hello?"

The one to open the door was a middle-aged man, perhaps on the older side. He had a white goatee and a monocle, and he wore a long grey robe.

"Sir Ravan?" I asked

"That is me, child," he replied.

"I brought you the horns you want, Sir." I gave him a smile.

"Hmm?" He adjusted his monocle. "You're an adventurer? You brought me horned rabbit's horns?"

"Yes, Sir!" I continued my smile. "A lot of them in fact."

"Good, good." He smiled in response, stroking his goatee. "Come in. I'll fetch you some tea."

I followed him inside.

_Whoa, so this is how an alchemist's workshop looks…_

First impression? It was messy. Really messy. Even worse than my own room.

Second impression? It looked like the laboratory I used in high school as part of my chemistry lessons. Only far more disorganized.

Third impression? The strange smell in the stale air overwhelmed me, nearly making me gag. _Urgh, this must be the combination of all the smells of his potions and drugs. Can he even work in a place like this?_

"Come, come. Here. Sit here."

He shoved an entire pile of books off the corner of one of the tables before gesturing for me to sit down on the chair near it.

"Umm, sorry, Sir. But I'm in a hurry right now so I can't stay and chat." I explained to him. I didn't hold anything against him, only that I seriously wasn't comfortable taking any drinks from an alchemist I knew nothing about, especially since he seemed to be living alone. What if he was the mad scientist type and he ended up drugging my tea with some sleeping or paralyzing poison, just so he could test his experimental drugs on me? Brr, I shivered just thinking about it.

"A-alright then… now come… show me the horns…"

One by one, I took the horns from my Bag of Holding. It took quite some time, since I managed to get around a hundred of them.

When I finished, there was an entire pile of them on the table. And the alchemist was looking at me with awe.

"S-so many… Let me count them first.”

I watched worriedly as he did his own count of the horns. _Uh oh, if he doesn't have enough money to pay for all of them..._

"Exactly 100 horns. And I believe my rate was 20 copper coins for 10 horns. Which means you have earned 200 copper coins. Or would you rather have that in silver instead?”

“In silver please!” I smiled, sighing internally in the process. _He could pay after all…_

He then gave me two silver coins, which was the equivalent of two hundred copper coins. I put it inside my purse before putting that inside my bag.

“Thank you, Sir!” I replied, turning around to leave.

“Wait, you forgot this."

I turned around again to see him holding a metallic card, quite similar in size with my own Adventurer Card.

"You need this to confirm the quest's completion, right?"

"Oh, r-right." _I completely forgot._

"Quest confirmation. Adventurer has supplied 100 horns." He spoke. It responded by brightening up for a bit before dimming again.

"There. That should be enough, right?" He gave it to me with a smile.

"R-right…" I took it from him.

"Thank you again, young man. These horns will help me greatly in making my potions."

And with that, my first quest was complete.

\---------

I decided to report the completion tomorrow. For now, I needed some food, an inn, and a bath as well, if possible. I hadn't taken the latter since forever.

In the end, I took a cheap inn and ate in a cheap pub. The bath though, I decided to not waste my money on the town's public baths. I could just use my water magic in my room, cleaning it up afterwards with the same magic. Ah, isn't magic just convenient?

One night at the inn made me spend 20 copper coins, and the food at the pub in total took 5 copper coins. So I now only had 1 silver coin, 7 large copper coins, and 5 copper coins.

I wouldn't waste money needlessly. I would save in case of rainy days in the future.

Or so I thought, until I realized just how bad the stuff you could get from going cheap like this.

First of all, the food at the pub was just hard bread and water. And they both tasted terrible.

Second, the inn I stayed in was barely holding itself intact, with bits and pieces of the ceiling missing, and moss growing in the walls here and there. There were no windows, and the bed was as hard as it could be. And you didn’t even have any locks in the door, which made my paranoid self barely able to sleep.

And that paranoia was well-justified, as in the middle of the night, this burly man sneaked into my room. He’s either here to steal my stuff or to just kill me and rob me while I’m asleep. 

It didn’t matter, as I knocked him out with just a single Wind spell to the head.

I reported the incident to the inn owner immediately, but the old man just shrugged, and told me that he would tell the town guard to come and arrest him the next morning, as if this was a common occurrence.

_That’s it! I’m never going to be a cheapskate ever again! Not only is it unpleasant, it’s dangerous as well!_

\---------

The next morning, I hurriedly left that wretched inn to go back to the Guild.

_Nice, she’s free!_ I thanked my good fortunes that the beautiful receptionist from yesterday wasn’t occupied by another adventurer.

“Miss! I want to report a quest completion!” I cheerfully said to her, taking out the card that alchemist had given me and putting it on the counter.

“Congratulations on completing your first quest, Sir Charles!” _Ooh, her lovely voice and smile send tingles all over my body._ “Let me look at that card first for a sec.”

…

“O-oh my, this is... “

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Miss?”

"N-nothing!" She flashed a nervous smile. "I just didn't expect for a new adventurer to be able to do this in just a day! 100 horned rabbits? That's amazing!"

"Thank you, Miss!" I brightly smiled. Internally however, I was screaming in delight. _Yes, Miss! Praise me more! You can pay my head if you want! Or even better, you can give me a hug and bury my face in those two lovely breasts of yours!_

"And with that, I have to congratulate you once again! You’ve been promoted to E-rank!”

“R-really? Just from one quest?”

“Yes, really! It’s not just from one quest. The client’s minimal amount of horns were just ten after all! And since you got one hundred, it’s similar to if you have completed 10 E-rank quests, which are more than enough to make you rise up in the ranks!”

I then surrendered my adventurer card for a short while so that the rank part could be updated.

“There! Now you can take D-rank quests if you want! Don’t rush them though, if you feel you can’t handle them yet!”

“Don’t worry, Miss! I think I can handle them just fine.” I smiled smugly. Heh, she didn’t know that I was already a Master-level mage after all.

\---------

Afterwards, I decided to stay for a good while in the port town, taking quests while staying at the cheapest inn to gather money for my journey ahead. There would be no point going ahead to the countryside, only to run out of money halfway since little villages wouldn’t have any Adventurer Guilds that could give me any jobs. Just like in my previous world, you had to go to the cities to get the most amount of jobs.

I wasn’t in any rush to get to the Demon Continent, especially since I realized that there might be a chance of Sherry not being in her village anymore. After all, the promise we made said that she would return once Marina finished her education, which would be one year from now. She might already be in the process of traveling back to Marchen.

Which was why I would occasionally ask the receptionists in the Guild for her description—a girl around twelve years old, a sword user, unexpectedly strong physically, and probably have a violent temper (I kinda doubt she would be able to overcome that part of her, even after she grows up).

They never saw her though, which was fine by me. I didn’t expect them to. If she already left, she probably would still be in the Demon Continent by now.

Speaking of not seeing someone, I didn’t see those trio for a good while afterwards. Seeing how they would have to go to the Guild to take and report their own quests, I might just be unlucky in the matter.

The D-rank quests I took sent me further away from the city. There were quests of me going along to the seas with a fisherman’s boat, acting as their bodyguards. One of them however actually tricked me, using me to go hunt a sea monster instead. That sea monster was Lightning Shark, a C-rank monster. And he hired an E-rank to do it, just because he didn't want to spend the money. He took me outside of the normal region where fishermen would fish, right into the territory of the Lightning Sharks. He wanted their fins, as it would fetch him a nice amount of money. He planned for me to protect the ship from the shark’s attack as part of my escort duty, thus “technically” not lying to me. He probably thought I was just an idiot kid who could easily be fooled.

Of course, I had no problem killing it. And I took the fins afterwards for my own, not caring in the slightest of his protests and intimidations. In fact, I ended up scaring him back, as I stated I could just kill him if I wanted to, after I knocked out his pair of bodyguards with my magic. The rest of the crew quickly followed suit. They probably had no love for their greedy captain in the first place. Or they decided it really wasn’t worth their lives to risk opposing me.

After what I did to those mages back at that icy mountain, I really felt I could kill other humans if I chose to. And perhaps that showed in my eyes, which made them so afraid of me in the first place.

Afterwards, I gave a formal complaint to the Guild afterwards. As an adventurer, you could do that if the quest giver lied in their quest description. Imagine if I was actually an ordinary E-rank adventurer. I could’ve ended up dead.

Other than that quest, I also took trips to the west and east of the city, to the beaches. I still got D-rank quests asking for monster parts or herbs that only grew near the ocean. Examples were Sand Tortoises, which armorsmiths wanted for their shells, and Amphibious Sharks, which weaponsmiths wanted for their teeth. Now that I think about it, I don’t really know how weapons and armors are made in this world. How would they even use those? Maybe just slip them in with the usual steel to make a better alloy?

And thus, before I knew it, I reached D-rank at last. Quite ironic how I reached E-rank in just a single day, yet I needed around a month to do the same for the next step. Well, it couldn’t be helped. The fisherman escort quests would require a couple of days, even if the sea monsters I encountered were just D-rank weaklings. And sometimes you couldn’t find enough monsters or herbs to gather in the wild, so you had to spend the night there to try again next morning. Thankfully, I had bought camping equipment for that exact purpose, though I had to spend quite a good chunk of my money to do so.

And I decided that it was time for me to move on. Deeper into the Holy Empire’s territory.


	58. Marina’s Side — Returning Home

**Marina**

“This is the place, right, Miss?”

“Yes, it is.”

I disembarked from the horse—my sight completely focused on the house I was standing right in front of now.

Home.

“Well, it’s been a pleasant journey, Miss. It’s the first time I’ve been all the way out here.” The rider said with a grin, showing that he had one tooth missing.

“Thank you, Alex,” I replied. I learned his name in our journey. It was easier to address him with it than just calling him “Mr. Courier” like she did.

“Miss…” His grin suddenly disappeared, replaced by a concerned look. “Do you… require any other assistance?”

_...He’s smart enough to know that I’m probably in some form of trouble. What a kind soul._

“That will be all,” I responded, only now putting up a smile. “I can take care of myself from now on. You don’t have to worry a thing, Alex.”

“I see… Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

He tipped his hat and bowed, before riding away with his horse. I watched him go until he disappeared over the hill. I probably would never see him again.

And then, I turned around, once again facing the inevitable.

I took a deep sigh. And I entered.

\----------

_It’s just like the way I last remembered it… Nothing has changed…_

_Only that… they’re gone now… and Hugo too…_

_And now, we would have to leave as well…_

“M-Miss Marina!”

Mary was the one who spotted me coming in first. She was hanging the clothes to dry when I walked into the courtyard.

“Miss Marina, oh, Miss Marina, you’re safe! Oh thank the Saint you’re safe!”

She hugged me tightly to the point that it hurt. She also smothered me with her large breasts. Thankfully, it only lasted for a few seconds before she released me.

“You must be so tired, Miss! But don’t worry! I keep your room clean and ready every day so when you arrive, you can use it right away!” she said as she sniffled—tears of happiness falling down her cheeks.

“Oh, that’s right, where are Master and Madam? And where’s Young Master Hugo?”

“...Father and Mother are dead. Hugo ran away.”

I then explained everything that had transpired, from how they went all the way to Vera’s home to save me, and to how Father and Mother perished in the fight against the ice witch, and Hugo deciding to run away because he blamed himself from it. I recited it in a monotone, lifeless manner, as if I was just a distant observer, wholly unaffected by those events.

But before I knew it, tears started to fall down my eyes once again. And once I finished, I hugged the maid, burying myself into her chest once again as I weeped.

I didn’t know why I did it. Only that her soft and warm bosom reminded me of Mother's terribly. I remembered, how many years ago it was, when I was still really young. I was practicing my magic foolishly inside the house, and I ended up starting a fire that would've burned the house if not for Father being nearby.

I was so terrified of my mistake that I was paralyzed. I couldn't even shout for help. I could only stand with shaking legs, crying.

And yet, after what I did, Mother just hugged me, thanking the Saint that I was alright. She didn't even scold me afterwards.

That warmth… I now experienced it again, even if it's Mary's warmth.

If I had known… if I had known that Mother would...

I shouldn't have been so prideful. I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I wanted so badly to grow up so I could be a proper older sister to Hugo that I refused to receive the show of affection Mother loved to do. I told her that I didn't want to be hugged or embraced, especially in front of Hugo. The last time I willingly buried my face in her chest was when I wet the bed as a nine year old girl. I was so ashamed, especially since I had Hugo who had completely stopped doing that. I didn't want to be laughed by him. And so I cried to her, begging for her to hide the evidence. And, like a good mother, she did. Hugo never found out to this day and I managed to keep my dignity as his older sister.

_It doesn't matter now, does it? I have failed as his big sister completely._

_If I had just accepted what Vera wanted of me, our parents would still be alive and he wouldn't have to run away. I should have just sacrificed myself for their sake._

_But now… now our family is in ruins._

I soon recovered, returning back to my usual stoic self. Mary kindly wiped off my tears using her apron.

"Miss…" She spoke. "Do you... want me to—"

"It's fine. I'll do it myself. I'll tell it to her," I replied.

I readied myself, taking a deep breath before I entered the house.

Erika would need me more than ever now. So I have to keep my chin up and be her pillar of support.

Those tears I just showed to Mary… let them be the last one…

\----------

I found Erika inside Father’s study, reading a book down on the floor. I smiled. It made me remember how Hugo and I would do the same, back when we were young. We were bookworms and it seemed little Erika here is one as well.

"Big Sis?" She looked up, noticing my presence. "Oh, Big Sis!"

She threw herself to me, hugging my legs with a wide smile on her face.

"Big Sis, you're back!"

"Yes, I'm back, Erika," I replied, kneeling down to pat her in the head. "You've been a good girl with Mary while I was gone?"

"Of course! I've been a real good girl! I've stopped wetting my bed entirely, so Mary won't have to worry about washing my sheets ever again!" She grinned.

"That's great news, Erika! I'm so proud of you!" I wrapped my arms around her for a hug.

"Oh, where's Mommy and Daddy?"

My smile disappeared.

"They… well, they…"

I hugged her tighter. And told her everything.

\---------

"...Y-you're kidding, r-right, Sis? There's no way… there's no way that can be right."

"…"

"H-hey, i-it's not funny, you know! M-Mother wouldn't like you making this joke! I-I'll tell on you!"

"…"

"Hey, answer me, Sis! Please… please tell me that you're just teasing me! M-Mother! F-Father… t-they can't be… they can't be…"

"U-uwaaahhh!"

Nothing in this world was more painful to me than to hear her tears at that moment. I would willingly accept being tortured once more by Vera if I could make her stop.

She had learned the concept of death at an early age, just last summer in fact, thanks to a certain picture book that had the main character die in the end. It was a sad and harrowing tale of an orphaned boy trying to live on in a harsh and cruel world, yet in the end, he succumbed to it and left the mortal coil as he died starving in the snow.

It was a Milicis religious book, teaching young kids to be kind to those in need and to be grateful for your blessings. Erika had picked it up on her own from here, Father’s study, and she asked Mother on what it meant for the poor boy to die at the end. To my surprise, Mother decided to tell her right away, even though she was just a three-year old child.

Of course, she also cheered her up, saying that the boy would no doubt enter Andalucia, the Paradise of the Poor. In the Milicis Faith, there are several paradises its believers could enter once they left this world. Depending on your virtue, you would enter different types of paradises. Andalucia was one of such paradises. They said that it was a bountiful land free of hunger and want, perfect for those who suffered them in this world.

Knowing her past, of course Mother would know such a thing.

She cried and cried and cried until she fell asleep. Gently, I lifted her up with me as I stood up, putting her light body over my shoulder, intending to take her back to her room.

Mary was standing outside the study, looking as if she was going to cry herself.

“It’s fine,” I told her with a forced smile. “I’ll be there when she wakes up. In the meantime, can you please go to the village and buy a carriage? You can use Father’s money. No need for the horses. We can use the ones we already had.”

“A-a carriage? W-what for, Miss?” the maid asked back, a clear expression of surprise drawn on her face. “A-and the horses… Sir and Madam took them when they rode after you.”

“Oh… Then they must have left them in Rau Uvarsa…”

_I had completely ignored that possibility. Oh those poor beasts… the stablemaster where they’re stored in would no doubt just take them as his own sooner or later… I just hope he’ll treat them right._

“Then, purchase the horses as well. Buy the best and strongest pair that you can get.”

“Why, Miss?! Don’t tell me that you—”

“Yes. I am leaving. With Erika. We’re going to Grandfather’s place.”

Her expression immediately switched into confusion to that of horror. “Y-your grandfather, Miss? May I ask where that is?”

I looked away, pausing for a short while before shaking my head. “...I’m sorry. I cannot tell you. It’s for your own good.” 

“What do you—”

“The Magocracy will soon send its agents after me.” I interrupted her. “And I can’t stay here. Marchen cannot protect me. I need to go somewhere else, where their long arms cannot reach me.”

“And that would be your Grandfather’s place, Miss?”

“Yes. Or at least, I hope so.”

I knew where Father and Mother hailed. And after weighing my options, judging by what they were willing to share with me about their past, I decided that Father’s homeland would be the better option.

“W-what do you mean by ‘hope so’? You’re not even sure if he’s—”

“Enough, Mary.” I gave her a stern look. “It’s what I have decided.”

“Then I should go with—”

“No, you’re not coming with me. You’re going to get married soon, aren’t you? Your place is here, back in Karha Village. I won’t ask for you to ruin your life just because of me. If you come with us, you too would be a fugitive.”

“M-Miss…” She now averted her gaze, and her look was now a mixture between guilt and concern.

“Don’t fret.” I smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

Once Mary left to purchase the carriage, I went to Erika’s room and placed her gently on the bed there.

_Poor thing… to lose her parents at such a young age…_

_I’m already old enough to take care of myself. But her?_

_Should I even leave her with Grandfather?_

I sighed as I took a seat on the nearby chair.

Eventually, I started to doze off, as I was certainly still quite tired from the journey here.

Only to be woken up by Erika, who was moving around in her bed, sweat covering her face.

“Mommy… Daddy… Don’t go…”

She was mumbling in her sleep. It was clear that she was having a nightmare.

And once again, tears started to flow from her eyes.

_Oh, what am I thinking?! I should be comforting her!_

I immediately rushed to the bed, giving her a hug as I laid down beside her.

“Shh, it’s alright, Erika… it’s alright… Big Sis is here… “ I whispered to her as I pulled her close to my bosom.

_This is how Mother did it, right? Just place the head near her breasts like this…_

_My chest might be nowhere near as big as hers, but I hope this will be enough to calm her down…_

_Now that she’s gone, I have to take her role as Erika’s mother._

_I just hope that I can do as good a job as she did when she raised me._

\-------------

“...Sis…”

“...ake up…”

“Wake up, Sis!”

When I woke up, it was because of Erika.

To my surprise, she woke up earlier than me.

“Sis, I… I wet the bed.”

_...Hmm?_

Sure enough, I could feel the dampness on me.

“I-I’m sorry!” She apologized, as tears started to appear in her eyes yet again.

Ah, that explained why she woke up earlier than me.

“Shh, it’s fine.” I smiled, brushing a stray thread of hair near her bright blue eyes back over her ear. “You had a nightmare, didn’t you? About Father and Mother?"

She nodded, before looking away. “So it’s true then. Mommy and Daddy are—” She abruptly trailed off. “H-how about Big Bro? Is he alright?” She looked back at me with a hope-filled yet fearful look.

“He’s fine,” I replied. “But he… well he…”

 _Ran away._ I was about to say that before I stopped myself.

“W-what’s the matter, Big Sis? D-did something happen to him?” Her expression was full of worry, and it only made it even more difficult for me to tell the truth.

“He… left.” was the best that I could come up with.

“Left? What do you mean ‘left’?”

“He… doesn’t want to come home, Erika,” I replied. “Before I could stop him, he already left. Most likely to Sherry's homeland, at the Demon Continent."

Erika's expression quickly shifted, from that of worry, to confusion, to bewilderment…

And then, to anger.

"He promised… He promised to keep Mommy and Daddy safe…" 

She gripped her blanket tightly.

"He broke it… he broke his promise… And he ran away to Sherry…"

"H-how could he… how could he?!"

"Erika, calm down! He… he's just…"

"Just what?" She glared at me, tears pooling under her eyes yet again. "He's a coward! And a liar! I… I hate him!"

Before I could do anything, she bolted out of her blanket and stormed out of the room.

"Oh, Erika…" I sat up, before curling my legs and resting my head on my knees.

_She's right. That idiot is really being a coward by running away like that._

_Why, Hugo? Why do you blame yourself that much?_

\---------

Dinner was awkward, as I had feared. Erika remained completely silent, not even touching any of her food. Mary, who had returned from her task, looked as if she was going to burst to tears at any minute. And I imagined my expression not being that welcoming either.

_And to think that I have yet to tell Erika of our journey._

I sighed. Might as well do it now.

"Erika, I have something to tell you."

She didn't respond.

"Tomorrow, we'll be leaving for the northwest of the continent. We're going to Grandfather's place."

"Grandpa?!" She finally looked at me, with a surprised expression.

"The bad guys that kidnapped me… they're still after me, you see. So we have to go to a safer place."

"T-the bad guys… they're still around?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Even Father and Mother couldn't take care of all of them." I looked away.

"B-But it's not… it's not fair!" She suddenly yelled, slamming her fists to the table. "Mommy and Daddy are dead and yet they're still alive?" Her entire body shook. My heart skipped. Her expression… it genuinely terrified me. Her eyes were bulging out of their sockets, even as she started to cry yet again.

"I know," I replied with a forlorn look. "That's why your sister here had sworn to be stronger."

_If I had been just a little stronger, I might be able to run from Vera. Then this tragedy wouldn't have occured in the first place._

"Really?" Her expression immediately brightened. "You promise you'll beat up the rest of the bad guys?"

"Of course," I replied. "When Big Sis is strong enough, then we can go back here."

_The rest of the bad guys, huh? The rest of the Council, obviously._

_If I am to beat them, then I must become so much stronger than I am now._

_I need to reach Grandmaster-level—no, even more than that._

_If I am going to fight against a number of Grandmaster-level mages, I need to reach a level even beyond that._

_I need to become an Archmage, surpassing all of them in magic prowess._

_I don't care how long it will take. One day, I shall reach that level._

_And then…_

\--------

The next morning, after sleeping with Erika together once more (thankfully, she didn't wet the bed this time around), we immediately started packing for our journey. I packed on my own while Mary did most of the work for Erika’s clothes, toys, books, etc. We couldn’t really carry everything with us though, as my dimensional storage spell capability was limited and there wasn’t that much space in the carriage Mary had purchased. Not to mention that carrying too much goods would just make you a target for bandits and the like since they’d think you would make a good target for them.

Well, if they were just ordinary bandits, I think I could take them just fine though.

“Miss, I’ve finished packing Miss Erika’s goods,” Mary reported to me afterwards.

“Thank you,” I replied, giving her a smile. “You’ve been a great help, Mary. Not just today, but all the years you’ve been employed by Father to help around in the house.”

“N-no, not at all! I should be the one thanking you, Miss!” she replied, waving around her arms in a panic. “Your father paid me unbelievably well for this job and thanks to that, I can actually have my wedding with John!”

John was just an ordinary farmer in the village. I didn’t know the details but over the years he actually managed to woo Mary into agreeing to marry him.

Of course, Father had looked into his background. And personality as well. He didn’t want her valued employee to be tricked into a marriage she wouldn’t be happy about after all. And he told me that there wasn’t any problem with John, that he was a perfectly trustworthy person.

“I’m happy for you, Mary.” I continued my smile, though there was now a wistful, lonely tinge to it. “I hope you will be able to make a happy family with him.”

“Miss… Oh Miss!”

Before I knew it, once again, I was in her embrace.

“I’m so terribly sorry that I can’t accompany you, Miss!”

“I told you, Mary. You’ve done nothing wrong. In fact, here. I almost forgot.”

“Huh?”

After she released me, using my storage spell, I took out a diamond necklace.

“Here. Consider this your severance pay, Mary.” I handed it over to her.

“W-what? T-this is—”

“I suggest you sell it immediately in the city if you could. I stole it from the house of the bad guy that kidnapped me, you know,” I replied with an innocent smile.

Indeed, it was one of Vera’s jewelry. And I had no doubt that it would fetch a good price if she were to sell it.

“Just don’t do it on ‘Benedict’s Beautiful Jewelries’, alright?” I added with a small smirk. Ah, that seemed like such a long time ago, now that I thought about it.

“I-I can’t… t-this is too valuable, Miss!” Her hands shook as she looked over the necklace.

“No, you deserve it. You have not only been our maid, but you've been a part of our family as well. And don’t worry. I still have more of those where they come from.”

If I rationed our coins well, it would be enough until we reached Verus.

“M-Miss, thank you! Thank you so much!”

And once again, I was buried inside her large bosom.

\-----------

It was finally time for us to depart.

Mary had already moved the carriage to the front. Apparently, she had gone all around the village looking for the very best carriage and horses that she could find.

She gave her goodbyes to Erika as well, hugging her in the process, but she wasn’t really responding to her, not giving her a nod of acknowledgment, let alone a smile. She had turned completely quiet.

I would be the one driving. Thankfully, I think I already got the gist of it well enough from all these years watching the driver that brought me from home to the academy and vice versa. A few times I actually got him to teach me how to do it too. He was a kind old man and I was thankful for him to indulge my curiosity.

Erika remained silent, sitting beside me on the driver seat. I told her to go inside but she shook her head. She instead grabbed my left arm and wrapped herself around it.

I smiled. She just wanted to be close to me, wasn’t she?

Mary stood nearby, using a handkerchief to continuously wipe off the tears trailing down her cheeks. I told her that she could just leave the house behind, especially since eventually, another knight would be assigned to live here. I just hoped that it would be the good and benevolent kind, like Father.

_Should I make a visit to Lord Eriol’s place, just to tell him about Father? He’ll probably tell me to move in with him instead. But I will have to refuse. He can’t protect me from the Magocracy._

I decided to think about it more later. For now, we would just make our way to Aarom.

Taking the carriage reins, I whipped the two horses to move forward. The wheels began to turn, and with it, our long journey finally started.

“Miss! Be healthy! And most of all, be happy!” I heard Mary yell as she waved her arm. “I’ll be happy with John! So please, you have to be happy as well!”

I smiled wryly.

_Be happy? Can I even do that anymore?_

_...Perhaps… perhaps if I can get Hugo to come back… then I can start being happy once again._

_But now… I don’t feel anything, other than a desire for revenge, for those who have wronged me and my family. And Erika has shared that feeling as well._

_Don’t worry, Erika. I’ll make sure I’ll get your share of revenge as well._

_One day… one day… once I’m stronger..._


	59. Onward

**Hugo**

It was the morning of my departure, and I had this large map I just purchased yesterday from the local bookstore opened on my bed. To my surprise, it was actually more expensive than I had expected. And it’s much less detailed than the maps back in my old world too. I wonder if it’s just the natural limitation of the age or it’s intentionally made that way. I think I remember reading how back in the old days, they don’t have detailed maps of countries (or at least, the detailed ones wouldn’t be available to the public for purchase) for the sake of national defense, which makes sense really, seeing how knowing whether everything is in the enemy country is an invaluable information if you’re going to invade it.

I had purchased two maps; one was the map of the Holy Empire and one was the map of the Holy Continent as a whole.

“Now let’s see here…” My eyes and fingers began to traverse the drawings.

My first goal was to reach the Ronia Mountain Passage. According to the map of the Holy Empire I just bought, and the map of the Holy Continent in general, the fastest route to reach the Demon Continent was to head to the east from there and then north, all the way up to the one and only port town in the continent that could take me there.

It would be a long journey through multiple countries, but if Sherry could do it, then I should be able to as well.

With the route of my trip being decided, I wrapped the maps back up before putting them inside my bag. Another convenient thing about this Bag of Holding was that it had automatic compartmentalization, so you wouldn’t have to worry about your maps or books being dirtied if you also stored a monster part you just got for a quest inside.

_Hmm, let's visit the Guild one last time. Just in case if there's a quest I can take on the way._

Sometimes there would be quests that you could complete by just reporting it to the Guild without needing for you to go to the one posting the job directly. They called it Guild Quests and the convenient part about them was that you could usually take the quest in one branch while reporting it in a different branch. If there was one that I could finish on my trip to Cecca, the next town where a Guild branch existed, why not take it? I could use the extra money.

“Charles-Senpai!”

As I walked from the front door to the quest board however, a familiar voice called out to me.

It was Lily, and she was waving her hand in the air with a big smile on her face.

And of course, beside her were her two friends, umm, what's their names again? Ah, that's right! Byron and Felt!

Sorry, if it's not a cute girl, I… tend to forget people's names, hehe.

With a smile, I walked over to them.

"Oh hey, it's you guys! Still on the hustle?"

"Of course, Senpai! In fact, we're now E-ranked adventurers now!" The violet-haired girl grinned, patting herself on her flat chest.

"How about you, Senpai?" Byron (the blonde knight boy) then asked. "Have you ranked up yet?"

"W-well, no, unfortunately…" I nervously scratched my chin.

"Eeh? Why not, Senpai?" Lily huffed. _God, this girl is too cute._

"Oh, leave Senpai alone, Lily." The cool-looking black haired fighter named Felt interrupted. "You know that it's only harder and harder to rank up the higher you go, right? To go from C to B in just a month is wholly unrealistic."

"O-oh, really? I'm so sorry, Senpai! I didn't mean to offend you at all!" She bowed her head as deeply as she could.

"E-eh, it's fine. I'm not mad at all really. I'm not even bothered. It's true that I've been slacking off a little lately." I put my hand on her shoulder. _Hngggghh, this girl is so adorable I almost want to take her with me! But I won't, because I have a hunch that her two friends might actually have some feelings for her themselves. They probably haven't actually realized it though, being kids and all._

_It's not my style to NTR another guy. And besides, I already got a cute girl waiting for me. Right, Sherry? Please tell me you still like me after all these years…_

“Senpai is being too nice!” Byron interrupted with own huff. “Lily here has been getting too uppity lately you know!”

“I’m not!” She quickly replied back.

“Yes, you are! You’re always saying Senpai this, Senpai that, and you keep bossing us around like you’re our older sister or something.”

“But I am older than you two! I’m twelve already this month! And you two are still eleven!”

“And next month, I’ll be twelve as well! And Felt the next month after that! So we’re practically the same age!”

I smiled looking at them bicker. _They really are good friends, aren’t they?_

“Oh, by the way, Senpai.” Felt suddenly spoke up. “We’ve decided on moving on to Cecca from today. We’re kinda bored already of this town, unfortunately, so we want to go there.”

“Yep!” Byron interrupted with a grin. “Our goal is to travel the world, you know, so we can’t just stay around in one town for long!”

“Senpai, do you still have business here? If not, then it would be great if you can join us!” Lily added with a smile, grabbing my hand.

_...Dammit, I can’t resist that smile, can I?_

“Well, what a coincidence! I was going there as well!” I replied with my own smile. _And now, I have consigned myself to a babysitter role for these three kids. I just hope I won’t regret this later._

“Wow, really?” Lily grabbed my hands even tighter with her two hands, her bright eyes sparkling like the stars themselves. “Then, you have to come with us! W-we promise we wouldn’t be a bother!”

And with that, my future for the next 18 days was decided. Because that’s how long it would take for us to get there if we walked all the way.

\------

In the end, I didn’t find any quests that fulfilled my criteria, so my trip to the Guild was, in retrospect, a complete waste of time. I didn’t even get to ogle Miss Receptionist one last time before I left, because Lily and co. were there. And I certainly didn’t want to get outed as a pervert to them! All I got were these three kids that I, want it or not, had to watch over.

Oh, by the way, I now knew why Miss Receptionist wasn’t as popular as I expected her to be. It’s simple, really. It turned out that she got this brute of an older sister that told all the other adventurers to stay away from her. She was this giant musclebound of a fighter, wielding a giant axe with her. She was an A-rank too, which made her pretty much the most powerful adventurer around.

How did I find that, you may ask? Why, I met her myself, of course! She loomed behind me as I was having a happy conversation with Miss Receptionist one fine morning. Thankfully, it seemed the fact that I was just a kid saved me from whatever she was going to do to those who got all too friendly with her little sister.

Well, at the very least, Lily here is cute. And you know what they say—cuteness heals the soul.

We departed after lunch, once we made our preparations, making sure that we had carried around all the equipment that we needed. Since they didn’t have a Bag of Holding like I did, they had to lug around these large backpacker-like bags with them. _Man, I really am playing in Easy Mode, aren’t I, having this bag and being this strong so early on? All thanks to her, of course…_

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Senpai? Why the long face?” Lily asked curiously.

“O-oh, nothing! J-just… thinking about stuff, really..” I forced a smile as I replied to her.

Once her attention switched to her friends, I let out a sigh. _Dammit, every time. Every single time I think about her or anyone else back home, I get all depressed._

_And there’s no escaping her. I owe her so much after all, from this bag to my magic training since I was little._

_I want to forget, but I guess I can’t. It’s only been, what, a month?_

_But eventually, my self-centered self will forget. There’s no doubt about it. And I’ll stop feeling sad completely. I’ll move on to my own, new life._

_Sorry Marina, but your little brother is not only a coward, but a selfish one as well._

\-------------

We took our time getting to Cecca. Certainly, I could do the trip far faster if it was just me on my own using my Wind Step spell, but they certainly couldn’t. There was no point in rushing anyways. A journey is supposed to be enjoyed, no?

On the way, we passed by a couple of villages, and we tried to stay the night there if we could. When we couldn’t, we had to camp in the wilderness, in which I had to give them a few pointers on how to set up their tents or how to gather firewood. Once again, I immediately thanked Father for his teachings, only to be reminded of his death and feel all depressed for a good few hours after that.

As I feared, they ended up asking me to take them up as my “adventurer students”, whatever that meant. Especially Lily, who really wanted to be a better mage. It turned out that she only learned magic because of a magic book a trader had mistakenly left behind when he passed by her village. Byron and Felt however learned swordsmanship from their fathers, who were the village guards of the place.

I taught her as best as I could, remembering Marina’s lessons when she taught me back in those happier days (which, once again, sent me into momentary depression). It led to her being able to cast faster, which was certainly a really important thing for a mage to learn. I also taught her positioning in combat, remembering Marina’s golden words about how time is everything for a mage since you need time to cast your spells.

I also taught Byron and Felt, though I couldn’t really teach them much about swordsmanship. I just became their sparring partner, and honestly, compared to Sherry, who was much younger than them, they were nothing. I could read all their moves like a book and dodge them with ease. Our sparring always ended up with them chasing after me desperately while I moved around with my Wind Step spell. Really, I don’t think this is effective training at all. Maybe it’s good to raise their movement speed, but that’s that. No techniques or anything.

I also taught them the general formation of combat, on how they should protect Lily who was their backline. How to fight when attacked from the front, side, and back, and how to retreat from an unwinnable fight, which was the most important thing. I wouldn’t say that I was a master at any of this stuff, seeing how I had been going solo all this time, but Father had taught me how to fight in a party before we fought against Vera. Sure, they didn’t have a cleric, which I really suggested for them to have, but the basics remained the same.

As a result of all that, the monsters that we met on the road—ones that originally caused them trouble, they could take care of them handily on their own without me helping when we were nearing our destination.

Well, those were just D-rank monsters. They would still have major trouble fighting the boar from before, I believe.

\---------

Cecca was another town located near the coastline, but it was nowhere near as busy as Frastelleren. It was mostly a fishing town, with only a small ship taking goods back and forth from Frastelleren. No passenger ship, since the two towns were so close to each other, at least according to this world’s travel standards.

I went to the Guild there and saw that there really weren't any worthwhile quests around. My guess was right. The quests were better back at the larger port town after all.

The trio however decided to take a D-rank quest of being a fisherman’s escort.

_D-rank, huh? They should be alright. I already saw them fighting D-ranked monsters just to be fine._

_Unless…_

I remembered what that fisherman did—the one that took me to fight against a C-rank monster, lying in his quest posting.

_...Yep. I should give this fisherman a good talking beforehand. See if he’s a lying bastard like that guy or not._

I can’t help it. Even though they were complete strangers, and they were older than me, I had grown fond of them from traveling all these days with them. And I certainly won’t want them to fall to danger, especially when I can do something about it.

And so I followed them when they went to meet the fisherman. After asking permission from them of course. Don’t want to be a stalker after all.

\--------

The ship they were going to board on was a small one, as expected. Rich people probably would hire higher ranked adventurers guarding their ships, meaning rich fishermen could go into deeper waters to catch more expensive fishes.

I allowed them to take the lead. It was their quest after all. After speaking with several of the crewmen working around the small port, they were led to the boat they were supposed to guard. Thankfully, the captain was there, directing his crew to prepare for their upcoming trip.

My first expression of the man was that he was old, but not so old to be feeble. If I had to guess, he was around fifty years of age or so. He was a portly man, with a visible beer belly but also with well-toned muscles on his upper body—certainly an interesting contradiction. He had a brown mustache and beard, and judging by the way he interacted with his subordinates, he was a stern yet well-beloved captain, as he happily joked with them, while at the same time remaining in charge of the whole thing.

On the deck however was another man that stood out over the others, as he wasn’t garbed in the same sailor-esque outfit as the others. It was clear as day that he was an adventurer, as he was a tall and imposing figure, wearing leather armor and trousers with a large sword on his back. He had short, spiky black hair and he towered over the other men present. He was casually looking at the sea with his hands folded, turning his back at our direction.

_What’s he doing here?_ I asked myself. _Don’t tell me the old man already got another adventurer before them!_

“Oh? What’s this? Three kids embarking on my ship?” The captain said when the trio approached him.

“You’re Mr. Melron, right?” Lily took the lead with a smile. “Good afternoon! I’m Lily and these two are Byron and Felt! And we’re here to take your escort quest!”

“Oh dear…” The Captain replied with a sigh, before he stroked his beard. “I’ve posted that quest, haven’t I? Oh, I’ve totally forgotten…”

“W-wait, what d'ya mean, old man?” Byron interrupted.

“I mean, I should have taken down that quest today, since Volk here has decided to be my escort instead. Hey, Volk! Come over here!” He shouted towards the intimidating-looking man.

He gave a glance towards the captain, before walking towards the trio. I could tell just by how they took a few steps backwards that they must be scared of him.

Me? Ha. It takes more than just a scary face and figure to intimidate me! Sherry’s expression when she goes all out is scarier than this!

“Volt here is my son, you see. And he’s an adventurer. A C-rank one in fact. He just came back this morning and he offered to help guard the ship from monsters. So truth be told, I don’t really need you three anymore…” He sheepishly admitted, scratching the side of his stache.

“Whaat? But we’ve accepted your quest!” Lily replied. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“W-well, I suppose I can ask for a cancellation at the guild. I’m truly sorry for wasting your time.” He bowed at them.

“Or, you can just bring us along anyway,” Felt smartly suggested with a smile. “We’ve gone all the way here, you know. And we certainly need the money.”

“Hmm, I reckon’ I could… oh, whatever. I can spare a few silvers. Especially to kids like you three.” He suddenly burst out to a laugh.

“Yay!” Lily raised her hands on the air in celebration. “Thank you soo much, Mr. Melron!”

“You three. How old are you?”

Their celebration was cut short when the man named Volk suddenly decided to speak out.

“Umm, I’m twelve and these two are eleven. Why do you ask?” Lily replied.

“Go home to whatever village you three come from and stop playing adventurers.”

This declaration, naturally, immediately took the trio by surprise.

“What?! Hey, Mister! Just so you know, we’re not some newbie adventurers! We’re already E-rank, you know!” Byron was the first one to speak.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Lily followed with a spirited reply. “You can’t just think of us as just some kids!”

“Go home,” he said it again, this time with a glare. “The Guild might accept kids as their adventurers but I won’t.” He folded his arms again.

“Just because you’re a C-rank doesn’t mean you can get all uppity over us!” Byron pointed his finger. “We have our own C-rank mentor, you know! Right, Senpai?”

And with that, I was inadvertently dragged into a conversation.

I walked forward, staring back at the tall man without flinching. He’s just a mere C-rank. I am way above his level.

“Another kid. And what age are you? Ten?”

“None of your business,” I replied coldly, folding my arms as well. His guess was right though. “Look. These three—I can vouch for their strength. Hey, old man, you’re not going too far out, are you? You’re just taking the boat into the nearby sea where there are only D-rank monsters around, right?”

“Y-yes, o-of course!” The captain flustered for a little bit. “I don’t dare going out that far! I’ll need a bigger boat than this to be safe! And I would certainly categorize my quest as a C-rank or even a B, not a D like I did.”

“You’re not lying, right?”

“Of course not! Who do you think I am? Why, I’m the most honest sailor in all of Cecca!” he replied in anger. I must have insulted his personal honor or something.

I gave a good look at him. Hmm, I don’t think he’s the type to lie. The guy that deceived me before was shady from the get go. And he didn’t get along with his crew as well, ordering them around like a slave driver, not being a father figure like this old man did.

“Then, there should be no problem,” I replied with a triumphant smile, looking back at the tall man. “I can vouch for their ability to fight against D-rank monsters. I trained them myself even.”

“Oh? And what rank are you?”

“I’m C-rank. Just like you.”

“Interesting. A kid like you, already a C-rank. I find it hard to believe.”

And then something unexpected happened. In a flash, he reached to his back, drew his greatsword, and brought the tip right in front of my face.

Or, that was what he would do if I hadn’t jumped out of the way.

“Well done.” Suddenly, a small smile blossomed on his face. “You really aren’t lying after all. That speed. You’re no amateur to be sure.”

“Hmph, you’re quite the brave one, to be doing that to another adventurer,” I replied with a smug smile of my own. “That sword swing was slow by the way. I’ve fought a swordsman stronger than you.”

And by that, I meant Sherry. I’m pretty sure she’s faster than this guy.

He sheathed his greatsword back. “Fine. I’ll take your word on them. They can go with us.”

“R-really? Yay! Oh, thank you so much, Senpai!” Before I knew it, Lily already gave me a hug from behind. _Uurgh, she’s so soft! And she smells so good too! Too bad on the chest part though…_

She didn’t linger long though as she immediately released me afterwards. “You’re really cool there, Senpai! You moved so fast my eyes can’t keep up!” She clasped her hands together.

_Wow, really? Did I really move that fast? I never knew. Sherry certainly can keep up with my movements just fine._

“O-of course I did! That’s the power of a C-rank after all!” I pat my chest with a grin.

\---------

Afterwards, I returned to the inn with the three. They would depart on the night and return before dusk the next day. It would just be a simple one day job. And with that guy around, there really was nothing to fear. I’m not really sure why, but after our little meeting, I just feel he’s someone to be trusted.

We had our late lunch together there, but we retired to our own chambers. I felt sleepy so I decided to just take a nap until it was time for them to depart.

Eh, they can do it on their own. Why should I be seeing them off like I’m their dad or something?


	60. Despair Once More

When I woke up, it was already late in the evening. I could hear the rain pouring outside.

_Aw crap, I actually overslept, didn’t I?_

_Oh well, they’re old enough to be on their own._

I went downstairs, intending to go to the tavern to get some dinner.

Only for me to realize that the rain outside wasn’t just an ordinary rain.

It was a storm.

The wind was roaring, so much so that the whole building was creaking from the force. I could see a couple of leaks here and there—rainwater seeping in through the not-so-well-maintained roof.

Now that I thought about it, it’s pretty odd that a rainstorm like this could occur in the middle of winter. Then again, this region had been pretty warm, with not a single snow falling down, unlike back in the Marjoram Province. Not to mention that it was already pretty close to spring.

The tavern downstairs was mostly empty, with just a couple travelers seeping hot coffee silently on their own tables. I went to the bartender, and asked for the same hot fish soup that I got for lunch, as well as the same cup of coffee like the others.

As I brought the cup to my lips however, I realized something.

_The boat! They’re in it and there’s a storm outside!_

I nearly bolted out of the room and ran outside. Thankfully, I managed to regain my composure and stopped myself.

“Sir, how long does a storm like this usually last around here?” I asked the bartender.

“Hmm? Well, it lasts from the entire night, boy,” he replied. “But don’t worry. This building is pretty tough, even if it doesn’t look like it.” He gave a little conspiratory wink.

_Damn, a whole night? Can they survive that long?_

_There’s nothing I can do, is there? It’s not like I can stop a storm with my magic. I can only pray that that old man is skilled enough with his little fishing boat to get through this storm safe and sound._

In the end, the thought made my dinner taste far less pleasant than lunch, and I didn’t manage to return to sleep until even later in the night, as I kept thinking back to those kids.

_Heh, guess I really have grown a soft spot for them._

_I never cared about anyone else in my old life, especially complete strangers like them. But now…_

\------

I woke up the second time the next morning. And, just like the bartender said, the storm had stopped in its entirety.

I promptly headed out to the port, hoping to see the ship back. If they were wise, they should’ve decided to cut their losses and return early, since after a storm like that, their ship would probably be in dire need of repairs.

_There it is!_

I recognized the ship right away once I entered the small port. I rushed there right away.

As I got closer, I found just how terribly damaged the ship looked. There were holes all over the sail and half of the deckhouse was exposed to the elements, as if something heavy had crashed into it, pulverizing the entire left side of the structure. I saw ropes being tied to the mast that weren’t there before. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the whole thing was on the verge of snapping into two, with the tied ropes being the only thing that kept it together.

_Shit, it’s that bad, huh?_

When I boarded, there were only two people aboard—the captain and his son. The son had his entire upper body exposed—his leather armor being replaced by bandages. The father on the hand was covering his head with his arms, shaking uncontrollably as if he was having a terrible fever. The two of them were sitting side by side on the ship’s deck.

_Wait, where are those three?_

“O-oh, it’s you…” The father was the first to notice me. “Aah, it’s terrible! It’s so terrible! What did we deserve to suffer this calamity?”

The son then stood up, still as intimidating as ever, even in his wounded state. I noticed the shade of red on those white bandages, telling me that those wounds he received were still fresh.

“W-what happened?” I asked, a clear tinge of terror tainting my voice. “W-where are all the others?”

“A monster,” he replied. “A Sea Lion. It attacked us during the storm.”

“A Sea Lion? Wait, that’s… that’s a B-rank monster, isn’t it?”

I remembered what I’d read in the monster encyclopedia for the region. Sea lions were basically that, lions that lived on the seas. It could swim swiftly like a fish, yet attack like a ferocious lion. It’s an amphibious creature, capable of fighting both on land and at sea.

“Only the two of us survived, and just barely. The rest of the crew, as well as those three—they didn’t make it.”

…

_What?_

_What did he just say?_

“They fought bravely. They insisted on fighting even though they knew they were completely outmatched. Only thanks to them that we managed to return at all.”

I looked at him. And then the father. And then back at him again. Before I looked around the empty deck and the half-destroyed deckhouse in a frantic manner.

“One by one they were dragged into the sea by the monster, as well as the rest of the crew. So there is nothing left of them to bury.”

"H-hey…" I croaked, my throat turning dry all of a sudden. "T-this isn't funny, you know."

"These things… they happen to adventurers all the time. You can't be sure that everything will always go as you expect to. In this line of work, death is always lurking in the next corner."

I flew. I punched him straight on the face.

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME, YOU BASTARD!"

He didn't even dodge. He took it like it was nothing, barely even flinching from the blow.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM! YOU’RE A C-RANK, ARE YOU NOT? THEN WHY ARE YOU ALIVE AND THEY’RE DEAD?"

I sent another fist, only for him to catch it mid-air.

"You're naive, kid," he replied, putting down my shaking hand with force. "That's what they signed up for the moment they became an adventurer. Grow up and see that being an adventurer is nothing like in your fantasy books."

There was not a single look of sympathy in those cold eyes of his.

“If there’s anyone to blame, it’s them. They took the quest. They should’ve known the risk. When a storm happens, there’s always a chance that a strong monster would appear, wandering off from the deep sea. That’s the risk any adventurer must take whenever they do an escort quest to the seas like this.”

"Shut up…"

"If they were true adventurers, then they would be able to face death without flinching, no matter how young they might be."

"Shut. Up."

"And they did. They fought proudly to the end."

"SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD! WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THEM?"

“Or perhaps you would rather be blamed instead. You were the one who convinced me on taking them along after all.”

I couldn’t stop myself any longer. I blasted him with my Wind spell right on the abdomen, sending him flying backwards, crashing onto the edge of the ship.

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!”

I screamed, before I fell down to my knees.

_Not again! Not. Again!_ I punched the wooden floor with both my fists. Tears streamed down my face, making more and more wet spots on said floor.

I must have remained like that for many minutes, punching the floor over and over again until my fists started to bleed. My head didn’t escape injury either as I slammed it down to the floor multiple times as well.

The pain didn’t bother me in the slightest. The pain in my chest was much, much greater.

My mind couldn't take it.Or perhaps it was the concussion I was giving myself.

Whatever it was, it made me lose my consciousness soon after.

\---------

_"Yay, I did it, Senpai! I can cast Fireball without chanting now!"_

_"Yes, yes, great job, Lily! I know you can do it!"_

_..._

_"I did it! I finally landed a hit!"_

_"Heh, don't get cocky, Byron! I'm not even using 5% of my full strength, you know!"_

_…_

_"Hey, Felt. What's going on? You're staring, you know~"_

_"S-Senpai? H-how long have you been there?"_

_"Hehe. You have a crush on Lily, don't you? Just admit it! You can't hide anything from your Senpai, you know!"_

_"I-is it that obvious? P-please don't tell her!"_

_"Don't worry! Your secret's safe with me!"_

_…_

_You can't save anyone, Big Brother. You're a failure after all._

_"_ Aaahhh!"

I jumped, panting with sweat all over my face.

It was a dream. I was dreaming.

_H-Hanako…_

It was her. I saw her right before I woke up.

My little sister in my previous life.

Her cold, disgusted look… her cruel frown… it was all her.

"Ha… ahahahaha!" I started to laugh.

She was right. I am a failure. Not just once, or twice, but thrice as well.

Only after I calmed down that I realized I was no longer in the ship. It was somebody's room, inside somebody's house, and I had been sleeping on their bed.

"Oh you poor child… you poor child!"

An old woman suddenly barged into the room in a rush, slamming the door open in the process. She was most likely in her fifties, with grey hair here and there accompanying the black and light wrinkles decorating her face. She wore a black dress with an apron, a common attire for housewives in this world. She had a terribly pained expression on her face, especially when she looked at me.

"You haven't lost your mind, have you? I heard the laughter and I thought—"

"I'm fine, Ma'am." I forced a smile. "I… just had a nightmare, that's all."

"You poor thing! So young yet you have to lose your friends like that…"

She then explained that she was the wife of the good captain and that he had brought me here after I passed out. As she did, I noticed that both my hands were bandaged. And my forehead as well.

"Oh, Volk was the one who did that by the way," she said with a smile. "Ah, that boy has such a good heart in him."

"Don’t lie to me!" 

Before I could stop myself, I yelled those words right at the old lady's face.

"He… he doesn't… he doesn't care at all about…"

"Oh, poor child! Poor child!" She leaned forward and gave me a hug. "My son Volk… he suffers as well, even if he might not show it." She then released me and returned back to her seat beside the bed. "That boy… he used to have a little brother. Andy was his name. He would just be around your age… if he's still alive…"

The look of sadness on her face… she wasn't lying.

"He succumbed to illness, you see." She looked up to me—her eyes started to water. "Or rather, he was poisoned by a monster when he got caught in a monster attack at sea when he sailed away with his father. The local priest could heal his wound, but he wasn't skilled enough to draw the poison out of him. We were ready to sell everything we had if we could restore him, but we were too late. The poison claimed him in just a single night. He died in a terrible fever, convulsing in pain until he lost his consciousness entirely. Oh my poor son! He had to see his own little brother die in his arms at such a young age! Why must Providence make him suffer so?"

I looked away. I couldn't say anything.

"Since then, he changed entirely. He became far more stoic. He trained himself day and night just so he could slay monsters. To him, every single one of them is responsible for Andy's death."

"T-then, why didn't he—"

"Because he had promised Andy on his deathbed that he would never shed tears again. So he hardened his heart, and took the world for what it is—a cruel and merciless place."

... She's right.

This world is indeed that—a cruel and merciless place where the strong preys on the weak.

A fantasy world is really just a world like that. We only see it as an exciting place because we can be the hero there—powerful and unbeatable by no other.

And those three… they're just another addition to the long list of victims it had claimed.

Just like Father and Mother.

\----------

I left the house soon after. The captain and his son weren't around, as they had gone to the Guild to report the incident.

The old lady asked me where the trio came from, and I answered. The village was in the region, so they could thankfully afford to send a letter of the bad news there.

Nonetheless, I told her that I would pay for the expenses. I also gave her ten silver coins to be delivered inside the letter, as consolation for their families.

_Heh, what a joke. Three kids just lost their lives and I could only muster that much. Is that how cheap the price of a human life is in this world?_

I was considering going there myself to deliver the letter personally, but I decided against it immediately. I was still a coward, and I couldn’t imagine facing the grief and anger of their fathers and mothers. What would I say to them? Even if I groveled on the ground begging for their forgiveness, it still would nowhere near be enough.

I left the small town soon after, once again with a heavy heart. I simply let my feet take me, as there was now a dark cloud inside my head that wasn’t going away anytime soon.

The old lady told me not to blame myself. But how couldn’t I? I was the one who convinced Volk to take them along. He was already against it from the start.

I suddenly remembered what Sherry said to me many years ago. “You don’t have to take all the burden yourself, Hugo. I’ll share it with you. You’ll protect me and I’ll protect you, alright?”

Would those three say the same thing now? Would their spirits watch over me with annoyance as I blamed myself for everything? Would they prefer me to return to my usual self? Or would they be happy instead, seeing the one who sent them to their deaths suffer like this?

But now, I realized something.

It would be better for me to not be involved with anyone’s affairs ever again.

I seemed to be dragging misfortune with me, and sharing it with anyone that got close to me.

I don’t need anyone after all. I’m already strong enough on my own.

Strong enough indeed.

\-----------

The road to Ronia took me another eighteen days to traverse. And I barely remembered the trip there, as I was trudging along like a zombie, not thinking about anything. I walked without thinking, killed monsters without thinking, cooked them without thinking, and slept outside without thinking.

I got no money to get an inn, so I had to camp outside. I gave pretty much everything I got with those twenty silver coins.

In retrospect, I now learned that I could live just fine without doing quests for the Guild. I knew which monsters and wild animals were good enough to be food and I also knew which herbs and mushrooms I could pick.

But, it isn’t really truly living, was it? Being a human isn’t just about surviving until the day you die. You have to have more than that to be happy.

I didn’t care though. I felt as if I’d given up entirely to be happy.

_A trash like me doesn’t deserve to be happy anyways._

In that state of mind, I reached the city just before the mountain passage.

\------

It was a walled city, situated right beside the twin cliffs that led to the passage that would take you through the mountain range. Oh, by the way, the mountain range was named Blooming Rose, since apparently it was shaped like so if you looked at it on the map. I suppose I could see it, though I felt it’s quite a bit forced to be honest. The mountain range went all the way from the south, dividing the Holy Empire into two halves, and then it circled around the capital, separating said region from the rest of the Empire. Said region was named the Central Region, and apparently, it’s the richest region in the entire empire, or perhaps even the entire continent.

If I were to go there, I would head northwest in the opposite direction, abandoning the mountain passage entirely.

As I entered, I saw a line of stagecoaches and merchant wagons waiting for the guards at the gate to give permission to entry. Like any walled city, it had a large gate that you had to enter if you were going into the city. Unlike the gate at Mira though, this one was a portcullis made out of steel. And of course, the wall itself was just made out of ordinary stone, unlike Mira’s obsidian wall.

I showed my Adventurer Card to the guard, and he let me through immediately. Didn’t even ask for my business or anything.

The city was a busy one, but if I were to compare it to Frastelleren, I suppose it was still less busy than it. According to the book I had bought, the town mainly profited from trade and the mining done in the mountains nearby. Makes sense. It’s a gate to the eastern part of the Empire after all.

_Oh right, I need to get some money._

I asked for direction from one of the city guards. He quickly pointed me to where the Guild was. He was young and all smiles, and he seemed to be better suited as a tourist guide than a guard.

“Oh! I almost forgot! Don’t take the east road straight away. Circle around to the central road instead! East road will take you through the slums! It’s dangerous there!” He warned me as I was about to leave.

I did it anyway. If a bunch of guys tried to kidnap or mug me, I’m strong enough to take them on just fine. Or so I thought. Even though more than two weeks had passed since their death, my mind was still in a haze. In retrospect, there was really no good reason for me to take this route.

As expected, the slums were a depressing place, with small, rundown houses messily built with no sense of art or architecture, almost as if they were mushrooms that just popped out of their own, in stark contrast of the rest of the town which were laid down nicely that it was pleasant to the eye.

And of course, seeing how it was the slums, the paved roads were in terrible condition, with many cracked or outright missing stones. I could imagine how difficult it would be for a carriage to traverse it, which was why not a single one of them could be seen taking this route. And that’s ignoring the fact that they could get robbed in the process as well.

As I walked through it, I could see people laying down on the sides of the street, watching me as I passed through them. They were all dressed in what could only be described as rags—dirty clothes with holes all over them. They also had unkempt hair and dead-looking stares that would creep me up, if not for my cloudy mind.

Then, I saw her.

It was a girl, around fifteen or so, being surrounded by a bunch of grown adults wearing rags, with most of them being men. She was blonde; hair tied into two thick braids that went down halfway her torso. She was wearing a black dress that looked like a nun’s outfit, only without the veil. The skirt went down to her knees, followed by a pair of boots and stockings. Combined with the staff she wielded in her hands, it was all too obvious that she must be a cleric of some sort.

_...She’s in trouble, isn’t she?_

_Well, not my problem._

I continued my walk, heading away from where she was.

But in the end, my curiosity won over, and I couldn’t help but to keep glancing at her.

_...Oh fine, I’ll help her out._

_I’ll just knock those bunch away with my wind spell. It wouldn’t take even a second._


	61. The Angel Descends

_Wait, hold on..._

To my surprise, as I walked closer, my prejudiced thought was proven completely wrong.

_She’s… not being mugged by them? She’s healing them instead?_

There was no doubt about it. One by one, the crowd surrounding her walked forward. Then, after a few moments of conversation, she raised her hand and cast a healing spell on them. I was familiar with it, since it was how Mother did it as well.

As I got even closer, I could hear their conversation.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! My fever—they’ve disappeared completely!” 

The one she was speaking to was a young woman, perhaps around the age of eighteen to twenty. She might be beautiful, if not for her bone-thin figure, dirty skin, and tattered dress.

The cleric girl just responded with a nod and smile, giving her a couple copper coins into her hands, and the young woman, after thanking her once again, quickly left the crowd, only to be replaced by another.

It went on like this for a while, and for some reason I wasn’t really sure myself, I couldn’t bring myself to just move on and continue with my trip. Instead, I ended up staying there, watching as she healed them and gave them money one by one. 

After several minutes of doing so however, I think I know why.

_This girl… I wouldn't be surprised if she's an angel in disguise._

I know, I know, it’s a seriously cheesy thing to say. But that’s what my impression of her is. The way she carried herself, the way she smiled, the way she spoke with her soft voice, and the fact that she was curing these poor folks from their illnesses without pay—aren’t all that something an angel would do?

Then again, she might not be doing this out of her own volition. Maybe it was simply a task she had to do as a member of her church. I knew how Christians would send their missionaries to Africa and other impoverished places to improve the lives of the people there, as well as spreading their religion, of course.

_No, this girl… she's nothing like that. Her smile is completely genuine, with not a single hint of falsehood, and her nose never wrinkles a single time, even though I can smell the unpleasant scent emanating from these unwashed beggars all the way here._

_I wonder if this is how those Milicis followers view their Saint. Honestly, if she was actually like this all those years ago, I might actually convert to their religion._

"Please, move! Move out of the way!"

Suddenly, a man came out from the nearby house, carrying what looked like a child around eight, though she might actually be older, considering how terribly malnourished she looked. I could see her ribs and bones as clear as day.

Me, who was never near true poverty before, flinched at the harrowing sight. How could things be this bad for a person?

"Miss, please! My daughter—you gotta heal her! She's been like this since a week ago!" The man pleaded, tears falling down his sunken cheeks.

The girl's smile vanished as she began to examine the child closer. She cast a healing spell. And another. And another—her face turning more and more grim every single time.

And then, she stopped.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do." She shook her head.

The look on the man's face… it was haunting.

At first, denial—his eyes widening in clear disbelief. And then, anger—him gritting his teeth as his hands shook. Bargaining—him pleading to the cleric to try again, only for her to shake her head once more as she averted her gaze. Then, despair—his knees giving way as he hugged his daughter. And then, acceptance, him standing up once more, thanking the cleric for her service.

"...I have eased her pain," she replied, still looking away. "And I shall pray to the Saint so her soul will reach Andalucia when she departs."

She took her limp body from him, dropping her staff to the ground. Now I know why she looked away. She had been weeping as well, and now her tears dripped down one by one to the little girl's face.

She put one hand on the girl's forehead, and she began to pray.

"O Great Saint, please guide her soul to—"

"Wait, hold on! I'll try healing her as well!" I blurted out those words without thinking.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't just stand by and watch a young girl die of illness. Not when I could do something about it.

The crowd's attention was now all focused to me, as well the man's and the cleric's.

"Come out, my Great Fairy! Heal this girl from whatever ailment possesses her!"

She immediately appeared, to the awe and fright of everyone watching. The man fell down while the crowds dispersed, as if I just summoned a monster (well, to be honest, to these people who probably had never seen a fairy before, she might as well be one). Only the cleric stood, giving me a confused yet wary look.

"Yes, Master!" She cheerfully answered. She hovered over the little girl, only for the cleric to take a few steps back, away from her.

"Please, don't run!" I told her. "I'm not a bad guy! I just want to help! I’m a mage and she’s my summon! She can use healing magic as well so I thought she can help the kid!”

The cleric didn’t respond immediately. She gave me a suspicious look up and down, followed by the same look towards Great Fairy.

“Very well. Please, cure her if you could.”

The fairy flew closer to the cleric once again, letting her hold the girl as she reached both of her hands forward towards her. I moved closer as well, wanting to see the patient in close range.

She was still alive, but barely. I could hear her heavy and laboured breathing, as her chest rose slightly up and down. I had no idea what illness she might be having, but seeing how thin she was, it could be anything. No one could live long like that.

The fairy made her drink her water as gently as possible. However, even with that intense care, the girl still ended up choking on the water, making her have to withdraw immediately.

"Hey, can you open her mouth?" I asked the cleric. "My fairy needs to have her drink her water if she's going to heal her."

"No, that won't work," she replied, shaking her head. "She doesn't have the strength to swallow anymore. She can no longer eat nor drink and she's exerting every strength she has just to breathe."

_Damn it, if this were my old world, we can have her be hooked on IV. But this world doesn't even have the concept of intravenous feeding. How am I supposed to save her at this rate?_

"Master… I'm sorry, but I don't think… I don't think I can heal her either…" She looked away.

I froze.

"Thank you," the cleric said to the fairy, giving her a bitter smile. "But don't blame yourself for not being able to heal her. I am already a Master-level priestess and I too am unable to do so. With her in that state, perhaps only the Saint herself that could cure her."

I heard the sound of something hitting the ground. It was the father, and for the third time, his knees gave out, and his face was filled with renewed despair.

I paled.

What have I done?

Not only I have failed to heal his daughter, I have given him hope, only to shatter it just moments after.

Great Fairy disappeared in shame. For the first time, she had failed in her task.

"O Great Saint, please, guide her soul to Andalucia where there's neither hunger nor thirst, if it is her fate to depart to the next world. But if she still has a role to play in this world, then grant her your miracle and free her from the shadow of death that haunts her."

She kissed her on the head, before returning her to her father, who received her with a smile, even if his tears continued to pour.

"Thank you, for blessing her," he said, almost with a whisper. "It can't be helped, can it, Yuna?"

The weeping he did afterwards… I would never forget it for the rest of my life.

\----------

I didn't go anywhere else after that. I sat on the dirt, resting my back on the wall behind me. I watched as she continued her charity work. I saw her shaking her head a couple more times, signifying other cases of illnesses that she couldn't heal.

Once she was done, she came to me with her staff.

“May I take a seat here?”

I nodded, looking away. She then sat beside me, with her legs raised just like me. She didn’t seem to care that she was soiling her dress by sitting on a filthy place like this.

"Your name?”

“Charles. Charles Pendleton.”

“I’m Nicole. Nicole Blanchimont. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Charles.”

She offered her hand for a shake. I took it gingerly, still avoiding her gaze. She returned a smile.

“Thank you. For trying to save that child.”

“I didn’t save her.”

“But you tried. And that’s what counts.”

I gave a peek towards her and saw that she was still smiling.

“Is this your first time, seeing someone like that?”

I nodded. Somehow, that smile convinced me that I should stay around and converse with her.

“I see,” she replied, pausing for a few moments before resuming, looking away from me. “It’s not my first. Nor it will be my last.”

I gave a curious glance, which, I suppose, was enough for her to continue her story.

“I came from Silipha, to the northwest from here. I was a graduate from the Milicis Academy there. And as part of our curriculum, we would go around to the poor and help them with their ailments."

“And of course, we weren't able to heal every single one of them.”

I took another look at her. And now, she had this melancholic expression that made me seriously want to just wrap my arm around her shoulder and comfort her.

But I resisted. _I will not be involved with a stranger again. I will only bring misfortune to her._

"Even our headmistress, Lady Miriam, couldn’t heal every single illness out there. So what chance do I have? I’m not even a High Priestess yet, when she’s already a Grand Priestess.”

“But you see,” She suddenly looked at me, making me blush a little as I had been staring at her. “She taught me something important. To accept the existence of death… it’s something a priestess of Milicis should be able to do.”

She then sighed for a bit before continuing.

“It is impossible, especially for just a single person, to be able to save everyone. Even our Great Saint couldn’t save every single person she met when she still walked this earth. Are you familiar with the Catechism of the Three Disciples?”

I shook my head.

“There’s a story there—about a blind man who asked the Great Saint to heal his blindness. She, in her infinite mercy, tried to heal him, only to find that her healing spell wasn’t effective in the slightest. She then prayed to the Heavenly Dragon, asking him why she couldn’t heal him. And he replied, ‘It was his fate to be blind. And so he shall remain thus.’”

_Fate?_

“We are each appointed our fates by the Heavenly Dragon even before we were born, when we were still souls slumbering up above. Whether we are born noble or common, whether we become rich or poor, whether we receive a blessed life, or a miserable one—all that were decided for us. We may struggle to change our fate, and we may just be able to, by the grace of the Heavenly Dragon, but there would be always some part of our Fate that is immutable and unchangeable. And we have to accept and bear that fate, good or bad."

At first, I remained silent, as I tried to process what she just spoke. But soon after, I realized what she was going at.

And that brought a bile of anger right out of my mouth.

"So you're saying, that man should just accept his daughter's death?! That his daughter deserves to die?!" I yelled, right in front of her face.

She remained unfazed however, still keeping the same smile from before.

"Her soul would be in a better place. As for him, he indeed should. To move on with life, no matter how painful it might be, it's what the Great Saint wants us to do."

My hands flew. I grabbed her collar with my right, and I held my left on the air, intending to hit her.

"You've suffered too, aren't you? I can see it in your own eyes. But you are still unable to accept and bear your fate."

My hands shook. My eyes watered. I released her, before I bolted.

Or I would, if she hadn't grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"Charles." She took my hand and embraced it with her own two hands. It was so warm and pleasant that my thought of running completely disappeared. "If it's alright with you, you can tell me everything. As a priestess of the Holy Saint, I promise that I will not speak of your troubles to anyone."

I couldn't stop myself. I threw myself at her and hugged her, before weeping silently that she was the only one who could hear it.

She didn't say anything. She simply hugged me back and patted me gently on the back of my head.

Only after my crying died down that she whispered, “Let’s go somewhere else, shall we? I think I have an idea for a place where we can chat privately."

I followed her without complaint.

\-----------

_What am I doing?_

I was now back on the busy streets. We had left the slums a while ago, and now we had returned to the "proper" part of the city.

And now, I was walking side by side with this girl I knew nothing about, with her left hand holding my right.

_Am I really going with this girl to some place I don't know about just so I can talk about my problems? Have I lost my mind entirely?_

_..Yeah, pretty much. I just hugged and cried on her shoulder after all._

_What in the world am I doing, seriously?_

I started to wonder if she was using some sort of charm spell at me. I always hid my problems from strangers, acting like there was nothing wrong even though there clearly was.

But after what I had witnessed of her, and the touch of her hands and the warmth of her smile, it’s as if I was compelled to tell every single one of my troubles to her.

Is this it? Is this what Hugo Greenwood has become, crying in the most pathetic way to a girl he just met? Just because she reminds him a little of his big sister that he has run away from?

_...Goddamnit._

Yep, I’ll admit it. The way she comforted me like that—it really reminded me of Marina. It didn’t help that she seemed to be around the same age and was just as gentle as her.

I always said that Marina was a brocon but I think I might have become a siscon as well. I can’t help it. She had showered me with so much of her love after all.

And now I’m outright replacing her with a complete stranger, just because I can never see her again.

You truly are one pathetic man, Hugo Greenwood.

I gave a glance towards her and she promptly smiled back.

_Damn it, that smile—I've been completely charmed by it._

_If she's actually a succubus in disguise, I'm pretty much screwed. I won't be able to do anything as she sucks my life force out as long as she smiles like that while doing it. Well, might not be a bad way to go out, I suppose._

_...Nah, she can't be one. She doesn't have that sexy body all succubi have. Her breasts and butt were only noticeable slightly from her conservative clothes. If she were a succubus, then she would have far more of a bombshell of a body like that receptionist from Frastelleren._

_Her charm is really far away from the sexual kind. Using a religious comparison, she isn’t the sexy nun you can often find in fantasy worlds taking inspiration from Western religion. She’s the warm and kind nun that devotes herself to feeding the orphans and taking care of the sick and all that._

_And that charm is enough to win me over. I now genuinely want to tell her everything._

_...It’s probably fine. The Church is opposed to the Magocracy, right? So they won’t rat me out._

We soon arrived at what clearly looked like a church, only that there were no cross imageries like the ones you would find on Western churches back in my old world. Instead, there were dragon imageries instead. That, and stained glasses portraying what could only be the Great Saint in a stylized manner.

I then noticed it—the brooch she wore under her collar. It was colored in gold, and it was shaped similarly to the dragon the church had all over.

“We’ll use the consultation room inside,” she said to me, still with that same smile. “Don’t worry. It’s completely soundproof, so no one else would be able to hear what you have to say.”

She didn’t release my hand even as we went inside. The place was empty, except for one dark-haired young woman in a nun dress who’s cleaning the floor with her mop.

“Excuse me.” She called out to her. “Might we be allowed to use your consultation room?”

The young woman yelped, nearly kicking the bucket of water she had nearby. Wow, she’s pretty clumsy for her age.

“I’m Nicole Blanchimont, a Master-level Priestess and an aspirant for the title of High Priestess. I am in the middle of my pilgrimage and I would like to invoke my right for refuge in this church.”

She spoke about a bunch of things I didn’t understand. One thing however caught my attention.

_Nicole? Have I heard of that name before?_

“A-an aspirant?” The young woman hurriedly ran over to her. “Truly?" 

"Yes, truly." She smiled. "Will this brooch suffice as proof?”

She took off said golden brooch and gave it to the nun.

“This is…” Her eyes widened. “O-oh, forgive me, Priestess Blanchimont! You really are an aspirant high priestess!” She bowed her head deeply as she hurriedly returned the brooch. “Please, the room is just in the back! A-and here’s the key!”

_Wow, is she some bigwig cleric or something? It’s really awkward seeing a young woman in her twenties bow to a girl of her age._

“Thank you,” she replied, putting the brooch back in its original place. “Now come, Charles. We can have our respite in there.”

I followed, with her still grasping my hand. _She really must think of me as a child if she’s not bothered at all with our hands touching like this._

 _Well, can’t say I blame her. After what I did, everyone will view me as a simple crybaby, nothing more,_ I thought bitterly.

We soon reached the furthest end of the chapel, behind the pulpit. Just like the nun said, there was indeed a room there. Using the key, she unlocked the wooden door and pulled me inside.

It was a small room, just slightly larger than the size of your typical stagecoach interior. There were two long wooden seats, placed face to face, with only a small round wooden table placed in-between them.

She took one of the chairs, and gestured at me to take the other across. The seat was hard, as it was just polished wood, with no cushion whatsoever. I couldn’t rest my back either as there was no backrest on either chairs. Clearly, whoever sat on these was supposed to be seated straight for the entire time.

“Apologies for the uncomfortable arrangements. But I couldn’t take you to my room at the inn without angering my party. Let’s just say that I wasn’t supposed to be doing this with a boy I just met.” She smiled weakly.

_Well, so much for my idea of inviting her to travel with me._

“But I believe in you, Charles. I don’t think you’re a bad person. Your eyes showed that to me.”

Before our conversation could continue, the nun from before knocked on the door. She brought with her a tray of tea and bread, which she promptly put on the small table, before pouring two cups; one for me and one for the priestess. She then bowed once more before leaving us. _Wow, it’s almost as if she has become her maid or something._

“So, tell me. What ails a young boy like you? To be able to summon a Great Fairy like that, you’re not just your average mage, are you?” She let out a knowing smile.

_...This might be a bad idea after all._

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here's how Nicole looks. The clothes are quite different though.**


	62. The Angel Gives A Much Needed Therapy

“Well, I…” _Shit, how should I start this?_ “I’m a mage, just like you have guessed.” I gave her a nervous smile. “Also, I’m a summoner. That’s frowned upon by your people, right?” I asked, remembering what Marina told me way back then.

“It’s alright. Don’t be so nervous,” she replied, once again with that calming smile. “I don’t share that particular belief. I think summoning spells are just fine, though I certainly wouldn’t suggest to anyone to start summoning demons, especially intelligent ones that could deceive them. And also, you just cried on my shoulder, so I know you’re not a bad person that means harm. Even if you say that you’re an elite mage of the Magocracy, I wouldn’t report you to the Church. I don’t believe that the people there are all bad, you know, even if they’re our mortal enemies.”

_That’s right. The Church of Milicis is a mortal enemy of the Magocracy. I still remember that picture book portraying their Great Saint in such a humiliating manner._

“They’re my enemy as well,” I answered firmly. There was no point in hiding it. “One of them— Vera was her name—she kidnapped my sister, just because she wanted to forcefully make her marry her grandson. I managed to save her, but Father and Mother...” I trailed off, my shaking hands forming into fists.

“...I see,” she whispered, patting my head with a sympathetic look. “You’ve suffered much in her hands, haven’t you?”

I didn’t answer. I was too busy trying to hold back my tears. God, I am so pathetic.

"Where is your sister now, if I might ask? Is she with you? You two must have run away from their land, correct?"

"I…" My throat suddenly dried up. "I ran away. I can't face her anymore. Father and Mother… they died because of me."

"Because of you?" She tilted her head.

"They protected me instead of themselves. I should've been the one to die that day.”

I averted my gaze, looking down at my knees instead. Only for me to see their mutilated body and decapitated heads, half-frozen in the snow.

_Drip_

_Drip drip_

_Ah, it’s coming out again… and with the snot too…_

_Why can’t you be cool for once, Hugo?_

Then, I heard it—a rustle of fabric, followed by a few light steps. And then, the sound of someone sitting beside me.

“You have done nothing wrong, Charles,” she whispered, putting one hand on my shoulder. "We are all weak, bound by the fate that Heaven has decreed for us. To accept that weakness… I believe that’s the only way a human can become truly strong.”

"But… if only I had—"

"There is no point in ruminating about the past," she interrupted. "We must live for the future, as we can still choose to change the course of fate for its sake. But the past is a road you already took. And it is foolish to look back towards it."

"I…"

I was about to say that I had no future to look forward to. But then, I remembered.

_Sherry. Sherry is my future._

"I am glad." She smiled, noticing my brightening expression. "You do have a future after all."

_Wait, Sherry… Nicole… wasn't that the name of…_

My eyes widened.

"Hmm, what's the matter?"

"Sherry. Did you know anyone with that name?"

This time, it was her eyes' turn to bulge.

"How… but…"

"My family had adopted her. And she spoke of a friend she held dear when she was still in her orphanage. Was that you, Nicole?"

"I-is she… is she a short girl with long jet black hair?"

I nodded.

"A-and does she possess an abnormal amount of strength?"

I nodded again.

"Then it can only be her!"

Without warning, she took my hands and clasped them together, smiling so brightly that it nearly blinded me.

"This must be Providence. To think that I would find her again, after all these years…"

\-------

I then told her everything—from how I met her to how I had the whole rivalry with her until when she departed for the Demon Continent. It happened so long ago that I felt it wasn't even real, as if it was just a dream. A dream of my better days.

"To think that she would really be a demon…" She said with a troubled look. "It must have really troubled her, when she learned the truth."

“So, do you… hate her now?” I asked gingerly. I remembered how those of the Milicis faith abhorred demons of all kinds.

“Hate?” She looked up with a confused expression. “Ah. Perhaps you’re talking about how we are supposed to distrust demons in general as those who served the Great Saint. No. I don’t hate her. It doesn’t matter whether she’s a human or a demon. In fact, she’s a perfect example why I should not share that belief, no?” She smiled.

_Wow, she’s… surprisingly broad-minded for one so religious._

“So, how did she react? When she found out that she was an Izurd?”

“She… took it quite badly at first. But don't worry!" I proudly pat my chest with a grin. "I talked her out of it, and now, she's completely proud of her heritage."

I hid the details from her. I felt Sherry wouldn’t want her to know that she had gone on a rampage slaughtering monsters to the point of bathing in their blood.

"I see." Her smile returned. "Thank you, for being her friend." She took my hand, grasping it with her own as she stared at me.

BA-DUMP

_I just realized it… but she's… quite pretty, actually… There’s nothing that really makes her beautiful, but I guess she has that “girl next door” charm to her. Aah, I can just imagine her being the perfect housewife if she ever gets married. “Welcome home, dear. Would you like dinner? A bath? Or perhaps… me?"_

"I see you're fond of her very much." She released my hand. "You were all grinning and smiling when you talked about her, you know. And even now, you're the happiest I've ever seen you. Is she, perhaps, the future you had in mind?"

_I did? Though my grin just now definitely came from my fantasies of her._

I sighed, giving her a wry smile. "You're right. She's all I have now. That's why I'm going to the Demon Continent. I want to meet her once again."

"I don't believe so." She shook her head. "I think your two sisters are still waiting for you. They would never blame you for your parents' death."

My smile turned even more bitter. "Even so, I've run away like a coward from them. I can't face them. Not like this. I… I think I want to become a better man first before I go back to them."

"A better man?" She tilted her head.

"Well, I… I want to mature first. To be someone I can be proud of. And I think… I think I'm going to let Sherry be the judge of that. If she accepts me, then I'll go home with her. If not, then I'll better myself until she does."

Her smile suddenly brightened. She was now practically beaming.

"Oh, Sherry! I'm so happy for you! To think that not only you have found a family, but you have found a lover as well."

_What? How did she—_

"Don't look so surprised. It's all too obvious. You were all mopey back there but once we started talking about her, you brightened up immediately. And what you just said was practically a declaration of love!" She clasped her hands together.

In a flash, she had transformed from a calm and wise cleric to a starry-eyed romantic.

I sighed with a smile. "You're right. I do love her. And I want to start a family with her in the future. She saved me, you know. I… nearly took my own life when Father and Mother died. It was my thought of her that stopped me from casting a Fireball right at my own skill."

I don't know where and when I truly fell in love with her. Before I knew it, it seems my heart had been stolen by her. She was so pure and honest that my cynical, distrustful heart was won over by her. And her being so cute certainly helped.

_Heh, to think that a fully-grown adult like me could actually fall in love with a little girl. Just another one to the list of my pathetic traits._

"That is the miracle of love," she replied, still with her large smile. "Two fates become intertwined into one, tied with the string of matrimony. It is a sacred bond, to be cherished till the day you die. Though, I have to ask, have you told your feelings for her yet?"

"She was the one who confessed first actually," I admitted with a little blush.

Gloom soon returned to my expression however.

"I'm not sure if I'm even worthy of her though," I continued, looking away from her clear eyes. "I am a wreck. Not only I got my parents killed, I made three young adventurers perish as well. Haah, maybe she has grown up from liking me too."

"I doubt that," she replied with a comforting smile, before looking away. "Sherry... is a fiercely loyal and stubborn person. It's hard to change her mind once she has decided on something. I always feel she's the type of girl whose love will be passionate. Or even mad. That girl always thirsts for love, you know. So once she receives some, she will give it back ten fold. That's why she tried so hard to keep up with you in a fight. She wanted to be useful to you."

"I knew that." I sighed. "Which is why it makes it feel even worse that I ended up like this."

She didn't respond. Instead, she looked up to me and said, "If you can't love yourself for your own sake, then do it for her. And I hope you will be the best husband that you could for her. Do not hesitate and pour every single drop of your love, for she will surely return in kind. I can vouch for that."

"And besides," she added with a little mischievous smile. "I doubt you'll be able to keep your hands off her once she becomes older. I can just tell she will grow up to be an absolute beauty. That silky jet black hair of hers… it's enough to make any girl jealous."

I couldn't help but smile. I did like playing with that hair after all.

"Oh, by the way, what was it about the three adventurers? If you don't mind, I would like to hear about that as well.

With a sigh, I promptly explained to her how I got them killed.

"I see. So that's how it is." She lowered her head. "Once again, I have to say, their death wasn't your fault in the slightest."

"But if I hadn't—"

"Please stop with the ifs." She interrupted, almost in a scolding manner. "You cannot foresee the future. You did the best thing you could and that is perfectly enough. So please, stop being so harsh on yourself."

"Still, I—"

In a flash, she put her right arm around my body and pulled me towards her, making my head rest on her chest.

"Shh… that's enough. I don't want to hear anymore of you cursing yourself. You are a better person than you think. Even I could see that. And I just met you today."

Soft. I could feel the softness of her breasts in this position. They weren't big but they were definitely there.

"You know, I really shouldn't be doing this to you. Sherry will probably be jealous if she sees us like this," she admitted with a little impish smile. “But this is how I usually comfort people. I did it with Sherry too all those years ago, hugging her as we slept together.”

She then released me and made me sit up right once more.

“Do you feel better now?”

“I do.” I smiled. “Thank you for that. Now I know why Sherry spoke so highly of you.”

“She did?” she replied with a smile. “I’m happy to hear that.”

“You know…” Argh, might as well say it. “I was actually thinking of asking you to accompany me on my journey to the Demon Continent. But you already have your own party, don’t you?”

“That’s right,” she answered, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. “Though if I were to be honest, you can probably tag along if you want. We will eventually travel to the far north so you can travel with us until then.”

“Then, can I—”

“I apologize. But joining us is out of the question.” She averted her gaze. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous? What do you mean?”

“We… ah, no. I cannot speak of it. Not with her permission first.”

She suddenly sat up, all with a melancholic look on her face.

“Although, perhaps, if I asked her to… No. I can’t drag you into the matter.” She shook her head. “Not even if you’ve fought and killed one of the Magocracy’s leaders. No, that’s all the more reason why you shouldn’t be involved.”

_What is she talking about? Something fishy is going on here!_

I stood up as well. “Look, if you’re in trouble, then I wanna help you. I can’t let anything happen to Sherry’s closest friend. She’ll be heartbroken if anything happens to you, you know.”

The cleric paused for a short moment, before returning a smile. “You really are a good person, aren’t you, Charles? Or rather, Hugo? Too good even. You take others’ suffering and make it your own. But no. Unless you want to be involved with this country deeply, then you shouldn’t follow me.”

“This country? You mean the Holy Empire?”

“...Ah, what am I doing, running my mouth like this? She’ll be angry now for sure.”

“She? Who is this—”

“I’m sorry. But I have to leave now. It’s already this late.” She took out a small watch from her pocket. “I really regret it that we can’t chat for long, but for whatever it's worth, I do hope I have been a small comfort to you. And please send my greetings to Sherry when you met her.”

“Wait, hold on, Nicole!”

Before I could say anything, she already dashed out of the room, earning a confused look from the nun still cleaning outside. I followed her outside and was immediately given the evil eye from her.

“Hey, if you did anything to her, then I’ll—”

“I didn’t do anything! She just ran off on her own.”

_That’s it. I have to follow her. I really want to know what she’s involved it, because that doesn’t like something good in the slightest. Something that will deeply involve me with this country? That can only mean one thing._

_She’s being involved with the ruling class of this place._

My thoughts immediately returned to Vera.

Yeah, I don’t trust her to handle it on her own.

I ran, ignoring the nun entirely. To think that I would meet Sherry’s old friend here, it really was like a miracle. I never believed in fated meetings, but this really felt like one. Though not the romantic kind, I hope, since I wasn’t going to cheat on Sherry with her best friend. No way. I’m not that much of an asshole.

I just hoped that she hadn’t involved herself in something bad.

Luckily, I managed to find her before she disappeared entirely. Thanks to my Wind Step, my running speed greatly outclassed her.

And after running for a while, she stopped, and began walking normally. But not without giving a glance backward, which I dodged just in the nick of time.

I followed her after, tailing her like a hunter would tail his prey. Or rather, if you prefer using the much less cooler metaphor, like a stalker stalking a popular idol. Thanks to the busy city, it wasn’t that hard for me to blend in with the crowd as I followed her.

The day was really nearly over, with the red sun lazily climbing down on the western sky. So she probably wasn’t lying when she said she was out of time.

Eventually, I saw her entering an inn. It was an average-looking establishment, something that I would stay in as well. She was entering the tavern part, however.

_So the people she’s forming a party with should be there…_

I followed in as well.

Inside, the place was already starting to get crowded with customers, mostly adventurers, by the looks of them. Carefully, I looked around for her presence, while at the same time, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

_There she is!_

I quickly found her at one of the corner tables. She was sitting with another person—another girl to be exact. _So she must be that person she mentioned._

I moved in a little closer, allowing a good look on just whom she was conversing with.

_Oh wow, is that… a real life tsundere I’m seeing?_

I thought that because of the sharp, piercing brown eyes that she had. Not to mention the twintails she fashioned her also brown hair in. She was not far from my age, probably a little older. She was wearing a white dress with a white button-up shirt underneath, along with a pair of brown boots.

They seemed to be in the middle of a discussion, so I decided to do a little eavesdropping. I stood near them with my back turned, pretending that I was paying attention to the painting put up on a wall nearby.

"...depart tomorrow. As usual, Helen already prepared everything so we can leave before the sun rises."

"Hey, Fiora. Do you think they'll send more of them after us?"

"Hmm? Possibly. But for now, we're probably safe. We didn't let a single one of them escape after all so their superior wouldn't know they have failed that quickly. What's the matter? Having second thoughts? You can still walk away if you want. You're not my servant or bodyguard."

"No, it's just that… I still can't believe they would be doing this to you. They're your family. Why would they—"

"Ha! Look at the orphan talking about family!"

_That girl—she's a complete brat, isn't she? You just don't bring up someone being an orphan—_

"Don't move.”

_Wha—_

Steel pressed into my throat as one arm wrapped around me from behind.

A small knife was now being brought mere millimeters from my throat.

“Don’t speak, don’t reach for your pocket and do as I say. Or else I will slit your throat in an instant.”

I also felt the familiar sensation of boobs pressing into the back of my head, but it was no time to appreciate such softness.

I am **definitely** in the shit right now.

“So, we have a little rat here.”

I glanced to the side and saw Nicole and the girl now standing nearby, looking at me.

“Fiora, that’s—”

“Helen, bring him outside.” She interrupted Nicole.

“As you wish. You hear her. Walk outside.” Her voice was firm and clear, as if she was already used on ordering people around herself.

I was considering freeing myself using Wind Step, but somehow, I could tell that the moment I made my move, this big-boobed lady behind me would really slit my throat. And that would be the end of it. I also had a feeling that she’ll be fast enough to do so before my Wind Step or any other of my quickest spells could activate. She was pressing the blade at my skin to the point that it was bleeding, but not so deep that I suffered from an actual serious wound. It was the mark of a complete professional, someone who was absolutely used to using a knife in this manner. I could summon my two fairies, but would I gamble for my Great Fairy to heal my throat before I die for real? And besides, Nicole was there. And she wouldn’t associate herself with bad people, right?

We headed outside. Somehow, no one really noticed that I had a knife pressed into my throat. I’m starting to think that this lady was some professional assassin or something.

“Head to the back alley.” Bratty girl gave her order once again the moment we stepped outside. The sun already sank completely, giving way to the night.

“Alright. Now turn him around.”

The lady did as she was told.

And now, I was face to face with twintails.

“Fiora, he’s a friend! He’s not an assassin! I can vouch for that!” Nicole spoke first with a worried look.

“Hoo, really?” She lifted my chin with her fingers. Now that she stood right in front of me like this, I could see that she was taller than me. That, and she actually had a sword attached to her waist.

"Tell me about him then." She withdrew her fingers, turning around so swiftly one of her twintails hit my nose. "What is a friend of Nicole Blanchimont doing here, eavesdropping on her conversation?"

“He must have followed me because he worries about me. I… have said a little too much to him when we met.” Nicole held down her head.

The brat sighed, and she put her arms together under her chest. “So, tell me. What did you say to him?”

“I just said that he can’t be with me because I don’t want him getting involved in our situation.”

“What, is he your lover or something?”

“N-no, not at all!” Nicole waved her arms around with a blush. “He’s my best friend’s lover, actually.”

“Your best friend? From back at the Academy?”

“No. Much further back. I guess I haven’t spoken to you about her yet, have I?”

“No. I don’t really care about such things in the first place. Just tell me in a short and succinct manner why he’s someone I can trust and not an assassin that’s after my life.”

_An assassin? Hey, whoever’s holding me like this is more like an assassin than me!_

Nicole then looked at me before asking, “Charles, is it alright if I tell her everything we have discussed?”

I sighed. With a sarcastic tone, I replied, “Do I have a choice?”

_Oww!_

“I said don’t speak, haven’t I?”

_The knife—it hurts!_

“Then, I shall start from the very beginning.”

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here's how the girl looks.  
**

****


	63. The Tsundere(?) Princess Makes Her Entrance

Nicole told her everything. From where I came from, to how I ended up here. She even told her how much I was crushed by my parents’ death, and how I had cried to her about the matter. Does she really have to say that? I could feel my face reddening just by hearing her recite it to her. She probably thought it could gain me sympathy points with the brat, which, at this point, I guess was some sort of noble or something, just from the way she ordered around both Nicole and the lady who was still pressing her knife onto my neck.

“Hoo, so you say he actually managed to fight The Ice Snake Witch and won? And you actually believed him?”

“I didn’t see any lies on his face,” she replied, firm in her conviction that I was speaking the truth. “And besides, he didn’t do it on his own. He had his father and mother with him, and they perished in the fight.”

The noble girl then turned towards me, her hands still folded under her chest. “Boy, are you really telling the truth?”

“Of course I do! Even though I don’t look like it, I’m a Master-level mage, you know!” I replied. I know perfectly well how bizarre it was for a 10-year old boy to be a mage of that caliber.

“Hmph, Master-level. That’s not Grandmaster-level, which is the class of mage Vera Marjoram should belong in. Do you know just how much of a difference between a Master-level mage and a Grandmaster-level one is, boy?”

“Of course I know! I saw it first hand! She was taking it easy on us throughout the fight! And when she got serious, my father and mother died! I only won because I took her off-guard!” I shouted.

She then walked up to me and held up my chin once again.

“Boy, are you crying?” she said with the most insulting smirk you could imagine.

“I’m not crying!” I stuttered.

“Then why are your eyes watering?”

“They’re not!” I stuttered again.

_Oh, they totally are, aren’t they? They always did everytime I replayed that scene in my mind. God, would you stop embarrassing yourself, Hugo Greenwood?_

“Hmph.” She released my chin before turning her back to me, walking away. “To think a crybaby like you could kill a top class mage such as her, it’s truly inconceivable. Helen, have you heard any news of Vera’s death?” she asked her maid.

“Nothing of the sort, Your Royal Highness,” she answered with a slight nod. “This boy is clearly lying.”

“Or perhaps they’re hiding her death from the public. I can easily imagine them doing that, at least for a while. They wouldn’t want to cause panic and unrest amongst their citizens, or to invite foreign powers to attack them.”

“You mean the Holy Empire?” I blurted out.

“Ha, we’re not invading anything soon. Not in the state we’re currently in. However, the Holy Land could start thinking about sending in spies to prod weaknesses, just in case they decide to declare another crusade against the Magocracy. Really, boy, if you truly took out Vera, you just disturbed the order of the world. But don’t blame yourself if another war were to happen. Wars, rebellions, and conflicts in general happen all the time, especially up north with those Feuding States.”

“Alright.” She turned again, facing me once more. “Let’s say you really killed Vera. If so, then perhaps you can be of use. Boy, what do you think about becoming my personal bodyguard and trainer?”

_What._

“Milady, you can’t be—”

“Silence, Helen.” She interrupted the lady in a flash. “You just stand there like a good maid and keep that knife tight on his neck.”

In one swift move, she drew her sword from the sheath. It glinted beautifully under the moonlight, as if it was made out of pure silver. The way she unsheathed it, and then held it afterwards, I could tell that she was a skilled swordswoman. Or rather, swordgirl, I suppose, considering her age.

There was one major difference between her and Sherry however. If I had to say, it was elegance. She was far more elegant in her stance than Sherry. Sherry never had any elegance whatsoever. She just swung her sword really fast and hard and that’s it, same as Father. So her stance was basic and unrefined. She, however, really gave the aura that of a skilled swordswoman, to the point that I nearly forgot she was just a few years older than me at most, and not a full-grown adult woman.

“It’s not polite to stare, boy,” she said with a haughty smile.

“I’m not staring!” I stuttered. _I totally did._

Speaking of haughtiness, this girl was definitely full of it, to the point that I could honestly compare her to Vera. Both women were brimming with confidence, and they weren’t afraid to display or even flaunt it in the slightest.

“Boy!” The tip of her sword was suddenly right at my face. “You would protect me with your life from now on. You would also spar with me everyday, to train me in the way of the sword. As payment, I shall grace you with a thousand gold coins once we reach our destination. And of course, the pleasure of serving a person of my stature."

_Oh wow, this girl really is acting like the stereotypical noble brat, isn't she?_

"Hey, shouldn't you say 'please' with that? Don't your parents ever tell you some manners?" I said with a mock lecturing tone. I couldn't help myself. These kinds of characters need to be put down, or else their ego would just balloon even more.

"How dare you speak to—"

"It's fine, Helen." She withdrew her sword. "Boy." She then looked at me with a smile. "You have no idea who you are speaking with, do you?"

"Milady, you can't tell—"

"I said silence, Helen. Do you need me to cut off one of your ears in order for you to understand?"

"A-apologies, Milady…"

_And not only is she a brat, she's a psycho as well._

"Boy. Rejoice. For you are in the presence of Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, the Second Imperial Princess of the Holy Milicis Empire."

I blinked.

"What? You don't believe me? Can't you see the imperial visage bursting forth from my personage?"

"You don't really look like an imperial princess though. Or a princess at all, for that matter. You just look like a noble brat, that's all."

The lady behind me trembled in anger, making her tighten her grip on me. It really was a contradictory feeling, with both the sharpness of her knife and the softness of her boobs pressing on me from both directions. She probably would’ve spoken out, if not for the brat ordering her to stay silent.

To my surprise however, instead of getting upset and demanding me to recognize her as an Imperial Princess, if she really was one, she instead started to laugh.

“Boy! You really are a piece of work, aren’t you? Helen. Release him at once.”

“But Your Royal Highness—”

At a speed that my eyes couldn’t follow, she swung her sword. A tuft of black hair fell off to the ground.

“...Very well. I apologize for my insolence.”

At last, the lady released me from her grip. I turned around immediately, finally getting a good look on her.

_What? She’s a maid?_

Indeed she was. She was a woman in her late twenties, possibly even early thirties. She had short black hair and green eyes, adorned by a pair of glasses. She wore a pitch black long-sleeved maid dress that went down to her ankles. On top of that, she wore a long white apron.

After her face, my eyes immediately looked down to her breasts. And, just like I had expected, they were really sizable indeed, threatening to burst out of both the dress itself and the apron above them.

_Could it be? Have I found someone that actually rivals Mother in the bust department?_

"Helen. Why don't you explain to him why we're on this journey."

The maid hesitated, giving a piercing glance right towards me.

"If that is your wish, Your Royal Highness…" She bowed, making her breasts bounce a little. “Simply put, we are on the run from assassins right now. They are after Your Highness’ life, as she was one of the three possible candidates for the throne.”

_What._

_I'm sorry but what?_

“Nicole. Tell this boy that I am not lying.” The brat sighed, clearly annoyed that I was still in disbelief of her words.

“It’s true, Hugo.” The cleric finally spoke, after remaining silent for so long. “Fiora is really the Second Imperial Princess, the third and youngest daughter of Emperor Sigmund Freya Pendragon, the current ruler of the Holy Milicis Empire."

"Seriously?" I turned to face her in pure disbelief. "This brat is really the royal princess?"

"You're quite the brave one, aren't you, boy? Calling the Imperial Princess herself a brat? I can get you decapitated for that, you know," the brat spoke with a smirk as she sheathed back her sword. “But that is fine. That just means I’m well-suited to blend in with the crowd. Especially after all my servants had died except for Helen here.”

“This is why I didn’t want to involve you, Hugo.” Nicole continued with a regretful look. “It’s too dangerous. The assassins they sent at us, they were really strong. Like Fiora said, all of her servants fell in an attack when we were heading there. We beat them, but just barely. And we didn’t know if and when the next group of assassins would appear.”

“If you take my offer, boy, you will face the strongest mercenaries and warriors my elder sister and brother could afford to send my way.” The brat interrupted. “But then again, you’re someone who actually managed to kill a Grandmaster-level mage. You’ll probably be just fine facing against them. Though doing so would mean you would make an enemy out of the other imperial prince and princess, and both of them were far closer to the throne than me. My elder brother had the backings of the highest and most influential nobles, while my elder sister had her powerful company and all the resources and influence it had. Surely you have heard of the Rinea Corporation?” I nodded. “That’s her. Rinea is her given name.”

_Wait, did she just say that the ones sending the assassins are her own brother and sister? What kind of a messed up family she’s in?!_

_Then again, a lot of royal families are like that huh, full of betrayals and backstabbings and what not? I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Just a little though._

I gulped, giving a nervous glance towards Nicole. _So this is the kind of mess she has gotten herself into, huh? Oh yeah, this is bad. Really bad. If she’s just involved in some noble’s business then I can understand. But how in the hell did she end up being a bodyguard of a princess of the most powerful country in the Holy Continent? And one that’s being gunned for assassinations no less!_

“Before you say anything, Hugo, I’ll just say it upfront. I won’t abandon Fiora,” she said with a firm look.

“What? Why not? You’re not even from here! You’re from Marchen! You have no business staking your life in some noble’s power struggle like this!”

“Fiora is not just some noble. She’s my friend. And I don’t abandon my friends.”

“Friend? How can you be friends with someone—”

“And I also want her to be the ruler of this country in the future, over the other candidates.”

There was no doubt in her eyes. She looked straight at me as she parried my objections. Just what in the world happened here, from when she was sent away from her orphanage to now with her being a devout follower of the little brat?

“I don’t ask for you to be my retainer, boy,” The brat interrupted my thoughts. “All I ask is for you to be my bodyguard and my sparring partner. I don’t care if you dislike me, as long as you do your job properly.”

_That dismissive, mocking look she always has… it’s seriously starting to piss me off._

“You’re going to the Demon Continent, right? Then you can just leave once we reach the northeastern region of the continent. We’ll make a stop there. So really, there’s barely anything negative about my arrangement.”

“Yeah, if you don’t count the ‘fighting assassins’ part, that is,” I snarked back.

“Oh please, don’t you want to protect Nicole? You don’t want your beau’s best friend to die, right?” She smirked.

“Wow, you really are a shameless brat.”

“If being a ‘brat’ is what I have to do to survive, then I’ll happily be one.”

I looked away from her with a huff. _She’s totally just using me, isn’t she? And I’m not into smug, haughty tsunderes either. I’m not a masochistic sub, thank you very much._

“Oh, how about this? I’ll throw you a sweetener to our deal. That sword… you’re a swordsman, too? I thought you’re supposed to be a mage.”

“I’m mainly a mage.” I turned back and answered her. “I just had a little training on the sword but I’m never really any good at it, unlike Sherry.”

“Then, if you want, I can train you at it.”

“Huh? You? Can you even—”

SWISH

My heart skipped a beat. The sound of something sharp had just sailed right in front of my face. Then, I saw it—a couple of my hair falling down softly through the air.

“You can’t see it, can you? Can your father or your little demon beau swing their sword that fast? In just that millisecond, I unsheath my sword, cut your hair, and then sheath it back.”

She was right. Her movement… that was much faster than Sherry’s or even Father’s swings.

This girl… she was a legit swordswoman, alright. She could kill me at any time before I could cast a single spell all this time.

No wonder she told her maid to release me so nonchalantly. I was never a threat. Not when I stood so close to her where her sword could reach me.

“Nicole said you felt really sad that you weren't strong enough to protect your father and mother against the ice witch, to the point that you were crying about it. I suggest that you put all that melodrama into a drive to grow stronger instead."

“Fiora! You can’t say that! He’s still grieving, you know!” Nicole protested.

“Oh please, you can’t spoil a little crybaby brat like him. He’ll never grow up as a decent person when he’s older. He’ll always be a coward, haunted by his own failure until the day he dies.”

“But still!”

“It’s alright, Nicole.”

I finally decided to speak up.

Putting on a dry smile, I replied, “She’s right. I am a crybaby and a coward. These past three months… I’ve completely ignored my training. I no longer strived for anything. I simply moved along, thinking that Sherry would just accept me as I am right now. I did say I wanted to be a better person before I returned to Marina and Erika, but in the end, I didn’t really do anything to reach that goal. I let myself get drunk on my ego by going along with those three adventurers, and I thought of leaving everything to Sherry to transform me into a better version of myself. I no longer put any serious effort into anything.”

“Oh, the boy knows," Fiora replied with a smirk, putting one hand on her waist. "So, what are you going to do about it, boy?"

"I don't know, really." I sighed. "I guess I could learn more magic on my own. I doubt I could ever reach the level Vera was in. It took me what, a year and a half, just to learn one Master-level spell? I might be talented, but I’m not talented enough to—”

SLAP

“What an unsightly display. You really are a failure, boy.” Before I even noticed her movement, her palm already landed right onto my right cheek. The force was so powerful it actually staggered me. “Nicole. I suggest you convince your friend not to marry this guy. He’s a loser, through and through.”

And once again, just like with Sophie back then, I went into a childish rage. I ran right after her with my fist, fully intending to punch her in the face.

Only for her to dodge it by simply moving her head to the side like it was nothing.

Before countering with a kick right between my legs.

I whimpered in the most pathetic way, falling down backwards as unimaginable pain assaulted my brain. My hands immediately went down there, trying to salvage whatever’s left from her assault.

“That’s… that’s cheating…” I grunted, coughing in the process.

“Cheating? Ha! There’s no such thing in real combat! We’re not in the middle of some gentlemanly duel here. And besides, you tried to punch me from behind. That was truly pathetic.” She walked over towards me. “And look at that. You’re crying again.” She stood over me with the most punchable face imaginable.

“That’s enough!”

I heard a series of steps, followed by a familiar face looking at me with worry. It was Nicole.

“Oh, don't give me that look." She turned to face her. "Heal him. Make sure he’s ready for our journey tomorrow.”

“Wait…” I croaked. “I haven’t… agreed yet, you know…”

“Oh, but you do. After you calm down and realize just how worthless you are right now, then you’ll see that accepting a lesson in the art of the sword isn’t so bad after all. After all, it’s a well-known fact that a swordsman is generally stronger than mage. Just have to close that distance, then it’s all over. Especially with the style I’ve learned. I can deflect even magic with ease. Who knows? Perhaps if you were as well-trained as me in using that thing on your hip, you might be able to deflect the spell that killed your father and mother.”

And with that, she left me and Nicole alone in the alleyway, returning back to the inn with Helen in tow.

Nicole quickly healed me. I just hoped she didn’t break something down there. That was a serious kick she just did.

Once I sat up, I looked at her and said, “How can you like someone like her? She’s so arrogant and proud and just an unpleasant person in general that I can’t imagine someone as gentle as you to ever grow liking her.”

“I am not that gentle, Hugo,” she replied with a small blush. “I still get angry at some things. I am not as patient as I might look.”

“As for your question, because I know, deep inside, she has a gentle heart,” she replied with a smile as she stood up, dusting her skirt. “I think she wants to help you, Hugo, in her own way. She wants to get you out of your rut. And she believes some harsh love is what it would take.”

_Harsh love? Sure, the harsh was there but where’s the love?_

“She doesn’t tolerate weakness in others. Because she doesn’t tolerate it in herself. To be born in her position… I don’t envy her in the slightest.”

Once again, she spoke with that same melancholic look—the same expression she displayed when she was at the church with me.

“Now come.” She offered her hand. “I’ll get you a room at the inn for the night.”

GROOWWWLLL

“Ah, I see you haven’t had dinner either.” She giggled, hearing the protest coming from my stomach. “Don’t fret. I’ll get you some food as well.”

In the end, I relented. I followed her back into the inn.

_What am I getting myself into?_

* * *

**A/N:**

**Another picture of Fiora.**

****


	64. A Pleasant Chat Over Dinner With The Angel

“I still don’t get it. How did you end up with someone like her?”

We were now back inside the tavern, eating together on the very same corner table Nicole and Fiora used a while ago. Fiora and her maid weren’t around however. They had retired back to their own room, perhaps taking their own meal there.

After making sure that no one was eavesdropping, we began our conversation.

“I suppose I can tell you a little, on how we first met,” Nicole replied, as she cut a small portion of the beef jerky on her plate with a knife and fork and put it inside her mouth.

“Please do,” I replied, taking in my own beef jerky but using my hand instead. “This whole thing really confuses me, you know.”

“I have told you before that I was a graduate from the Milicis Academy to the northwest of here, right? Well, it was there that I met her.” Nicole began her tale.

“So she went into the same school as you? That’s odd. If she’s really an Imperial Princess, shouldn’t she be educated in a more—I dunno—exclusive and sophisticated place that someone like you, no offense, shouldn’t be able to even come to let alone enroll in?”

She replied with a small smile. “That’s quite observant of you, Hugo. And indeed, there is something odd going on. The academy I went in was indeed a mixed facility where children of nobles as well as those training to become knights would attend, not just a training facility for us priests and priestesses. However, for an Imperial Princess to enroll in such a place is indeed an oddity. There is already the Royal Academy at the Capital, where the sons and daughters of the most powerful and influential aristocrats would enroll in, and that’s where her elder brother and sister enrolled. But she alone was sent to my academy, far away from the Central Region. Can you guess why, Hugo?” she asked me.

“Hmm,” I folded my hands. “If I have to guess, then it’s because for some reason, she’s deemed more lower ranked than her brother and sister. Or perhaps it can also be because it would be dangerous for her to study so close to the capital. How long has this whole assasination thing been going on anyways?”

“Very good. I’m surprised, Hugo. It’s like you already knew a thing or two about court intrigues and the like.”

_Ha, I only learned them from all the novels I’ve read._

“Your second assessment is correct. There has been a number of attempts on her life, ever since she was little.”

“Seriously? That’s horrible!”

“Indeed it is. It’s one of the main reasons why her personality ends up that way, and why she took up the sword in the first place. Knowing that there are people after her own life, instead of cowering, she decided to face them head on with her own strength, which was why she trained herself hard everyday in the way of the sword.”

“Shouldn’t the Emperor do something about it?”

“Ah yes, the Emperor.” Her smile turned bitter. “...No, I don’t think I should be the one telling you this.”

“Aw, come on! You can’t just leave me with a cliffhanger like this!” I protested.

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s a highly guarded secret and I believe you should ask Fiora herself if you really want to know.”

“As if she would ever tell me.” I huffed, before drinking the coffee in front of me. "...Hold on. Isn't that odd though?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, she's the youngest princess, right? She shouldn't have any claim to the throne in the first place. If it were really her elder siblings who wanted her gone, then their motives wouldn't add up."

"Ah, that." She took a sip of her coffee. "That's yet another secret I am not at liberty to discuss."

_Gah, this is seriously starting to get aggravating._

She didn’t say anything to my upset expression. She simply returned to her usual smile before continuing her story.

“So, we were both enrolled there, which her enrolling later than I was. It didn’t take long until the story spread, that the Second Imperial Princess had enrolled in the academy. She, of course, got the most royal treatment imaginable. She had a number of butlers and maids with her, even though you were only allowed to bring one servant with you if you were a noble, and she got a room far bigger than any of the other students.”

"Heh, I can just imagine that," I replied, envisioning her sitting in a large, fancy room, ordering her maids to dress her up and her butlers to do her homework like a true bratty ojou-sama. "So how did you meet her? You can't be in the same class right since she enrolled later than you?"

"That's right. I could only see her from afar, being surrounded by other nobles who wanted to be acquainted to her. It would be extremely useful in the game of aristocracy, to have an Imperial Princess as your ally after all."

_Politics… nothing good ever comes out from it._

"But then, after a certain incident, it all changed."

"A certain incident?"

"It was, sadly, yet another attempt on her life. Poisoning, to be exact. After participating in a tea party, she suddenly got sick. It was soon clear that it wasn't a simple fever, and that she was going to die very soon if left untreated."

"Let me guess." I interrupted her. "You cured her, didn't you?"

"Correct." She smiled. "I had to thank the Heavenly Dragon to align our fates so perfectly that I was already able to perform Master-level Detoxification magic when it happened. Lady Miriam was out doing her Grand Priestess duties so no one else could do it."

"No one?" I raised my eyebrows. "Not even the teachers? And doesn't she have her own healer?"

"Some of our teachers are indeed High Priests and Priestesses, but the only Master-level Holy Magic they knew was either the usual healing spell or attack spells. No one knew the detoxification magic needed. It's the same with her servants."

"And so, she recruited you to be her servant," I replied, folding my hand as I leaned back on my chair. "Makes sense. A cleric of your caliber would certainly be very useful to her."

_Haah, she's totally being used by her, isn't she? Well, I just hope she pays her well._

"I still don't understand though," I continued. "Why are you so loyal to her? It's fine if you just healed her but to be roped into becoming her bodyguard against assassins sent by the other imperial heirs?"

"I haven't finished yet." She took another sip of her coffee. "Afterwards, it was discovered who the culprit of the incident was. It was a daughter of a count, who was there with her at the tea party. And do you know what Fiora did to her afterwards?"

"Execute her in the most gruesome manner?" I gave a little smile.

She frowned in response. Guess she didn't appreciate my joke.

"She forgave her and her entire family. Saved them from the chopping block by hiding the result of the investigation. You see, the poor girl was only doing it because her father told her to. He wanted to curry favor with the Imperial Prince."

I sighed. _Just what you would expect from your usual power-hungry noble, I suppose. It’s not enough that they have to force their children into political marriages as a power grab move. They actually turn them into assassins now._

"So you believe she's a merciful ruler just because of that?” I continued. “I can easily imagine her forgiving them to gain more advantage for herself. They must be indebted forever to her now, and if the count has something he can offer her, like influence or so, then her forgiving them was the wiser thing to do," I argued. Sorry, but in politics, nothing is ever free.

"Not just from that," she replied with a smile. "But I can't tell you the other reason. She has promised me not to tell anyone, you see."

I sighed. "Again with the secrets."

She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "A girl has to have her secrets. I have my secrets as well. You too, right?"

_Welp, can’t argue with that. My secret? All those raunchy books I got in my bag. That, and me being a pervert in general._

"So? Do you think of her more kindly now?"

"Nope. I'm still not buying that she's anything other than a spoiled princess. She might have a horrible childhood, but that doesn't excuse her attitude." I crossed my arms with a huff. "You know, it's not fair. You told her everything about me, even the embarrassing part, but now you refuse to tell me everything about her."

"Is it about the crying part?"

"Yes, about that." Oh great, now my face is starting to warm up. “Do you even need to tell her that part?”

"I don't think there's anything embarrassing about it though." She kept her smile without any hints of a laugh.

"Maybe not to you but she certainly thought otherwise." I grumbled. Look, I don't want to be called a crybaby by a twelve or thirteen-year old brat like her. It just reminds me of all those times my little sister in my old life would mock and throw insults at me. Respect your seniors, goddamnit.

And now Miss Cleric here is all smiling. She must be holding back her giggle or something.

"You know, I have to tell her that so she would trust you, Hugo,” she answered my question. “What better way to convince her of your innocence than to tell her how you have had a heart-to-heart conversation with me to the point that you cried in the middle of it?”

“Does she trust you that much?” I couldn’t help but ask. “I mean, you can just be lying to protect me.”

“The last time I lied to her, she saw right through it in an instant. And so she made me promise never to lie to her ever again. And it’s a promise I have kept to this day,” she answered, staring away to the distance as if she was reminiscing about something. “You know, she sympathizes with you, Hugo. It's not the crying that she dislikes. Well, maybe a bit, since she thinks it’s a sign of weakness. But what she hates even more is your defeatist attitude."

"Defeatist? What do you mean?" My voice rose. I couldn't help but be offended, even if just a little.

"If she were in your position, she wouldn't have stopped training and polishing her skill. She would want to get back to those that had wronged her and her family."

"I already got back at her. I killed her, remember?"

"Then how about the rest of the Council? You believe they have no part in it?"

"That's…"

_She's right. I never thought about that._

_...Wait, that letter! Could it be that it—_

"You've realized it, haven't you?"

"...We were used as assassins. To kill Vera without getting their own hands dirty." I clenched my fists.

“I figured it was something like that.” Nicole spoke with a pensive look as she took another sip from her cup. “If the Council weren’t in it as well, then you and your family wouldn’t have survived.”

In my panic, I didn’t consider the possibility in the slightest.

“Dammit!” I slammed my fists to the table, earning a few looks from the other patrons. They quickly returned to their own business soon after, thankfully enough.

“So, now that you know, what are you going to do about it?” she asked, still with that same smile.

“I want to make them pay, of course!” I replied. “Do you even need to ask that?”

“Revenge, huh?” Her smile turned melancholic all of a sudden. “I wouldn’t suggest that.”

“So why did you even bring it up in the first place?!”

“My intention wasn’t to make you go after them. My intention was to enlighten you, that there would be a possibility for you to clash with them again in the future.”

“I know that! They probably would send their actual assassins after me soon enough.” I certainly remembered the tale of the necromancer who was chased by the Magocracy all the way to this continent. And that was just because she murdered the granddaughter of a Council member (and practicing forbidden magic too, I guess). For someone who actually killed a member, the retribution would no doubt be harsher. “That’s another good reason why I shouldn’t follow you guys. Do you really want two groups of assassins going after you at the same time?”

“Hmm, true enough,” she replied, taking another small bite of her meal. "If you're not traveling with an Imperial Princess, that is," she added with a smile.

"What does she have to do about it?"

"They wouldn't risk killing her. Not if they wanted war."

"But she's already being attacked by her own people! By her own siblings too!"

"Oh no, you don't understand. There's a major difference between death from internal politics and death from an assasination by foreign powers. The former is acceptable while the latter is an insult to the sovereignty of the empire itself. So you wouldn't be touched by them as long as Fiora is protecting you."

"Wait, I thought I'm the bodyguard here."

"Hehe. She's quite the amazing swordswoman you know. So I really do think you should accept her offer of tutelage. You have nothing to lose."

"Hey, weren't you just saying back at the church that I shouldn't be involved?" I protested.

"I changed my mind," she replied, unflinching. "After seeing the way Fiora spoke to you, I choose to believe in you—the same way she does."

"And besides," She took my right hand that hadn't been gripping anything for the past minute and wrapped it around her own two hands. "Aren't you tired of running away?"

I looked down to my near empty plate. With a sigh, I replied, "I am. I want to get stronger, both in combat and as a person. I want to be able to face anything life throws at me head on."

"Then, you know what to do, don’t you?" She smiled.

There was a pause in our conversation for a while afterwards as we finished our meals. I sat silent, unable to really respond to her. Of course, I knew the answer of my conundrum if I saw it in a purely logical manner. But I really, really don’t want to get stuck babysitting that brat for God knows how long.

“Where is she going anyways?” I started the conversation again. “Some faraway country where she can take refuge?”

“Mmm, something like that,” she replied. “But before that, she wants to visit the Grand Priests and Priestesses in the continent. Well, some of them anyways. She wants their support, you see, as the Church really hasn’t supported one candidate to the throne over the other. Another fortunate turn of fate, as I too need to visit them for my pilgrimage, if I am to become a High Priestess.”

“High Priestess? Is that like an organisational rank in the Church?” I asked, purely out of curiosity.

“Yes. I am now already a Priestess of the Milicis Church. After that is the title of High Priestess, which is only given to a few. Since I have reached Master-level in Holy Magic, and I have earned a recommendation from Lady Miriam, I can take the pilgrimage as an aspirant for the position. And after that, Grand Priestess, which is even more stringent in classification as you would first need to reach Grandmaster-level in Holy Magic, something very few ever managed to accomplish. Only a very small number of Grand Priest and Priestesses exist—each having their own territory that they have to guard and lead to the faith as part of their profession.”

“I see,” I replied. I never learned about this kind of stuff, mainly because there were no books explaining it to me back home.

“Why do you want to take it anyways?” I asked again. “You get higher pay or something?” I imagined, thinking back to the office promotions back in my old world.

“Well…” She smiled bashfully. “Lady Miriam told me to take it. So I would. I am indebted heavily to her.”

“Who is this Lady Miriam anyways? You’ve mentioned her a lot yet I don’t think you ever explained who she is.”

“Her Grace Miriam Blanchimont, the Grand Priestess of Silipha. And the headmistress of the academy where I graduated.”

“...Wait, Blanchimont? Isn’t that your—”

“Yes, that’s my last name. She adopted me, you see, so I carried her name now.” She smiled so brightly from that statement, there was no doubt she was very happy from it.

On that happy note, our conversation ended. Soon after, after wiping her mouth with a napkin, she excused herself, as she had finished her meal earlier than me, leaving me alone with my own thoughts. She didn’t need to say anything. Just her look was enough to convey her wish for me to think about Fiora’s offer carefully, and consequently, my future as well.

Soon after, I left the table as well, heading to the room she had purchased for me. Once there, I threw myself to the bed, not even bothering to take off my boots and socks. I put my two hands behind my head and started to think.

_Aah, what should I do?_

_Should I really be the bodyguard of that snotty brat who's apparently an imperial princess? I really don't want to be involved in some country's politics that I don't care about._

_But on the other hand, Nicole is with her. And knowing just how much she meant for Sherry, I don't want anything bad happening to her. And she seems like a really nice girl too…_

_Sword training huh? Maybe I should focus on that for a while. This sword on my belt barely does anything in a fight._

_She definitely is a skilled swordswoman—even I can tell by how fast and precise her sword swing was. But can she really teach me? Do I even have the talent? Shouldn't I just go pure mage instead of multiclassing?_

_Argh, this is too hard! Maybe I should sleep first before using my tired brain like this..._

It didn’t happen though. The thoughts kept swimming inside my mind, I couldn’t fall asleep. I turned around back and forth, after kicking my boots off lazily, leaving only the socks on.

I only managed to fall asleep after quite some time had passed, once I settled on the decision I was going to take—a decision that I was still not sure I should take.

Even so, I resolved myself. That I wouldn’t regret that decision.

I am done living with regrets. I will walk forward, no matter what kind of misfortune I will encounter on the way.

And that decision was...


	65. To Be Waken Up By A Princess

“-oy!”

“Boy!”

“Wake up, boy!”

The next morning, I was woken up rudely by none other than the Imperial Princess herself, yelling as if she was an angry mother waking up her child for school.

“Urghh…”

My eyes fluttered open, glancing to the side to see her all too familiar face glaring at me as if I had made a grave offense towards her.

“We’re leaving, boy!” She yelled again.

The ray of sunshine coming in from the window beside me nearly blinded me, making me close my eyes instinctively. Groggily, I sat up, yawning as I stretched my arms.

“You know, don’t you think it’s rude for a girl to enter a boy’s room like this? What if I’m sleeping without any clothes on?” I gave a little smirk. The truth is, I never sleep like that. I do sometimes sleep with just my undershirt and briefs however.

“Ha, do you think I care?” she replied with her own smirk. Huh. She’s not reacting like the usual tsundere would.

"Nice try," I tried to out-smirk her. "You're just a pervert who wants to peek at half-dressed boys. To think that the second Imperial Princess is this degenerate, what would the people say if they know?" I shook my head in a mocking manner. _Heh, did I just get a blackmail material here? Serves her right!_

To my astonishment however, once again, she didn't react the way I wanted her to. Instead of blushing and begging for me to keep her secret, she laughed instead.

"And here we have a prime example of somebody who doesn't know anything about how high society in this empire works! Go ahead! Spread around the oh-so-scandalous news of me barging into my bodyguard's room while he's asleep! See if anyone cares!"

_...I don't get it. Why isn't she bothered at all by it? It's the Holy Milicis Empire so it should be all religious and chaste and stuff, right?_

"If you want to talk about degeneracy, then my elder brother and sister are far more perverted than I am. The former sleeps around with young noble ladies all over, while the latter is fond of women, to the point of charming the maids in the imperial palace to sleep with her.”

“Wait, seriously?” I exclaimed in disbelief. “Shouldn’t the Church frown on that kind of stuff? You guys are the Holy Empire of Milicis, so you should be pretty close with them, right?” _If we’re following real life medieval church, they would no doubt frown heavily on promiscuity and homosexuality._

To add to my embarrassment, she laughed again, to the point that there were tears on her eyes that she had to wipe with her index finger. “You really don’t know anything, do you, boy?”

“Of course not! I just came to this country two months ago! How am I supposed to have any idea how its culture is supposed to work?” I protested. _So the Holy Milicis part is a lie then? This empire doesn’t actually follow the rules of the Church? I’m pretty sure with them seemingly being a knockoff of the Catholic Church back on Earth, they wouldn’t tolerate that kind of stuff._

_Or maybe it’s just the high nobles that can bend the rules. Yeah. That probably is the most reasonable answer._

_So me blackmailing her with such an innocuous thing wouldn’t work in the slightest. In fact, now that I think about it, I’ve read some fantasy stories where servants aren’t viewed as people by their noble masters, so they’re not ashamed at all if they were to stand nude in front of them. That’s why they can have a bunch of maids or butlers dressing them up or helping them in their bath. I dunno if that applies in this world though._

“Then I suggest you shut your mouth about things you have no idea about.” Her haughty look returned.

“Fine. Let’s say the bigwigs at your imperial castle tolerates their shenanigans because of their position. But the citizens of this empire certainly wouldn’t.” I rejected her advice. Dammit, I’m not going to be outwitted by some twelve year old brat! “If you spread the rumors around, surely it would hurt them in some way or form. If you’re lucky, maybe you can get an army running, made out of the people faithful to the Milicis faith that wouldn’t want a bunch of degenerates like them running the empire.” I suggested with a confident smile. I know history or two and I have read a bunch of fantasy novels with medieval politics in them. Maybe she’s born to court intrigue right from the day she’s born, I have my own adult knowledge too, you know.

“So, you’re suggesting that I start a civil war then?” To my absolute surprise, her smile was a grim one this time around.

“Well, if you want the throne that badly, that’s certainly an option.” I shrugged. “You seem to be the kind of person that wouldn’t mind doing something like that.” I couldn’t help but to add.

“...Hmph, I might have to do something like that after all.”

Huh, not going to rebuke that? I just called you a ruthless person that wouldn’t mind starting a war, just to gain power.

“What are your plans on getting the throne after all?” I folded my arms. “Nicole said you’re going around the continent, gartering support from the Grand Priests and Priestesses of the continent. Can they really help you get to the throne? Shouldn’t you just assassinate your other siblings instead? Don’t tell me that you’re being soft on them.” I gave a taunting smile.

“I would, if it was possible,” she replied, looking away as she played with her hair. “They’re always surrounded by powerful people day and night. I don’t even know if there are assassins good enough that could penetrate their defenses. Unlike me, who only had a group of imperial servants protecting me. Sure, they can fight but they’re not that strong. I’m skilled on the sword but I’m not that strong either. Not enough to be able to repel a group of highly skilled assassins on my own.”

_So that explains why Helen is like that. A real life battle maid, huh? I suppose it would make sense to have servants that could fight. Especially since assassinations seem to be commonplace on the upper echelons of the Empire._

_Though now I couldn’t help but wonder. Just what kind of monsters are guarding her siblings? Surely, they can’t be as strong as Vera. If I have to guess, they’re probably around my level. Or Father’s. And since there’s a whole group of them, they would be much more deadlier than on their own._

“You don’t have any knights to guard you?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Ha, they either have pledged loyalty to my elder brother or they have been charmed by my elder sister. All I have are my personal servants.”

_Hmm? Is that… a hint of bitterness I hear in her voice? Don’t tell me that she’s feeling lonely all of a sudden._

_...I guess you would, if you’re in her position. No allies, not even your father, and enemies everywhere, including your elder siblings._

Suddenly, I felt a tinge of sympathy for her—the first one ever since I was unfortunate enough to meet her.

That quickly vanished right in the next second.

“Well, enough chat. Get up! We’re departing right away!” She suddenly returned back to yelling mode, putting her hands on her waist.

“I still haven’t said I was going with you, you know,” I responded, still reeling from the embarrassment she just put me through.

“Oh? So you’re not going then?” She smirked again. “Fine. Go back to sleep then..”

She promptly turned around, walking towards the door to my room. How did she get in anyway?

“...Fine. I’m coming with you.” I begrudgingly said. There. That was my answer.

After thinking about it for what felt like hours, I decided to take her up on her offer. Not because she won over me or anything—she’s still a smug brat that I dislike—but because she can offer me what I lack.

Strength.

I need more strength to survive in this world. And to protect those that I care about.

It’s fine if I had to endure for God knows how long of her rotten attitude, as long as she makes me a swordsman just as good as her.

What I lack now isn’t in offensive power. I need defensive capabilities instead. And if you can really deflect magic with her style of swordplay, then I would definitely have to learn from her.

Not to mention the fact that being a swordsman is much more convenient than being a mage, seeing how you can attack much faster than a mage could.

I still remember how I had to rely on my summons to take the enemy blow for me, and how my main weakness is fast attacks that took me by surprise. I remember what Father told me, that the best swordsman could feel an attack coming and respond to it without needing to see or even think about it.

She stopped. “What’s that, boy? I can’t hear you!”

“I said I’m coming with you! I accept your offer!” I shouted. God, she’s enjoying making me squirm like this, isn’t she? “Look, you’re a Galahad-style sword user, right? That precise movement and the ability to deflect spells like you said. I want to learn that.”

She turned around with a prideful look. “Hoo, so you already know your sword styles, don’t you, boy? You are right. I am a Galahad-style sword user.”

Just as I expected.

Father said that his style was closer to the Lancelot school instead, who preferred offensive power over defense and precision. Sherry was the same as well. Maybe that’s why their sword speed was less than her. She could swing her sword really fast, but not with as much power as them. She probably wouldn’t be able to pierce the tough scale of that ice snake we fought.

Well, no matter. I didn’t really need it for offensive purposes. I already got magic for that. I just need it to defend myself.

So that the next time I was in the firing range of a powerful Grandmaster-level spell, I could defend against it on my own.

“Then, in five minutes, go to the stable at the back of the inn.” Still with that triumphant look, she turned around once again.

I couldn’t resist. I threw my pillow right towards her head.

Only for her to dodge it without even looking, just by tilting her head to the side.

“Too slow, boy. Too slow.”

I didn’t even need to see her face to know that her grin had just gotten bigger.

_Not a single useless movement. Just a slight tilt of her head,_ I said to myself once she closed the door behind her. _I think I might have just found my teacher after all._

_Even though she’s a royal pain in the ass._

\---------

I arrived at the stable soon after. As expected, Nicole and Helen were already there as well, standing near the carriage I would assume belong to them. It was a large close-roofed carriage, so it had four horses pulling it on the front. It was nicer-looking than the usual variant, but it wasn’t so nice that it would attract much attention.

Nicole gave me her usual kind smile, while the royal brat had her usual haughty look as usual. Only the maid had a neutral expression on her face, though her suspicion of me was still there on her face.

“You know, I expect you to keep your promise on training me,” I declared, just to remind her to keep her side of the bargain.

“Of course,” she replied. “And in exchange, you will help me train.”

“You’ll die if I go all out with my spells, you know,” I replied back, really wanting to wipe that smug look of her face. “My Master-level Wind spell obliterates everything on its path. A puny sword like yours wouldn’t be able to block it, let alone parry it.”

“Puny sword?” She suddenly laughed, covering her mouth in the process. “You really don’t know anything, do you boy? Fine. The next time we take a rest, I’ll show you just how strong I am. Then maybe you’ll start calling me ‘Master’ like you should.”

“I’m not calling you that! That ain’t on the deal!” I objected. Like hell I would kowtow around her like that!

“Hmph, fine! That just means I’m going to train you even harsher. Prepare yourself, boy.”

After our little banter, the brat, Nicole, and I all entered the carriage, while Helen took the driver seat.

Inside, the two seats were far away enough that I could stretch my legs, unlike the usual carriage. The brat sat on one seat while Nicole and I took the other.

_Well, this is a pretty nice carriage._

Unlike the usual carriage with their hard, solid wood, this one had soft red couches as its seat. The back rest was cushioned as well so it’s far less harsh on your back. Perfect for long trips.

The two windows to the left and right were unique as well. Their glass was the one-sided type, pitch black from the outside while you could perfectly see through it from the inside. You could decide whether to open and close it as well, if you wanted to let some wind inside. Each of them was also accompanied by a red curtain if you wanted to open the window while at the same time keeping your privacy.

And to my surprise, on the ceiling, there was a miniature chandelier attached.

_Whew, this really is quite the lavish— Ouch!_

My thought was rudely interrupted by a book right to my face.

“If you’re done gawking, then go read that book. It’s about the basics of swordsmanship. I won’t tell you every detail so make sure to commit everything in it to memory.”

It was Fiora, of course. Who else could be so bold as to throw a book right onto somebody’s face?

She knocked on the glass window separating our section from the driver’s, signalling to her maid that it was time to depart.

As the carriage slowly moved forward, I gave a short glare before moving my attention to the book.

_Now that I think about it, couldn’t Father just give me one of these back home?_

The book was not ornate in the slightest. It was just like any of those leather bound books you could find just about anywhere.

_Let's see here… the title is… An Introductory to Galahad School Sword Style. What is this? Is this like some beginner’s training manual or something?_

"Hey, Fiora. I already got some sword training myself, you know. So a beginner book like this isn’t really suited for— "

"You have quite the nerve there, boy, calling me by my first name like that,” she rudely interrupted.

"You let Nicole call you like that though," I protested.

"Ha! That’s only because I gave her permission to do so, which you haven’t earned,” she replied, her gesture pretty much screaming _“Come here and hit me! I dare you!”_. Gah, if only she isn’t some sword prodigy with superhuman reflexes, I am seriously considering throwing this book back right on her face.

“You may call me Miss Fiora. I am already gracious enough to allow you to use my first name like that,” she continued her spiel.

“I’m not your butler or your knight. I’m not going to bow around you and call you like that.”

“You’re my bodyguard. So you’re my servant, no? Shouldn’t you give some respect to your client, especially if she’s an Imperial Princess?” She smirked.

Argh, how could her maid stand her with this attitude? In fact, how could maids and butlers and servants in general stand it when they have to always be all polite and submissive towards their masters, especially one as annoying as she is? I never signed up for the servant life!

"If you hate it so much, then how about this? You can drop the honorific once you can land a blow on me with your sword."

She said it so casually, ignoring the fact that she could probably block every single one of my sword slashes and thrusts even with her eyes closed.

No, it's not that she ignores it. It's exactly the opposite. She knows I'll never be able to do it, which is why she proposes it in the first place, just to taunt me.

"Hmph, that's unfair, don't you think?" I crossed my arm after putting the book on my lap. "I'm more of a mage than a swordsman. I'll definitely be able to land a blow to you with my magic."

"I know that. You've beaten Vera after all, if you weren't lying about it, that is.” She smirked, playing with her twintail. “That’s why I’m going to learn from you as well. Though of course, in the end, you’ll learn more from me than I learn from you.”

"You know, if you stop being so smug, you might actually have more allies you can rely upon."

I couldn't stop myself. I went straight for the slight insecurity I had sensed from her before.

"Well, that's curious. Are you saying that you're not my ally, boy?" she replied, seemingly unfazed by my words.

"Barely. This is just an alliance of convenience. Nothing more.” I gave her a frown.

“And that would be enough. I only need you to perform your duties. Don’t flatter yourself by thinking that I need your undying loyalty.”

I sighed. I really can’t win against her, can I? What a hard headed girl.

Well, so much for my big-boobed innocent princess fantasy. I’m now stuck with a brat instead.

At the very least, I still have Nicole beside me. Right, Nico—oh, she’s reading a book.

So that’s why she’s been silent all this time while we were having our argument.


	66. Marina’s Side — A Visit to The Baron

**Marina**

“That idiot! He should’ve asked me for help or something! Aren’t we friends anymore?”

The man currently in front of me slammed his fist to the table, causing the entire thing to shake. A mixture of grief and anger were displayed on his face.

He was none other than Baron Eriol. I had decided to give him a visit in the end.

We were sitting in his study—me and Erika. She refused to leave my side, so I had to bring her along to this conversation. She was currently sitting right beside me, with a glum look on her face.

She had been like that ever since we left our home back at Karla. And I couldn’t really fault her for that. I imagine my face is pretty glum as well.

“I swear, if I could make those stuck-up sloths on the capital move from their high and mighty thrones and listen to me at once, I’d tell them to send Glinda along with him.”

“Glinda?”

“Our court mage back at the capital. She’s a Master-level mage, so she would no doubt be useful for your rescue mission.”

“That would be seen as an act of aggression on Marchen’s part though.”

“...Yeah, you’re right. Argh, politics! Damn it all to hell!”

If a stranger was to listen to this conversation without seeing them, and without taking notice of the difference between their voices, they would probably think Marina was the adult and the Lord being the naive, hotheaded youth.

“That’s why Father hadn’t informed you. He wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“And that’s why he’s a damn idiot! What are friends for if not to be troubles to each other? He’s a trouble when he first got here, you know. He got a beautiful, pregnant wife out of nowhere and he begged me for a job that wouldn’t require him to leave her. And so I gave him his knight status and assigned him to the most backwater and peaceful village in my territory that I could find.”

He took a swig of frustration of his wine cup before continuing.

“So, you really are going all the way to the northwest? Just the two of you?” He scratched his chin with a concerned look.

“Yes. I know very well that Marchen wouldn’t be able shelter us if the Magocracy demands our heads.”

He chuckled dryly. “You’re right. I was about to offer you a job to be my personal mage but I guess that offer is out of the window now.” He gave a sour grin, before taking a deep sigh. “Our military capability is just no match for them. All this time, we could only keep our autonomy simply because they didn’t see that it’s worth their time and effort to conquer us.”

I stared down at my own cup of wine. Now that I think about it, I never drank alcohol before. I never like drunkards, and I would never want to end up like them.

It was night time, so I guess he found it fine to serve wine for both of us.

"I apologize… for not being more of a service," he spoke again with a more subdued tone, interlocking his fingers together as he sighed once more. “Oh, I know! Why don’t you take one or two of my maids? I’d hate to be separated from them of course, but—”

“That wouldn’t be necessary. I wouldn’t want to drag them into my problem. They would become fugitives as well. And they already seem to be happy with you.”

Judging by the genuinely happy smiles they seem to always have in their faces when they received me, I could tell that he had treated them right. No need to ruin their happiness.

“Then, how about money? You surely will need some for the road.”

“I already stole a bunch of valuable jewels and other objects from the Ice Witch’s mansion. So money wouldn’t be an issue either.”

If I were to be frank, I never liked receiving help from others like this without me giving anything in return. It made me feel like a beggar. And I suppose my proud soul couldn’t stand that.

“Heh, glad to hear that you’re clever enough to do that,” he replied with a grin. “But have you sold them yet though?”

“I haven’t. I was planning to tomorrow.”

“Then, at the very least, let me help by recommending the jeweler that would give you the best price for them.”

I nodded. This kind of help though—I didn’t mind it so much.

"Oh, Alan told me that you're a Master-level mage already, right? Then you should really seek the position of a court mage. You're talented enough for it, even with your young age. It pays really well, and you’ll get your own mansion complete with maids that would obey your every command. Well, usually anyways. If the king is a penny pincher, you'd probably only get one of his castle's towers as your home." He gave a chuckle at his own joke.

"No, I don't think I will,” I answered straight to the point with a firm look.

“Eh? Why not?”

“Because I would get involved in court politics. And I had enough of that—of ruling figures trying to control and manipulate me to do what they want. I just want to live a peaceful life with Erika away from those miserableness.”

“...Heh. You’re just like Glinda, aren’t you?” He leaned back on his seat. “You know, she too hates court politics. In that sense, she’s my only ally in the capital. Doesn’t approve of my taste though, so we don’t get along that well.”

His taste? I believe I know what he meant by that, judging by how there were only hobbit maids working here.

“Ah, here’s an idea. Why don’t you pay her a visit while you’re at the capital? You’re going through Duskglow Plains, right?”

“Yes, we are,” I replied. “It’s either that or circling around to the west and south, which would add many unnecessary days to our journey.” Duskglow Plains was located in between two mountain ranges, The Gordillis Peaks and the Ligurita Range. If I don’t go through it, then I would have to circle around the Ligurita Range all the way to the southwest. Oh, and by the way, Karha Mountains back home were technically part of the Gordillis Peaks, but the locals preferred to call it with their own name instead.

“Be careful.” He warned me with a grim look. “I heard that place had been overrun by strong monsters for a good while now. Merchants who couldn’t afford hiring high-ranking adventurers would just take the southern route instead.”

“We would be fine,” I replied. “I’m a Master-level mage, remember?”

“Well, if you’re anything like Glinda, then you shouldn’t have any problem dealing with them. They’re around C to B ranks, although rarely, an A rank could appear as well.”

“A rank?” I paused, my mind reminiscing back to that mountain lion I failed to win against. “I have to be careful then.” I then decided to ask a question I had been having in my mind for a while. “You seem to know a lot about this Glinda.”

“Well, of course! She’s my little sister after all!” He patted his chest with a gleam of pride in his eyes.

Well, that was a surprise. I thought she was his old lover or something.

“And that’s why I can get you to meet her if you want. I’ll write you a letter that can get you inside her mansion. With my name and seal on it, she would grant you an audience without a doubt.”

“I apologize, but I have to refuse. We don’t have any time to waste. And we risk of getting arrested by her guards if we arrive after the news of my deed reaches her ears."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." He smiled. "She's not that kind of person. She's not like the other cowards in the capital who kowtow to the Magocracy as if we're their vassal kingdom. She dislikes the Magocracy, you see, even though she's a graduate of their academy. So that's another point the two of you share."

"We wouldn't gain anything by visiting her."

"And that's where you're wrong." His smile got wider. "She's a dual-casting mage. And she learned it all on her own too. Aah, my cute little sister is really amazing, isn't she?" He now grinned. _He really is proud of his sister._

_But Dual Casting… I want that. No, I need that if one day I'm going to fight against the Magocracy once again._

“...Then, I’ll take up on your offer.”

"Excellent! Tomorrow morning, I'll hand you the introductory letter. But tonight…"

Suddenly, he clapped his hands twice. Immediately a hobbit maid entered into the room, standing near the doorway. It was the same hobbit that he told to leave when we arrived.

"Janet, why don't you lead our guests here to one of our guest rooms? Give them the best one—the one right next to the gardens. And tell the chef to cook them a full course meal."

"Certainly, Milord." She bowed.

"Apologies, but you two arrived on such a late hour that we already had our dinner. So the food would have to be delivered to your room instead."

"We would prefer that."

And with that, it was decided that we would stay here for the night.

\------

I grabbed Erika's little hand and guided her forward, following the hobbit maid in front of me. It didn't take long until we reached our room.

It was indeed a luxurious one, fit for a Marquis or a Duke. The bed was large, and there was more than enough space for us to sleep together on it.

Our dinner was a complete five star dinner in every aspect, from presentation to taste. Even Erika in her current condition couldn't resist finishing her plate. I too ate a lot that night, to the point that I shamefully burped at the end.

Erika finally mustered a smile from that though. And I would be perfectly willing to burp a thousand times if it could make her return to her cheerful self.

We slept together, naturally. Unfortunately, once again, nightmares assaulted her in her sleep, resulting in her wetting the bed once again. Thankfully, the maid that came to invite us to breakfast didn't seem to mind at all. She even offered us to take a bath to clean, which we took, of course. And, as if we were royal guests, they also helped cleaning us in the baths. I couldn't help but blush, as I had to bare my naked body to a group of strangers I knew nothing about. Erika, however, was more averse to being touched by people she didn't know, so I had to be the one washing her.

We then went straight to breakfast afterwards, after the maids dressed us up in the clothes given by the Baron. At first, I said no, as we really had no need for fancy dresses like these, but the head maid won us over, saying that it would help getting a higher price for the objects we were about to sell.

"Miss, it helps being thought of as one of the higher class if you go to fancy stores like that. And looking at how beautiful you two are, you definitely can pull off the "noble lady" look just fine!" She smiled as she put on my gloves.

I sighed once I looked at myself in the mirror. I really am not suited for this kind of clothing.

Erika though, it perfectly suits her. If only she would smile with it…

We were then escorted to the dining room by the maid, where the Baron already waited. Well, him, and who I assume to be his wife and daughter.

The moment I sat, the daughter gave me a glare.

_...Oh no._

It was clear as day that the Baron wasn't getting along with his wife and daughter in the slightest. They barely talked with each other, and the latter two kept sending me dirty looks.

_They probably think I'm his mistress or something._

I didn't bother correcting this misunderstanding though. I knew better than to shove myself into the crossfire. He did introduce us, as the daughters of a friend, but they didn't seem to buy it.

After we finished, he told me to visit him back at his study, which we promptly did.

"Here. The letter."

I took it from his hand and stored it inside my dimensional storage right away.

"Ah, how convenient." He commented. "Much better than lugging a bag around."

He then told me the address of his little sister's mansion. Thankfully, it was right at the capital city, so there was no need for us to take a long detour.

“You could go there right away the moment you arrive at the city. There would be no need for you to pretty yourself up first in an inn. That letter says you are my honored guest, and you have an urgent need to meet with the court magician as promptly as possible. They would receive you kindly and you would be able to rest there until she returns from her duties,” he explained.

"Also, the address of the jeweler that would give a good price for your *ahem* goods. Or should I accompany you instead?”

“There would be no need for that.” I replied. “You’ve already done too much for us, Lord Eriol.” I gave a little curtsy. After all the hospitality he had displayed, I couldn’t help but feel bad for not addressing him in the proper manner.

“Oh please, I despite formalities like that.” He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “I might be a ruling baron, but deep down, I’m still just a vulgar adventurer that loves women too much.” He grinned.

_I can already guess why his family despised him so._

“At the very least, let my driver take the reins of your stagecoach so you would arrive with style to the jewelry shop. It wouldn’t do to let a young lady like you to be the one directing the horses now, would it?”

Once again, I reluctantly agreed.

\------

Like we were daughters of a noble, or a rich merchant with servants, Erika and I sat together inside the carriage while the baron’s man drove us to the jeweler. It didn’t take long for us to arrive, and, like a true aristocrat, our door was opened by him and he offered his hand to help us descend.

“Oh, welcome! Welcome! What can this humble personage help you with today, Miss?” The shopkeeper immediately greeted us with a bow. He was an elderly man, but I could tell just from how his eyes sharpened the moment we came in, he was a shrewd and cunning merchant.

“I would like to sell for a fair price,” I answered, reciting the cover story the baron had suggested to me. “Father believed it was time for me to start learning how to manage our household’s finances so he sent me to sell the jewelries, plates, and cups that we no longer need.”

Like the baron suggested, I was to keep eye contact with him at all times. Even if I might be a mere 15 year old girl, I must be as imposing and regal as a 25-year old adult.

“Very well,” he replied. “Then please, if you would, Miss…”

The transaction went smoothly. I took out all the goods I was to sell on his long table, earning a clear awe on his face. After letting him examine them all for several minutes, I then asked, “How much?”

“Let’s see here… they are certainly quite ornate, and I could confirm that the gems were real… I would take them off your hands for 100 gold coins, Miss.”

_And there he goes. Lying on the price. I had shown the goods to the baron, and he said that I should at least get 200 gold coins for them._

“Ah, that’s regrettable. My father wouldn’t be happy in the slightest if I sold them for a mere 100 gold coins.” I returned with a smile. _“Always keep smiling as you bargain”, the baron has told me._ “Then, I would have to take my business elsewhere.”

“O-oh, a-apologies. It seems my eyes have gotten bad lately. These should be 150 coins instead, Miss.”

“150? I believe I can sell them for 300, if I was in a bigger, more respectable establishment. Alas, Aarom is a small city. It’s nowhere near as prosperous as the capital.” _And there I said it, a slight, indirect insult. That’s how you’re supposed to badmouth the people you don’t like in the world of nobles._

“200! I’ll take them for 200!”

“Very well.” I decided, still maintaining my dispassionate smile. “I have decided to be generous. This shop certainly could use some renovations and I would love if you would use the profits you earn when you resell those trifles towards such design.”

And that’s how you do it.

\-------

Afterwards, with the fresh pouch of 200 gold coins safely stored in my pocket dimension, I returned back outside and climbed back into the carriage with Erika on tow. I was thankful that she remained silent throughout the whole exchange.

The deal was for the driver to take us outside of town, before we resumed our journey on our own. So, after making sure that all the curtains were closed, we began to change back out of these stuffy dresses into our loose dresses more suited for the long trip we were about to endure. After I undressed myself, with only my green panties and bra remaining, I helped Erika change out of her clothes as she naturally struggled with it. Only after she was well-dressed again that I wore my white one-piece and green light jacket again. It wasn’t easy, changing in the middle of a moving carriage like this.

“Here we are, Miss,” the driver announced, before climbing down from his seat and opening the door. “Good luck and may the Saint be with you two.” He gave a deep bow after he took off his hat.

And just like that, we were alone on our own once more.

“Well, Erika?” I smiled at the blonde girl. “Ready for a journey to the capital?”

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here's the picture Marina's looks are based upon.**

****


	67. Marina’s Side — To Be Treated Like An Aristrocrat

Our trip to the capital, Ortessa, took us just under a month or so.

The road there wasn’t easy. Multiple times we were assaulted by bandits or monsters. Unlike the Magocracy, Marchen’s roads didn’t seem to be as well-maintained as it could be. I dispatched them easily however, by just summoning my owlbear. I didn’t even need to cast any spells.

Poor Erika, however, was so terrified of them that I was afraid it would turn into a trauma. I had to calm her down, saying that she had nothing to fear as her big sister was here, protecting her.

Eventually though, she started to grow used to it, hearing the roars of monsters or the jeers of bandits and the screams they would let out once I unleashed my owlbear at them. For a three year old to be used by them though, I couldn’t help but feel something was lost in the process.

_This trip… it might just ruin her childhood innocence._

Another thing she was getting used to was our parents’ deaths. She no longer had nightmares of them, resulting in dry bedsheets once again. However, instead of being happy and proud that she no longer needed her nighttime diapers, she remained silent. She was like that through most of the trip, staring to the distance with a melancholic look on her face. It broke my heart seeing her like that.

I tried to cheer her up many times, resulting in the occasional smiles and even laughs, but she quickly returned to her somber self.

I couldn’t blame her. Even I, who was already an adult, felt this constant hollowness in my heart that erased whatever smiles I might make. I only smiled at Erika these days, and some of it was forced, just to cheer her up.

And on top of all that, there was still something else that made me worry about her.

And that was the fact that she seemed to grow hateful towards Hugo.

She would compare me to him, saying how I was here protecting her while Hugo ran away. She even started to call him a coward. And a pervert as well. To my horror, she somehow knew of the fact that he kept my panties and Sherry’s in a box.

“Erika, it’s not like that. Sherry and I gave our panties willingly to him. He didn’t steal them from us. And he might have run away but it’s just because his kind heart blamed himself for Father and Mother’s death.” I tried to persuade her.

“He promised… he promised he would keep them safe…” Her voice shook. “And yet… and yet after he failed, instead of apologizing to me, he ran away instead. Mother always said to keep your promises, and Father always said to apologize immediately if you’ve done something wrong. And he doesn’t do any of them!” She ended with a shout.

“Erika, you have to understand, Hugo is—”

“You’re just defending him because you love him!” she continued, unabated. “That’s why you gave him your panties! And that’s why Sherry gave hers as well!”

“Of course I love him!” I shouted back. “I love him just like I love you! He’s my dear little brother and you’re my dear little sister! I don’t want to hear you badmouthing him like this!”

“You’re blind, Sis! Mother said that when I got older, I shouldn’t be blinded by love like the heroine from The Fall of Princess Lilum! And that’s what you’re doing right now! You don’t see his glaring flaws like I do!”

The Fall of Princess Lilum was a book about a stubborn princess who falls in love with a bard that serenaded her with love letters and poems. She ignored every single advice she got, from her father, her tutor, her maid, and even her stable boy, that the bard wasn’t to be trusted. She eloped with said bard, only to end up being murdered by him as he was revealed to be an assassin from a neighboring, conflicting country.

It was yet another moralistic tale that scared children to listen to their elders. I didn’t know why Mother decided to read it to her. Or maybe she read it by herself and then went to Mother to ask about it afterwards?

But to compare Hugo to a man that played with a young girl’s heart like that, I couldn’t just take it lying down.

“Don’t say that!” Before I realized it, I started to shout back. “Hugo has worked hard to save me! If not for him, then I wouldn’t be here with you! I would still be there, up on that cold mountain back at the Magocracy! He might have his flaws but we all do!”

“Then admit that he’s a pervert and a coward!” she responded with passion.

“I won’t! He’s a brave little gentleman! He’s just too kindhearted for his own good, that’s all!” I shouted back, giving my own passionate reply.

In the end, the argument never got resolved, with each of us staying stubborn to our own versions of him. It led to a silent strike by her for a few days. And after that, I decided never to bring up the subject again.

Erika is a stubborn girl, just like me and Mother. The only way she’s going to love her brother back if he actually appears right in front of her and begs her for forgiveness. I have no doubt her hardening heart would melt once he does.

_You really are an idiot, Hugo, by running away like that..._

\---------

Ortessa was located right beside a large lake called by the same name. It pooled water from the Gordillis Peaks and then sent it down towards the southern coast. The locals would use it mostly as a recreational spot, with wealthy people building villas and summer houses there.

Ortessa itself was a walled city, and a heavily populated one. Although compared to Mira, I think it's still smaller in size.

Erika insisted to sit beside me once we approached the city. I couldn't blame her. The city, the lake, and the surrounding plains—all made for a really good scenery.

"Look, Sis! It's a lake!" She pointed while laughing, her blonde hair swaying on the wind.

 _Oh Erika._ I smiled, patting her on the head. _You really are like an adorable little angel when you are cheerful like this._

We entered the city without a hitch, and we headed straight to the address the Baron had given to me. I decided to trust him in the end. After all, he was Father’s friend, and I could tell that he was genuinely upset by his death. And the way his maids talked about him, even if he might have an odd hobby of collecting hobbit maids like that, he was a kind person.

And besides, I also wished to meet with this Glinda. If she truly disliked the Magocracy like the baron said, then I believe the baron wanted me to make an alliance of sorts with her.

One day, I would clash with the Magocracy once more. And when that day came, if I could obtain her support, it would be a great boon to me. Especially if she could mobilize Marchen as a whole to stand against that nation.

A relationship built on fear couldn’t last for long. And the way the Magocracy had operated, with how they destroyed Ledo, I have no doubt there are elements in Marchen that would want to see the Magocracy weakened.

The mansion was located right outside the castle. A nifty arrangement for the court mage, I suppose, allowing her to go home whenever she wanted.

A pair of guards stood before the closed gate, halting the carriage.

"Greetings." I gave them a salute. "I have business with Lady Glinda Fernwood. And I already have an introduction letter from her older brother, Baron Eriol Fernwood.” I handed them the letter.

At first, they didn't believe me. But the moment they saw the seal and read its content, their attitude changed 180 degrees. They immediately apologized for stopping us before opening the gate, allowing us to enter. One of them also ran inside in a rush, no doubt to send a message to the other servants that we were coming.

After passing through the gate, which were quickly closed behind us, we were greeted by the sight of a garden. Not too large but definitely well-kept. I guided the horses on the paved road, taking care that they didn't munch on any of the hedge fences. 

I stopped the carriage near the front door before a valet took it to be parked in the stables.

We were greeted by a dark-haired man with a goatee. If I had to guess, he was in his thirties. He introduced himself as Alec, the head butler of the establishment.

"Welcome, Miss." He bowed with his right hand placed on his left chest. "Please, follow me.”

He led us inside the mansion. As usual, Erika kept her hand interlocked with mine.

We first entered the vestibule, a small room with well-furnished sofas placed to the left and right, no doubt intended to be used by visitors as they waited for the receiving servant to call them in. Just from the existence of this room, I could sense the difference between the baron and his little sister. The baron welcomed visitors, while the court mage seemed to be more of the reserved type, preferring visitors to not enter her domain unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Or maybe I was just overthinking it, and this was just how the mansion was when the king gave it to her.

We didn’t stop here though. We continued inside into the main hall, where there was a large and elegant spiral staircase going upwards. It nearly reminded me of Vera’s mansion, only that the stairs there were straight.

“I have read the letter,” the butler said as we walked. “And so you might use one of our guest rooms to rest. No doubt it had been a long and tiring trip, all the way from Lord Eriol’s place.” I nodded. “Then, please don’t hesitate to employ the maids I have assigned there. Ask them anything you wish if it would make your stay more comfortable. The mistress would most likely join you in the evening, after she finished her duties at the castle. Do not fret. I have sent a messenger to her.”

_I guess we’re going to get pampered like nobles once more._

_How funny. It’s as if we go back and forth from being rich to being poor and then being rich again._

“Oh, I would have to ask for Miss to not traverse anywhere on the second and third floor. Mistress Glinda is very particular that no one should ever go there unless they have obtained expressed permission from her first.” He bowed again.

_Second and third floor? I guess as a mage, she might have an alchemy laboratory there. Or a library filled with her personal research. And naturally, her bedroom would be there too. I wouldn’t want any stranger to just waltz into my personal rooms like that as well._

He then led me to the east wing of the mansion, to where the guest rooms were located. They didn’t seem to be vacated. I always wondered why aristocrats and wealthy people in general would have so many empty rooms like this. Feels like a waste to me.

The moment we entered however, we saw a sight that completely took us off-guard.

A butt. There was a butt hanging on mid-air. A small yet ample butt, clad in yellow and white stripes.

I looked away and saw that it belonged to a girl dressed in a maid uniform. She was busy cleaning the back of the sofa, to the point that she had to bend over extremely like that, so that she could reach the very bottom with her duster. But the fact that she was standing on the sofa, thankfully with her white socks, leaving her black shoes on the carpet, I couldn’t help but wonder if this girl wasn’t that bright in the head.

“Uwawawawa, it’s so far… I can’t reach it…”

Thanks to her skirt being uncharastically short, she was flashing her panties at us. And she didn’t seem to notice our presence either.

“Heydel!”

“Kyaahh!”

The girl yelped, and it led to her actually falling down headfirst into the gap between the wall and the sofa in the most comical manner.

“H-help! I-I can’t get out!”

Her legs were now flying up and down, back and forth, as she tried to free herself.

“Merkel! Fantina! Where in the blazes are you two?” He yelled again.

“Yeess, coming~” A melodious feminine voice replied inside the door on the other end of the room. Even though he said this was a guest room, this was pretty much a small suite as it had a living room, the one we were currently in, and the bedroom, which should be just beyond that door.

“C-coming!” This time around, the voice sounded much more timid than the other two.

In the meantime, the butler rescued the stuck maid from her precarious position by pulling her legs. He didn't seem to care in the slightest that the maid was flashing her undergarments to him. A mature adult like him probably already has a lover or even a wife. A young girl like her wouldn't excite him in the slightest.

Soon enough, two other maids popped out from the inner room. Leading the charge was a black-haired girl, all happy and smiling. Behind her was a brown-haired girl, looking as if she was about to be executed. In many ways they were opposite of each other, including even their bodies. The black-haired one was a slim, well-endowed young lady, while the brown-haired one was short and pudgy.

“Why did you two leave Heydel alone? She just embarrassed all of us in front of our visitor!” The head butler resumed his yelling. Gone was his calm demeanor from just a few moments ago, vanishing to the wind.

"P-please don't scold them! I-it's my fault, Mr. Alec!" The clumsy maid bowed as far as she could. She had short brown hair similar to her pudgy friend, only hers was lighter. Unlike the other two, her maid skirt only reached down to her upper knees, which led to the unfortunate display from before. Accompanying that was a pair of white socks that reached up her thighs.

If I had to say, clumsy girl here was about 12 or so, while her two friends were around my age, with the slim one slightly older.

Noticing me, she let out a small “Eek!” before bowing towards me as well. “P-please forgive me for my unsightly display, Miss!”

I sighed, before replying with a smile. “It’s alright. Accidents happen after all.”

I really wasn’t insulted in the slightest by her showing her unmentionables like that. I wasn’t a prude after all. When a girl wore skirts, she would no doubt show her panties from time to time. Even long skirts could still be blown up in the wind if it’s strong enough. As a fellow skirt wearer, I would be a liar if I hadn’t caught short once in a while.

In her case though, it was not the wind to blame but her own clumsiness.

Seeing my indifferent reaction seemed to have calmed down the head butler as well. However, it didn’t stop him from asking me to give him some time to discipline the three before letting them serve me, so I let him “borrow” them for a short while. I hoped he wouldn’t be too harsh on them.

Tired after a long trip, I didn’t hesitate to rest my body on the soft and fluffy bed, with Erika beside me.

“Sis… we’re going to have those three around when we’re here?” she asked with a look that said she would rather have them stand outside instead.

I smiled as I patted her head, playing with her hair that had grown longer ever since we departed from home. “You don’t like maids, Erika?”

“No… I don’t wanna be dressed and bathed. I can do it by myself…”

Of course, I already knew that was the case. It was the same with the maids back at the baron’s house.

“It’s alright. I don’t like it much either. But just like before, we’ll only be staying here for a short while. I’ll meet the mistress of this mansion and then we’ll be back on our way. Just think of this as a luxury inn we’re staying in, alright?”

“Alright…” She nodded reluctantly.

We stayed like that for a while, with Erika snuggling to me, until a knock sounded on the door.

“Miss!“ It was the voice of the clumsy maid. She was both yelling and whispering at the same time. “May we come in?”

I imagined if I said nothing, they would just leave us on our own, probably in the belief that we were resting. You would be a bad maid if you interrupt your master’s rest after all.

"Yes, please come," I replied, sitting up, to Erika's dismay. She was starting to get sleepy, and was just about to slumber to dreamland when this rude interruption happened.

The three maids entered, and they immediately bowed in unison, apologizing for the incident from before.

"Haven't I told you that it's fine?" I replied. "Please, lift your heads. I'm just a passerby. I would leave quite soon enough."

The three then proceeded to introduce themselves.

"And I'm—" I stopped myself. _I don't think it's wise for me to use my real name._ "You can call me Clarisse. And this little one is Sharon."

"But I'm not—"

"Shh…" I immediately stopped Erika from correcting me with a whisper. "We're playing pretend now."

Thankfully, the three maids didn’t sense that there was anything amiss. After giving their introductions, they then asked whether we needed anything. I replied with a no, and told them that we wished to rest and not to be disturbed.

And with that, the three of them retreated, leaving Erika and I to our comfortable solitude once more.


	68. Marina’s Side — A Dinner With A Court Mage

We ended up sleeping through the afternoon, only waking up when it was time for our dinner, thanks to our maids. Just like Alec told us, Glinda had already arrived from the castle, and she was willing to talk with us over dinner.

Or, to be exact, we were woken up one hour before dinner, as they wanted to bathe us first.

Just like at the mansion of the baron, this place also had its own bathing house. And we were immediately escorted there. Or rather, “herded” there as they seemed to be so terribly excited to give us a good cleaning, to the point that I couldn’t help to smell myself a little, just to check whether we actually had an unpleasant smell all this time.

Nope. I smell perfectly fine. I’m not like one of those bad-odored adventurers we met on the road. I always insist on taking a bath at least once every day. Thankfully, it’s really easy to do so when you can cast water magic. Though I have to say, taking baths in rivers or just pouring myself with water in the bushes was certainly something I had to get used to. But that’s the sacrifice I have to make in order to keep myself clean. And Erika’s as well, naturally. I used my dryad and fairy to watch the surroundings, making sure that there aren’t any peeping toms around. A mundane use for summons, I imagine, but they seem glad doing the role.

Throughout the process, in which we were thoroughly cleaned by them, I took note that the three were clearly good friends with each other. Heydel, the clumsy one, was the most chatty of them all, followed closely by Merkel, who loved to throw a banter back and forth with her. I could sense that the latter seemed to consider the former as her little sister, and so she teased her a lot. Fantina was the quietest one, too timid to be really joining in with their banter. But from the way she smiled watching them, I could tell that she was perfectly happy that way.

Heydel bombarded me with questions about the eastern frontier where I came from. I answered as much as I could to her satisfaction, without disclosing any information that could divine my real identity. I didn’t opt to ask about her however. Instead, I asked about Glinda instead. I wished to know as much as I could about my host before I met her.

“Lady Glinda is the best! She's so nice and kind and pretty and thanks to her, I can wear this cute dress all day!" She gestured proudly at her maid uniform. Oh, by the way, the reason why she's the only one wearing a short skirt was because she kept tripping with the long version worn by the other two. She actually ended up knocking over an expensive vase thanks to that and since then, she was allowed to wear a shorter skirt over the others.

Didn't really stop the clumsy girl from tripping on our way to the bathhouse though, showing off her striped underwear once again.

After staying in the heated, perfumed water for a while, it was time for us to be scrubbed. To my surprise, Erika actually let somebody else do it to her other than me. It was Fantina, and she somehow managed to convince her to let her do it.

I, on the other hand, was scrubbed by both Heydel and Merkel. The former had my back while the latter had my front.

"Woow, Miss Clarisse—You have such beautiful and smooth skin. I can't help but be jealous a little!" Merkel spoke with a smile as she lifted my left arm before scrubbing it with her wet towel. "What's your secret, Miss? Some magical skincare product from the Magocracy?"

After realizing that I was willing to engage in a conversation with Heydel, it seemed she was now brave enough to start one as well.

"Nothing," I replied. "I just take a bath every day, that's all." I answered frankly.

"See, Heydel? This is why you shouldn't be lazy in taking baths, you know. Lady Glinda is already nice enough to allow her maids to have our own bathing house."

"Oh, she does?" I asked. That took me by surprise.

"Yes!" She smiled with excitement in her eyes. "She told us that she wants us to clean up after a long day of work, so she built us our own bathhouse near our dormitory. It wasn't there before, and she paid workers to build it with her own money! Isn't she amazing?"

"I see…" I gave a little smile. _Yet more reason to think that she's not a bad person._

Merkel and Heydel continued to clean me up, with Heydel moving to my hair while Merkel left my arms for my chest. And to my embarrassment, I nearly let out a moan as she pressed my breasts in the process. They had only gotten bigger and more sensitive as I got older. I just hope that they wouldn't end up being as big and heavy as Mother's. No loose dress could hide their size anymore then.

_I really don't understand how some women are bold enough to wear outfits that made their chest noticeable._

My gaze wandered over to Merkel's chest. I could notice her ample breasts swaying ever so slightly under her uniform as she moved.

I sighed. That is exactly what I don't want to do. Mother had the same problem as well. I know she said I should be proud of my breasts, but I really don’t have any plans to impress a man with them.

After what Vera did, I had lost my desire completely. I no longer felt the need to touch myself down there. I suppose this is what you would call trauma, but it’s the kind of trauma that I’m perfectly fine with. It just means I no longer have unnecessary distractions. Especially not when I have to sleep with Erika every night.

I used to have a desire to fall in love with someone as well, but that too had disappeared.

Once we finished, we returned back to our rooms wearing bathrobes, while our clothes would be washed by the maids. Back in our rooms, I took out the dresses that were given to us by the baron. I thought for dinner with an important personage like a court mage, we should dress more respectably. And of course, the trio helped us on the difficult trial that was putting them on.

As the maids put on the final touches, we heard a knock on the door. It was Alec, coming here to inform us that her lady was ready to receive us.

\------------

The dining room was a lavish one. It was a large and long rectangular room, filled with suits of armor to the left and right. Swords and spears were hung on the wall, a display more than a weapon. There were also paintings of flowers and birds and nature in general, juxtapositioned against the warlike nature of the other decorations.

A group of maids and butlers stood on the sides, ready to pull out our chairs and refill our glasses. They would also place our food on our plates from the wide selection available on the long table, so we wouldn’t have to reach forward. And I was pretty sure if we asked, they would even wipe our mouths.

And in the middle of all that was our host, Glinda Fernwood. She sat on the tall chair on the end of the long table, signifying her position as the head of the house.

My first impression of her was that she was a beautiful, if a little outrageously dressed, woman, with long light brown hair that went down to her waist and probably even more (I couldn’t really be sure since she was sitting). She wore a long and flowing deep blue dress that changed color to light green at the edges. The dress was bold, showing off her left leg all the way to her upper thigh. And accompanying that was a sizable bosom, with nearly half of it not covered in the slightest. Her eyes were violet, a rare color that only few had if you were a human.

And then, sitting beside her, there was another woman. She was dressed less flashy, with dark shirt and brown tight-fitting trousers, with what looked to be a rapier attached to her hip.

_Wait, who is she?_

I didn’t voice my concern of the presence of this other woman here however. At least, not immediately. Instead, I opted to take the seat across her, with Erika sitting to the left of me. Of course, considering her height, she was given a booster so she could eat comfortably with the rest of us.

“Greetings,” the court mage first spoke with a smile, placing her chin on her hands while her elbows rested on the table. “Should we begin with some formalities or would you rather get straight to the point?”

“I would like the latter, if you would,” I replied.

“Very well. Leave us.”

With that one command, all the maids and butlers who were standing immediately evacuated the room.

Once there were only us and us alone in the room, she began.

“So, that letter,” she spoke, as she looked towards my direction with extreme interest. “My brother said you have something interesting to say to me. Would you mind telling me all about it?"

"I would, but I'd rather do it in private, if you don't mind," I replied, giving a look towards the other woman.

"Oh, don't mind her," the court mage replied. "She's a co-worker of mine. And she's also interested in what you have to say. And don't worry. She dislikes them as well."

The woman herself didn't say anything. She merely took a sip of her tea.

"...Very well. I will decide to trust you on the matter."

And so I told them everything. My true identity, how I ended up being a victim of the Magocracy, how my family took down Vera, and how I was now a fugitive.

I hid the part where I was drugged. It's unnecessary information that I didn't want to talk about. I did tell them that Vera wanted me to marry her grandson, which was the whole reason for the kidnapping. I also told her that I was frozen and unconscious when the fight happened, so I didn't know anything on the matter.

I am not going to tell them of Hugo's genius. There's no good reason why I should.

When I finished, the court mage was in complete disbelief. The other woman was as well. And she was the first one to break the silence.

"So the information I got was true… Vera Marjoram is dead…"

"And to think her end would be met not by an army, but by just one single family…" the court mage followed.

"I know Alan Greenwood. He and his wife, Renee, were ex S-rank adventurers, along with Myrilla Nerthusia, a Nerthus demoness. Myrilla wasn't with them, correct?" The other woman asked.

"Yes," I replied. "She had already returned to the Demon Continent years ago."

"I know nothing about your little brother though. You said he was part of the rescue. And he was just ten years old? And where is he now? Shouldn't he be with you?"

“Calm down, Arya. You’re being too pushy,” Glinda interrupted, giving her a warning look.

_So her name is Arya... I should take note of that._

“A-ah, apologies.” She looked back towards me after glancing momentarily to her co-worker. “I believe I should introduce myself first. I am Arya Cordova, the spymaster of the Marchen Kingdom. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marina Greenwood.” She put her hand in the middle of her small breasts.

“Spymaster?” I raised my eyebrows.

“I am the one in charge of gathering information of anything and everything that might be a threat to this kingdom,” she explained, as if I didn’t know what the word meant. “And that includes the Magocracy, naturally. In fact, I would say that it’s the biggest threat to our kingdom right now. Which is why I’m here. I wish for you to tell everything you know. It’s been a really long time since a Council member actually got assassinated, you know. The Ledo Kingdom tried all those years ago and look at where they’re at now. Ha! How ironic that it was Vera’s own folly that led to her downfall.”

“Is Marchen not getting along well with the Magocracy?” I asked. From what she just said, it’s as if it would just be a matter of time before the Magocracy came and destroyed this country as well.”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say that,” she replied, folding her arms. “We get along well for now. Or rather, we wish to get along well with them. Because we know the consequences of not doing so. We’re not like the Holy Empire who can face them head on."

"So you stood no chance whatsoever against them."

"Nope. Nilch. Nada." She shrugged. "Too many unbelievably strong mages. Which is why I'm surprised your family actually managed to kill one of them. Do you have any idea how they did it? I mean, I knew your parents were strong, but not that strong. And they actually brought a young boy to the fight too."

Suddenly, her eyes lit up for a moment, before giving me a suspicious look.

"Your little brother… is he possibly some kind of prodigy, either in swordsmanship or magic? Is that why your parents brought him along?”

_Tch, she’s sharp. But that’s just to be expected from a spymaster, I suppose._

“Apologies, but I would rather not talk about him. I'm only here to talk with Glinda about the Magocracy," I replied as politely as possible.

"I see." She smiled. "You're protecting him, aren't you? How wonderful. That's how a big sister should be. Honestly, even if he's somehow miraculously equal in strength to Vera—a ten year old equal to that old hag, imagine that!—it still wouldn't be enough to survive an invasion from the Magocracy. Just one person wouldn't be enough. We need more."

Suddenly, she stood up. "I'll leave you two alone for now. You'd prefer that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, if you would," I answered in complete frankness.

"Good." She yawned. "I'm tired. Got so much work to do today. Glinda, I'll take the usual room."

And so, she nonchalantly left, leaving only us two and Glinda.

"Sorry about that," the court mage spoke once her friend vanished. "She can be too blunt at times."

"I don't mind," I replied. "It's her job after all."

"So," She poured tea to her now empty cup. "What do you wish to accomplish by meeting me? Or are you just doing it because my brother told you to?"

"Mostly the latter," I answered her honestly. "I am interested to hear what you say about the Magocracy. I heard that you dislike them and I wish to know the reason why. Also, if you have any information on them, I would like to hear it as well."

"Dislike, huh?" She chuckled. "You know, I used to attend their academy, just like you. Aah, I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was sent all the way there by my overbearing parents. After my dear big brother—" I noticed the sarcasm in her words. "—found it a good idea to run away from home and become an adventurer, the expectations of the Fernwood Family all crashed down onto me. Knowing that I was talented at magic, they sent me there, hoping that I could be where I am now, a royal mage."

"And that experience led you to dislike them?" I asked.

"I guess you can say that," she replied with a wry grin. "I used to have a friend there. Or rather, who I thought was a friend. Selendia was her name."

"Selendia?" My eyes widened with shock. "You mean _that_ Selendia?"

"Yes, the one and only." Her gaze drifted away. "She was already being called a genius back in the day. Reached Master-level before even graduating. And then inventing the improved Rainstorm spell that was now commonly used all over. And of course, she was popular as well. How couldn’t she be? She was beautiful in every sense of the word. The boys swooned over her while the girls admired her.”

Beautiful? I think I remember Hugo, who has met her, describing her as such. Beautiful but terrifying at the same time.

And she had used Vera’s death as an opportunity to steal whatever magic knowledge she might have. And leaving me with a “generous” headstart so I could escape before the rest of the Magocracy knew what my family just did.

Most likely, she’s the person who sent that letter. It wasn’t done out of good will, but to use my family in the off chance that they could kill Vera. Perhaps they didn’t get along in the Council. Power struggles like that are commonplace, after all. 

But she also let me go. Is it truly an act of kindness from her part, or is it just another one of her schemes?

“And you?” I asked, deciding to put my thoughts on her for a later date.

“Me? Why, I am just a foreign noble. I am not that smart or skilled in magic, especially compared to her. But somehow, she became a good friend of mine. She let me into her inner circle, filled with her other admirers and retainers, of other, less powerful mage families in the Magocracy. She even taught me magic from time to time. Perhaps thanks to that, I managed to graduate with a Master-level spell in my belt. Just before that, right in the final months, she asked me to be part of her household once I graduated, just like the other members of her clique.”

“Which is where all of it fell apart, if I had to guess.” I spoke up.

With a grim smile, she nodded. “Yes. She asked me once. I told her that I preferred being back at Marchen. She then asked me again. I told her that I didn’t want to betray my country and family. She then asked her again. And I told her the real, true reason why I couldn’t go with her.”

“And that reason was…?”

To my surprise, her face immediately turned crimson as she looked away. 

...Oh dear, I think I can already guess what it might be.

* * *

**A/N:**

Here's how Glinda looks.

And here's how her friend Arya looks.


	69. Marina’s Side — A Discussion With A Court Mage

“I-I can’t tell you that,” Glinda replied, still all red from my question. “It’s all stories of the past anyways.”

“...Is it something relating to love?”

I only made such a brazen hypothesis because of her blush. I knew very well what that blush was. It was the blush of a girl in love, even if she was far too old to be called a girl. I had seen it multiple times back at the academy, when my classmates talked about the boys they liked (I never joined in such conversations, naturally). To think that I would find it again on a woman in her thirties like her, it took me completely off guard.

“Y-you know, if I’m going to tell you this, you have to promise not to tell anyone,” she said, still blushing.

“Of course,” I replied with a smile. “I’ll be gone the next morning anyway.” I didn’t know why but I was suddenly fascinated by her little secret. Perhaps it’s true that girls always fancy any topics relating to love.

“Fine.” She sighed. “I used to… I used to have a crush on the crown prince.”

_What._

“You see, I met Prince Albert a few times before I was sent to the academy. And I was immediately charmed by his gallantry, even though he was younger than me. In my heart, I promised that I would learn to be the best court mage that I could be. And perhaps, even make myself worthy enough to be his wife.” She chuckled. “Ah, what a silly childhood romance that was. When I returned, he was already happily engaged with another noble girl. And both of them loved each other so much, to the point that I decided to just bury my feelings altogether. And today, they were both happily married in a blissful relationship that I wouldn’t dare to tread upon. The prince is a good man. He wouldn’t betray the love of his life for some other women. A lot of people in his position would sleep around with maids and the like, you know. And that’s why I’m perfectly content serving him and his father. They were always kind to me, both him and his wife.”

The expression of sadness was clear on her face. There was no doubt that it was genuine love she was experiencing towards him.

But I, not being a foolish romantic, decided not to tell her to confess. What would it gain, other than causing unnecessary suffering? The prince’s wife would never look at her the same way again if she realizes that she’s after her beloved husband. And the good prince would suffer, knowing that he inadvertently had abandoned a girl that liked him to the cold. And Glinda herself could be entrapped in a scandal that led her to being demoted off her position.

Unrequited love happens. It’s the way of the world. There’s no Goddess of Love that makes sure each of us has our own romantic pair with no overlapping.

“Do you have a husband yourself?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Ha, I sure hope I do,” she replied in a surprisingly bitter manner. “But I’m getting too old for marriage anyway. All the ones interested are perverts and degenerates, wanting me just for my body or for my position. Or both.”

So she doesn’t have a man to replace him. I now genuinely feel bad for her.

“Anyway, enough about me. Let’s return to Selendia. After I told her about it, she turned terribly cold, mocking me for being a fool, clinging into that reason when he didn’t even know about my feelings. She was right, of course, like she always was.” She paused for another dry smile. “And then, she turned cruel. She banished me off her inner circle, and told me to my face that I was an ungrateful little whelp and that she regretted doing all the nice things she had done towards me.”

“If I have to guess, she was just getting close to you only to use your talent.” I interjected.

“You’re right,” she replied. “We became friends right around when I was starting to get the top of the class in all of my subjects. She was the one to approach me.” She sighed. “I was blind back then. I cried instead, begging her to take me back as her friend. But she refused, slapping and kicking me in the process. And every time I tried to get close to her, her clique, under her orders, would attack and humiliate me in retaliation.”

_Just like what Merinda did to me…_

“And so I woke up from the dream. I realized she cared nothing about me in the slightest. And that she was just using me from the start.”

“And that’s why you dislike the Magocracy?” I asked, just as a confirmation.

“Such is the way of their kind. The ruling mage families are obsessed with power, one way or another. And I was to be part of their power, if I had joined them.” She smiled wryly. “On the outside, they might project themselves as an enlightened country, ruled by wise mages instead of corrupt nobles who had no real power and only sponged off the backs of their people. They could manipulate nature itself and improve the lives of their subjects. They would be benevolent rulers that truly cared about the weak.”

“And there’s no bigger lie than that.” I finished her monologue.

\----------

Afterwards, she called in the maids and butlers by ringing the bell she had in her possession. She told me that we should continue our discussion on her study later on, and that we should have our dinner, or else the food her servants had so painstakingly cooked would go cold.

Her friend didn’t return in the end. So she really was tired and it wasn’t just an excuse to leave the two of us alone. Glinda ordered one of the serving maids to bring some of the food to her room later on.

It was delicious, far different from the meals we had on the road. I decided to be thrift and ate in ordinary restaurants, not high-class ones that were much more expensive. We might have a lot of money right now but who knew the problems we would encounter on our road to Ferus.

I ate quite a bit more than usual, and Erika was the same. She especially loved the noodles, asking the maid serving her for seconds a few times. And eating such delicious food clearly improved her mood, as she began to smile as she ate, which made me smile as well.

_If only Hugo could be here right now…_

Erika finished with a burp, which earned a giggle from the court mage.

“Bring your little sister to bed first,” she told me after she cleaned her lips with a handkerchief. “You then go to the second floor and to my study. Ask one of those three to take you there.” And by “those three”, she could only mean the trio of maids assigned to me.

“Sis, you’re not going to sleep with me tonight?” she asked, giving me that puppy-eyed look that was always so hard to resist.

“Don’t worry, Erika.” I patted her head. “I’ll join you before you know it. I just need to chat with Miss Glinda there a bit more.”

“Alright…” she agreed, though with a downcast expression.. “Don’t take too long, okay?”

“I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”

_It would be good for her if she starts being able to sleep on her own again._

In the end, she didn't need me to accompany her back to our room. Heydel, who had been waiting just outside the room with her friends, was the one who received that honor. She and the others promised they would take care of her, and from what I had seen of them, I believe I could trust them.

"Alright." Glinda smiled at me. "Follow me."

And so I did, walking behind her as we went to the main hall and climbed the spiral staircase, going straight to said study on the second floor. We went down a dimly lit hallway, as there were only candles giving the much needed light, unlike the first floor which was bright and well-lit, thanks to the generous usage of shine stones.

"Sorry about the dimness." She chuckled. "I prefer this part of the house to be like this at night. It always calms me down, being alone in half-darkness like this."

We soon arrived at said study. It was both a study and a library, with rows and rows of bookcases filling the place up. And just like the hallway, it was dimly lit as well.

"Here." She took her seat behind a table, filled with parchments and books, gesturing to me to sit on the other chair across. I sat on said chair, resting my hands on the armrests, surprised by how comfortable the cushion actually was. "So, resuming our discussion from before, if I might ask, where are you going now after this? Like we just had discussed, you and I both know that Marchen couldn’t provide asylum for the two of you. At least, not a permanent one. I could arrange you a modest mansion on the boonies to the south for you to live in as a knight, just like your father. I’m a noble, just like my brother after all. Thanks to my current position, I was also granted the title of Countess, though really, people just refer to me as the court mage. It’s a more exclusive position after all.” She smiled. 

“Do I have to answer that question?” I replied, perhaps more rudely than I wanted. “I believe I have given you enough information already.” I didn’t wish to give her more information than necessary, in case of her being coerced by the Magocracy’s agents to spill the beans.”

“Hehe, clever girl.” She smiled instead of taking offense. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell them anything. Or rather, I would just concoct a lie of you going south instead. You’re going through Duskglow Plains, right, since you’re going to the northwest? If I have to guess… Ferus. Your grandfather is there and it’s so far away from the Magocracy that they couldn’t really immediately be invaded, even if those mages wanted to. Not to mention that it’s so close to the Holy Land and those guys would just love to have a good fight against them.”

“...You’re right. We are going there.” There’s no point in denying it anymore, I suppose. “And do you already know who my grandfather is as well?”

“Of course I do.” She continued to smile. “Lord Philip Archimond, the Earl of Grandfort."

She's right. That's the name of Grandfather. Greenwood is a surname that Father made up himself when he ran away from home.

"You know my brother already knew who your father really is, right? He made him tell everything when your father begged him for a job. So yes, technically you're a noble, Marina."

"Father was disowned by his family. I have no claim to nobility, and neither does he," I replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, but you're going to meet him, right?" She smiled. "You know, if your grandfather takes you in, you will become a noble."

"I don't plan on asking him to make me his granddaughter. I only wish for refuge and protection from the Magocracy, nothing more. I shall earn my living on my own."

I never fancied on becoming a noble, being attended by servants all day without having to work for a living. In fact, I couldn't help but feel I would lose myself if I became accostumed to such a lifestyle. I would become lazy and complacent, enjoying life's pleasures without a care in the world.

Not to mention that it really is embarrassing, having to be seen naked by other people like that.

"Impressive. I see now that you really have your father's blood in you." The court mage grinned. "But if you really want protection, I suggest getting close to the throne. Make yourself be an important person there. Make the king himself be behind your back. Tell me, how skilled are you in magic?"

"I am Master-level at Earth," I replied honestly. The Magocracy already knew what I was capable of so there was no point in hiding it.

"Wow, seriously?' She clapped her hands. "That's wonderful! You're a genius then! Just like Selendia!"

"I would prefer if you don't compare me to her," I replied with a cold tone.

“A-ah, sorry about that.” She chuckled nervously for a bit. “Anyway, back to my point, with that level of skill, any kingdom should want you as part of their fighting force. Master-level mages are rare in general, and having even one more would make a fine addition to any country’s strength.”

“Not as rare as Grandmaster-level ones though,” I retorted.

“Haha, of course not.” She chuckled again. “But you don’t really need to be one to be a court mage. Look at me for example.”

“Ferus already has a court mage, doesn’t it?” 

“Yep, of course she does,” she replied. “I’m not saying you should be a court mage there. I’m saying that you could easily become part of its magic corps. And as an elite-ranking member at that. That’s quite the prestigious job, you know. And with your connection with your grandfather, it should be even easier for you to enter. The king might even grant you your own title and land, you know.” She smiled.

I paused. For a split second, I actually considered her words. I could provide for both myself and Erika easily if I went that route.

However, that would also mean I wouldn’t be able to leave the country to look for Hugo. I would be tethered there, as part of that kingdom’s military. And I don’t think I can enjoy such a life, being stifled by the rules and codes of a soldier. 

I put the thought aside for now. It would still be quite the long journey until I actually got to Ferus. I would have all the time in the world to think about it on route.

“I’ll think about it,” was my answer to her.

“Great! I believe it is the best way for you and your little sister to be safe.”

Our conversation then moved onto a different topic entirely after a few minutes of us just sitting in silence, with only the clock in the room making any sound.

“There’s another thing you came here for, isn’t it? My brother’s letter said that you want to become stronger as well. Are you perhaps, aiming to reach Grandmaster-level, correct? Honestly, when you’re already a Master at this age, reaching Grandmaster shouldn’t be impossible, as long as you keep up your magic training. Me though, I don’t really have time for that anymore.” She grinned sheepishly.

“...No. If I’m going to take on the Magocracy one day, I would need to reach the level beyond that. I would need to be an Archmage.”

“A-an Archmage?” She started to laugh. “I-I’m sorry, but no one has ever reached that level in ages! The only mage I know that had reached that peak was Mira herself! Aren’t you aiming a little too high there?”

“Perhaps,” I replied. “But how else am I supposed to take on multiple Grandmaster-level mages all by myself?”

I know I was being conceited, to even dream of one day reaching that height no one has even dared to dream about. But if it is what’s necessary to accomplish my goal, then I would reach it, even if it takes me my entire life to do it.

“You don’t have to do it on your own, you know.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “Many others want the Magocracy to fall as well. You can form an alliance with them. If I were in your shoes, and I want to seek revenge against them, I would train myself until I reach Grandmaster-level, and then, I’ll offer myself to be part of their force.”

“You mean like the Church of Milicis or the Holy Empire over at the Holy Continent?”

“Yes. Though, if I were to be honest, I wouldn’t do that.” She smiled wryly. “I wouldn’t want another war to happen after all. And you wouldn’t as well, right? You’re a good girl. You wouldn’t want to drag innocents into your crusade.”

“You’re right. Which is why I want to do it on my own.”

The court mage sighed, before returning back to her normal smile as she drew her hand away from me. “Fine. I’ll give you my notes. This is top level secret, you understand? I said I no longer train myself but that’s not entirely true. I still train from time to time, whenever I feel like it. As a result, I was now able to Dual Cast. Can you do that?”

My eyes brightened. “I-I can’t.”

“Good. Then my notes should prove very useful to you.”

Afterwards, she sat up from her chair and walked up to the bookshelves. After looking around for quite some time (it seemed she had actually misplaced it), she finally found the book. It was a journal-sized book, filled with handwritten texts, no doubt hers.

“Here. Sorry for the chicken scratch by the way. My writing’s never that great to be honest.” She blushed.

I opened the book and saw that it was indeed filled with barely legible words. However, after reading and skimming it for a short while, I could indeed confirm this was her personal notes on magic research.

“No books ever taught Dual Casting. They say it’s just something you eventually would be able to do on your own once you’re good enough and talented enough at being a mage. But I disagree. I think it’s a propaganda piece, set by the Magocracy so people wouldn’t train themselves to Dual Cast. Because a mage would be much more dangerous if they can cast two spells at once. They don’t want that knowledge to spread around, threatening their dominance. I believe all the good spells they got were kept as secrets inside their own families. Hah, stingy, aren’t they?”

“Thank you.” I looked up to her with a bright, almost childlike smile. “This would be useful. I’m sure of it.”


	70. Fiora’s Lesson

**Hugo**

When I finished reading the book, it was already a few hours into our travels.

And what a book it was. It pretty much taught me about swordsmanship in this world far more than Father. Even though it was just an introduction, intended for beginners, it was so detailed about everything, from the history of the school, the beginner techniques, and, most importantly, the existence of this concept named Aura.

If I have to summarize it, it's basically the swordsman version of Mana that mages utilize. It allows swordsmen to perform superhuman feats, far beyond the limits of a normal human.

It is a secret concept however, with only a few understanding it even exists. Most swordsmen would go their entire lives using it without even realizing it exists. Father, Sherry, and even the Legendary Hero back then didn't know the concept of Aura. They just swing their sword hard and fast enough that their aura automatically comes out. So technically, you don't really need to know about it to be strong. The concept of Aura itself was only formed in the last hundreds of years, thanks to the fact that for so many years before that, all the way to the era of the Legendary Hero and perhaps even beyond that, swordsmen could just train to swing their sword in a normal manner to achieve the usage of Aura anyways.Or at least, that’s what the book said.

Now I’m reminded of all those phony martial arts schools that also talked about aura and chakra and all that mumbo jumbo in my old world. Well, this is a fantasy world so it must be real, right? I like it better as an explanation for the superhuman feats swordsmen can do in this world. Not just because “he swung his sword really, really hard to the point that the air pressure caused by his swing alone can shatter a rock ten meters away”.

Though I wonder. How does aura really interact with mana? Are they actually the same thing? I don’t think so. If they are, then I should already be an amazing swordsman already.

I can’t help but feel it’s a shame whoever wrote this book didn’t want the knowledge to spread around. Though I understand their mindset. This book was written by a member of the Order of Galahad, and it seems to be this semi-secretive organization dedicated to training swordsmen and swordswomen in the Galahad-style. The book treats swordplay more than just martial art. It’s almost like religion and philosophy rolled into one. There are a lot of musings in the book about how one should wield their sword in the way of righteousness and justice and all that fancy stuff. So, if I have to guess, they probably don’t want their exalted knowledge, including the knowledge of aura, to spread to the unworthy public.

_Haah, if only I've learned about it sooner, then I might have been able to get stronger at the sword. Unlike Sherry or Father, I'm the methodical type. I can't swing my sword just by instinct._

_Hmm, I wonder what type she is. Knowing how violent she is though, she's probably the instinct type._

"Boy, you just thought something bad about me, didn't you?"

To my surprise, the brat actually noticed me looking at her. She had been staring outside the window all this time, her twintails fluttering in the wind. And, as much as I hated it, she actually looked like a princess during it. Her sharp and dignified look exuded elegance and the blowing wind only enhanced that effect.

The illusion was immediately dispelled however once she opened her mouth.

"No, just wondering what type of swordswoman you are," I replied.

"What type? What are you talking about?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Are you the methodical type, calculating every movement beforehand with extreme precision? Or are you more instinct-oriented, moving in a way that just feels right to you?"

?”

To my irk, she responded with a laugh. “Hah, you really don’t know anything about swordsmanship, do you? Was your father really an S-rank swordsman? Didn’t he teach you anything, boy?”

“Just the basics,” I admitted honestly with a slight sigh. “He gave up teaching me beyond that. Said his type of swordsmanship wasn’t suited for me.”

“Oh? And what type of swordsmanship is that?” Her eyes lit up with curiosity.

“Raw strength. He carried around this huge greatsword with him that he wielded two-handed. He could send off powerful waves just by swinging it around.”

“I see. So it’s the offensive Lancelot-style. They’re big on sending off shockwaves like that. You can cut a thousand men in a single swing if you’re good enough, or so they say. It’s strong, but barbaric at the same time. It doesn’t have any elegance, like my Galahad-style. They just attack and attack and attack, hoping to overwhelm their enemies before they get overwhelmed themselves. That’s why they’re so vulnerable to surprise attacks.”

My heart suddenly ached. That was how Father and Mother had died. From a surprise attack by Vera.

“Well, my own style has its own weaknesses, mainly it doesn’t really have powerful ranged attacks. The way my style fights is to approach the enemy calmly in a calculated manner, waiting until the exact moment they enter my radius. And then, I swing my sword in a flash, killing them in an instant.”

That’s a surprise. I thought she would just dismiss Father’s style while praising her own.

“But, since you’re apparently a mage as well, powerful ranged attacks are already your forte, no?” She smirked, folding her hands under her chest. “Thus, learning my style would be the best for you.”

“So, your style is the methodical type then?” I asked again. “You make it sound that this Galahad-style of yours is all about being calculating and stuff.”

“Hmph. Instinctual movement and methodical, deliberate movement are not opposites of each other, boy. All swordsmen should train their sword arm and muscles so they could move on their own and perform the correct movement without thinking. That is instinct. You repeat enough deliberate, thinking moves, and eventually, you can do it without thinking.”

“Funny you should say that,” I replied with a slight smile. “My father used to teach me that I should just swing my sword the way it feels the most natural to me. Your book, on the other hand, has lots of forms and movements and such that a student is supposed to remember, so the complete opposite of his teaching.”

“Then he’s not a good teacher,” she answered without skipping a beat. As usual, no holds barred in the insult department. “He’s probably the gifted type who just learns on his own naturally, without any teachers to guide him. That kind of person will never be suited to become a sword teacher. Your girlfriend is probably the same, since she actually got strong from his lessons. While you, on the other hand, you’re just like me, needing a good teacher to actually learn how to swing a sword.”

Her calling Sherry my girlfriend brought a little embarrassed blush and a smile. You have no idea how much I want to bring home a girl with me and declare her to be my girlfriend to my family back in my old life. And now, to have people around me that acknowledge the fact that I do have a girlfriend, it makes me feel happy. Most likely because I feel less like a loser that way.

“So you got a teacher, Fiora?” I asked. Immediately her expression turned sour. Ah, that’s right. I’m supposed to call her _Miss Fiora_ instead. “Alright, fine. Please enlighten me about your teacher, _Miss_ Fiora.” I made sure to put on that extra emphasis on the “Miss”, just so it would be all too obvious that I was saying it in a sarcastic manner.

“Very well.” Her smug smile returned. What, didn’t she catch my sarcasm there? Or was she already satisfied by me just saying the word? “Yes, I do have a teacher back at the palace. And she's an excellent teacher at her job. I owed much to her."

For the very first time, I saw it—her genuine, non-sarcastic, honest, and pure smile. As she smiled, she looked away from me, back to the window, reminiscing about this teacher that she held in high esteem.

_...Damnit! If she’s like this, she’s actually cute. Grr, why can’t she be uglier? I’m weak to pretty girls, you know, even girls of her age!_

As much as I hate myself for thinking it, she’s indeed what you would call in all objective sense a pretty girl. Perhaps not in the more conventional princess-like manner, but she’s still a beauty nonetheless.

“What’s the matter? Awed by your master’s beauty?”

Before I could cease my staring and look away, she gave me a slight glance and said those words with her usual smirk.

“Fine. I’ll admit it. You’re pretty. But that’s nothing unusual for a princess, really. Princesses are supposed to be beautiful and pretty and all that fancy stuff.” I replied, folding my hands with a huff.

“Pfttt…”

 _Wait, was that—_ I gave a glance towards Nicole. _That smile… she just laughed, didn’t she?_

I looked back at Fiora and saw her doing the same thing, though compared to her friend, she didn't try to hide it in the slightest.

And then, I realized it. The words I just said… that sounded **exactly** like what something a tsundere would say.

_...Oh God, I’m not supposed to be the tsundere here! That brat is! I’m the main character! Main character!_

_And Nicole, why are you listening in, huh? You’re supposed to be reading your book, not eavesdropping on our conversation!_

“E-ehem.” I did a fake cough to stifle my embarrassment. “Anyways, if you have a sword tutor back there, why isn’t she with you right now? If she taught you, then she must be pretty strong, right? And you seem to have a good student-mentor relationship going on, judging by that smile you just had.”

She paused for a second, turning away to the window once more. “I can’t. She belongs there in the palace. Hmph. I suppose there’s no harm in telling you who she is.”

She paused once again. Just spell it out already, goddamnit!

“Gloria Fitzgerald. One of the Seven Imperial Knights of the Holy Empire.”

My eyes widened in surprise.

“You _do_ know who the Imperial Knights are, right?” she asked with a look of annoyance, seemingly ready to pounce on me if I declared ignorance.

“Of course I do. They’re the vanguard of the Holy Empire’s military strength. Each of them possesses incredible strength. As long as they’re still around, no other countries would dare to invade the Empire. And they’re the check against the Magocracy’s mages as well.”

Of course, I learned all of this from the geography book I read way back a long time ago. The book would give short explanations of the various countries in the world, including the Holy Empire, naturally.

“And that’s why they can’t take sides in this whole mess. They’re beholden to the Emperor alone. Not his children or wife or anybody else. They can only leave the Imperial Palace if the Emperor himself gave them permission.”

“So you don’t want to drag her into your problem that would make her lose her position,” I gave my best guess. “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be such a softie, Fiora.” I grinned. 

“Ho? Is that a challenge I just hear? Fine. This is my first command to you as your sword teacher. Go outside and stand on the roof. We’ll start practicing there, now that you’ve learned the basics from that book.”

“The roof? You mean the roof of this carriage?”

“Of course. What other roofs are there?”

\-----------

Climbing to the roof of a moving stagecoach might seem outrageous, but with my Wind Step, it’s a feat I can accomplish easily. To my surprise however, Fiora managed to climb up with ease as well, jumping from the now opened door of the carriage and vaulting herself up with one graceful move. We were still in the mountain passage, of course, and we were pretty high up, with a cliff to the right and a ravine to the left.

“W-whoa!”

For a split second, I nearly lost my balance. Now that we were outside like this, the vibrations of the carriage felt more palpable, to the point of disturbing my footing. The rough road didn’t help matters either, as every time the wheels hit a rock, I would jump a little from my current position. Not to mention the wind, battering me from the front. And there was no positive side of giving me delicious pantyshots either, as Fiora wore a long skirt that fluttered safely below her knees.

She stood facing me, after telling her maid that we were going to start our training session now.

“Alright. Perform the basic one-handed slashing maneuver with your sword over and over until lunch. The one you just read from the book.”

“Wait, right here?”

“Yes, right here. This is a good place to train, you know.” She gave that classic haughty smile of hers. “This way, you’ll learn to keep yourself from being unbalanced in combat, as that is the quickest way for you to lose your head. Just a split second of weakened stance can lead to your head being detached from your body in a fight between two highly skilled swordsmen. Oh, and don’t you dare using any spells to glue yourself to the roof. Perform your swing with the hand you’re going to use for your sword. I don’t care whether it’s your right or your left.”

After giving those series of orders, she sat cross-legged in front of me, just like if she was a teacher at a sword dojo and I was her student.

I did as she told me to, using my right hand since I figured I could cast spells with my wand on the left just fine. I was indeed ambidextrous, but I think my right hand is just a bit better than my left.

It didn’t take long until she started barking again.

“Your stance is wrong. Spread your legs further apart. It makes your posture more balanced.”

“Your grip is wrong. I can easily knock off your sword if you hold it like that.”

“Your arm movement is wrong. You raise too far up. And now you’re raising it too far down. Don’t you remember anything from the book?”

And so on and so forth. And she didn’t even bother standing up in the process.

“You know, it would be better if you come here and actually show me how it’s done.”

I said it out of frustration and also because I realized it was the perfect opportunity for the good ol’ “skinship through mentoring” moment. You know, the one where the girl got close to a guy as she moved his arms to the proper pose, and vice versa. Let’s see if this little brat would get all embarrassed while doing it.

“Hmph, I suppose I can’t be helped.” She stood up. “Here. Let me show you how it’s done.”

She walked up to me, completely unperturbed by the rocking of the carriage, and grabbed both of my hands as she positioned herself right beside me.

"Here. Remember this position—the height of your arm, and the angle of your strike."

_BA-DUMP!_

_Dammit, she isn't blushing at all! I'm the one who's reddening!_

_Gahh, why am I so weak to girls like this?_

Of course, I already knew the answer. I was a turbo virgin in my old life, with no experience with women whatsoever.

_Grr, her pleasant scent… I didn't even notice she's wearing perfume. And this softness brushing occasionally to my arm and elbow… her loose dress hid quite the good job hiding her ample breasts. And looking at her face up close like this… she really is cute…_

"Oh my, not only you're a crybaby, you're a pervert as well."

"Huh, what?"

She smirked, pointing downwards. I followed and saw—

_Oh God!_

My one free hand immediately went there, covering the tent I was pitching.

"Boy, you're having lecherous thoughts about me, aren't you? How brave, to have that towards an Imperial princess. I could lop off your head for that."

I gulped. She looked right towards my erection while she said that, making me think she was referring to my other head instead.

_No, I refuse to let her take me along for the ride! She must have known I'll be aroused from our close proximity! Heck, she even purposefully allows my arm to rub her breasts in the process! If I'm a pervert, then she's a pervert as well!_

"Look here." I sheath my sword and folded my arms, not caring that my tent was still there. "I know you purposefully did that. You're not some innocent princess who doesn't know her own charms."

"Hoo? But you're the one who asked me to correct you up close."

"Heh, at the very least, you should be able to avoid your chest touching with my elbow and arm." I grinned.

"I would, if your stance wasn’t so wrong that I had to reach all over to correct it properly.”

“Hah, admit it! You want to see me pitching a tent, don’t you?” My grin only grew wider. “It’s alright. I don’t hate perverted girls.”

It’s true. It wasn’t just me taunting her. As a pervert myself, I would be a hypocrite if I hate them.

She didn’t reply. Have I done it? Have I just earned my first victory against her verbally? She instead sat down, gave a shrug and sigh, and said, “Think whatever you want, boy. But from now on, you’re on your own. Clearly, you don’t want my help.” And then, she looked away.

If I were to be honest, I think she wasn’t lying. She wasn’t flustered, nor she gave any of those predatory looks while she was fixing my form. She did it completely professionally.

But hey, this is my first win, just because she can’t think up on a comeback. And I intend to savor it as much as I can.

...Wait, did I just deny myself the chance to be _that_ close to her ever again?


	71. An Encounter With A Slave Beastgirl

We remained on top of the carriage like that for several more hours, with me performing the same basic slashing moves over and over again. Like she said, she didn’t offer to correct my posture directly anymore. Instead, she just barked it at me.

And what a harsh mistress she was. Any single diversion from the form the book described, no matter how slight, she would correct it right away. Her sharp eyes weren’t just for show. They really were sharp.

I didn’t complain though. I realize she’s drilling the basics into my brain and my muscle memory, so that I wouldn’t form bad habits that would impede me on learning the more advanced techniques later on. We only stopped once the sun was high up on the sky, with she deciding that it was time for us to have our lunch break.

We stopped at a grassy clearing of sorts, perfect for us to have our little picnic. It wasn’t that large, though conveniently, there were a series of trees nearby that we could use to, ahem, do our business. Thankfully, any awkwardness in the matter was prevented by no one bringing the matter up. We just took our turns without saying anything. Being a traveler or adventurer in a group, you had to be used to this sort of thing. I already did thanks to the family trip I had back then.

I sighed. _That sure felt like eons ago._

_...Hmm, that’s odd. The sense of despair that usually popped up whenever I thought about those days didn’t seem to be as strong as it used to be. Maybe it’s because I now finally have a goal, or at least, something to aspire to. To train under the bratty princess and become a better swordsman._

_...Aah, this is bad. I’m starting to think more and more positively about her. I don’t want to be like one of those harem MCs who just take the abuse of the tsundere and never fight back._

_Then again, she’s not like your typical tsundere either, is she? There’s no shyness or embarrassment in the slightest. Hmph, it just makes her less cute though. Call me a chauvinist if you want, but blushing, embarrassed girls are my thing._

“Ow! What was that?” I scratched the back of my head. Something hard just hit me there!

“Stop spacing around! Get over here and eat!”

Of course, it was Fiora. She probably just threw a small rock at me or something.

“Alright, alright, no need to throw rocks at me.”

_If I try throwing my own rock at her, she’ll probably be able to parry it without even looking._

_Hmph, is this yet another way she’s training me? Or am I giving her too much credit?_

Helen had set up a blanket above the grassy field for us to sit on. Nicole and Fiora were already there, while the maid herself was still busy serving food and tea to them both. _Where did she store all that stuff anyways?_

Boing~♥ Boing~♥

_And wow, they really are big…_

In the process, the maid had to bend over multiple times, resulting in her heavyweight breasts bouncing multiple times, fascinating my young (only in appearance), virgin (true enough) 10-year old eyes. _They really are about as big as Mother’s. Breasts that size are rare but I guess they’re not_ ** _that_** _rare._

“Ouch, again?” I frowned towards Fiora’s direction, as this time, her rock hit my forehead. To my surprise, she didn’t yell, “Stop looking at my maid’s chest, you pervert!” or something like that. I have a feeling she has noticed it. Instead, she just pointed at the grass near the tarp. 

“What, am I supposed to stand here?” I spoke as I walked over to her.

“You can sit there if you want,” she replied with her usual smug smile. “But you’re not getting on the blanket. Servants don’t eat on the same table as their masters.”

“Nicole isn’t your servant?”

“She’s my friend.”

I gave a “please help me out here” look towards the priestess.

"Fiora, why don't we eat together on the blanket, with Helen as well?" She gently asked the princess. "There's enough space, isn't it?"

Fiora gave her a look for a few moments before sighing. "Fine. Suit yourself. It would be a tight fit though."

I gave a little thumbs up towards Nicole, before sitting cross-legged in front of her. The maid however gave me a glare that pretty much said, "How dare you act like that to Milady?"

I ignored her and grabbed one of the bread that she had put on the blanket. Right when I was about to take a bite however—

ROAAAARRRRRR

Immediately both Fiora and Helen stood up, drawing their sword and dual knife. Nicole immediately followed, grabbing her staff she had put behind her. Of course, I quickly did the same, drawing my wand.

And then, I heard it. A high-pitched scream coming from the same direction of the roar.

I didn't wait. I bolted straight towards it, using Wind Step to augment my speed. I might have heard Fiora yelling at me to stop but who cares about her?

I soon arrived at the top of a hill overlooking a clearing. Unlike the one I just came from, there was no grass on it, just rocks and barren dirt.

That, and there was a big monster right in the middle of it.

A wyvern. An A-rank monster that was said to be lesser dragons. You could distinguish between them right away by noticing how a wyvern only has wings as its hands while a dragon will have a separate pair of claws with its wings attached to its back instead. That, and its more snake-like appearance in general.

Still, even though it was not an S-rank monster like its superior brother, it’s still a dangerous foe. It can move really fast considering its size, dodging swords, arrows, and even spells with ease.

And in front of it were a pair of adventurers, male and female. There were about the same age, around sixteen, if I had to guess. The male one was a dark-haired human while the female one was a beastkin with dog ears. Judging by their weapons and clothes, they both seemed to be the frontline warrior type.

I could tell immediately that they were way out of their depths. Instead of standing their ground, they instead slowly backed away, no doubt wishing they could escape from the monster. And the scream I just heard, it must have come from the girl.

I didn’t hesitate. I immediately cast my Boom Cannon and fired it right at the wyvern. If I waited any further, the monster could decide to strike and it would be the death of them.

BAM

It landed right at the wyvern’s head, obliterating the section into chunks of gore that thankfully didn’t land on the two. The beast fell, its blood pouring out of its decapitated neck.

Wyverns are fast, but they trade that speed with durability. Their dragon cousins are much tougher.

I saw it react to my spell for a split second though, just like Vera did—a testament to its amazing senses. But even its speed wasn’t fast enough to dodge a projectile with the speed of sound.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I remember when I fought off that mountain lion. That was another A-rank monster. I didn’t have Boom Cannon back then, but if I did, I think I probably could’ve one-shotted it in the same manner.

I went down the hill and approached them as casually as I could. “Yo.” I gave them a smile, raising my hand for a short wave. “You alright there? You were in trouble, weren’t you, with that wyvern? You looked like you wanted to run so I decided to just kill the beast for you. Really, you won’t be able to easily run against a monster of that caliber.”

The two of them were completely aghast with their jaws wide open on what just happened. Ha! Once again, I impressed the ordinary folk with my magic.

“T-thank you so much!”

The moment the beastkin snapped out of it, she promptly bowed as deeply as she could. “I-if you weren’t there, Master and I would’ve been done for sure!”

“Y-yeah, please accept my thanks as well!” The human followed.

“Oh, it’s no big deal, really. A wyvern like that is nothing against me.” I gave a grin, putting my hands in my pockets. To be honest, if it actually noticed me, it could probably have dodged in time and then it would be a much harder fight. But why explain something that doesn’t need to be explained?

“The name's Elliot Cudgel. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hobbit.” The young man gave his hand.

“Uhh, I’m not a hobbit though…” I replied. “See?” I turned my head to the side to show off my ears. “Normal ears.”

“Wait, really?” His mouth opened again. “So you’re just an ordinary human? But there’s no way you can be such a strong mage when you’re still this young! N-no offense intended, of course!” He quickly corrected himself.

“Hehe.” My grin only grew bigger. “You see,” I put my hands on my waist. “I’m kind of a mage prodigy. My family—the Pendletons—they’re a powerful mage family. I just so happened to be born into them so it really was no big deal that I could cast a powerful spell like that when I’m still at this age.”

I couldn’t help myself. I have said it before and I have said it again. One of my weaknesses is being praised.

“Pendleton?” This time, it was the girl who spoke. “That sounds like a noble’s family name, doesn’t it?” She brought her index finger to her lips. “Could you perhaps be a noble, Sir Human?”

I let out a fake sigh. “Ah, how unfortunate. I would like to hide my status from you two, but it seems you’re too sharp for me to fool. I’m Charles Pendleton. Pleased to meet you two.” 

Yep, I can get used to pretending to be a noble alright. I mean, if we ignore the whole disowned thing, I’m the grandson of a noble, thus making me also a noble. So I’m not lying! Well, except for the name anyways.

“Then, allow me to thank you again for saving me and my master. I am Chelsea, and it’s also a pleasure to meet you, Sir Pendleton.” She bowed again, this time more like a professional maid.

_...Oh man, what a cutie! And she has a hot body as well, with those large boobs and tight pants! And those ears! I really want to touch them!_

This wasn’t my first time seeing a beastkin, since I had encountered a couple in my travels already, from both genders. And every time, I couldn’t help but feel enamoured with their beastly parts. If a sheep girl appeared, I wanted to run over my fingers all over her wool. If it was a cat girl, then I wanted to grab her tail. And now, faced with a dog girl like this, I wanted to play with her ears.

I resisted of course. I'm not going to do such a perverted thing and ruin their impression of me.

And then, I noticed it—the collar she wore on her neck.

_Wait, that collar… and she called him Master before… is she his slave?_

Slavery exists in this world, with no country really banning its practice. Some countries have more bustling slave trades over others. The Magocracy practically has no slave traders around for example. Not because it’s forbidden, but because there is little demand for them. From what I’ve read and what Marina told me, thanks to the proliferation of magic, you have farmer mages who use earth magic to help with their farms, fishermen mages who use water magic to help with fishing, and so on and so forth. So the requirements for manual labor are quite low, and whenever it’s needed, you have the non-mage populace that they can employ. Though knowing how the Magocracy works, they probably get paid very little. It’s in their culture to look down on non-mages. Ironic, considering they’re one of the rare nations who welcome nonhumans, even demons, to the point that they could own their own property and land. I guess to them, it’s all about being magical. They’re so far away from the Demon Continent though that demons are still rare overall.

"Impressive. You managed to beat a wyvern on your own. And with ease as well."

_Urgh, must she come so soon?_

I looked behind me and saw Fiora and the others approaching. They had unsheathed their weapons, or in Nicole's case, slung it over her shoulder.

"Your companions, Sir Pendleton?" Chelsea asked with a smile.

"Sir Pendleton?" Fiora raised her eyebrows. "Ah, of course. So you've introduced yourself to these two. The people you just saved from the beast, I presume?"

As expected from her sharp mind, she caught on quick.

"Yes, milady." The beastkin bowed once more. “Sir Pendleton here had just saved us from the monster. We owe our lives to him.”

“Hmph, that collar. You’re a slave, girl?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “I’m Master Elliot’s slave.”

Never before I imagined someone to declare themselves being someone’s slave with that bright of a smile plastered on their face.

_So she really is his slave… Why is she so happy about it though?_

_Oh, I know! This is the usual “I fall in love with the kind master that purchases me!” trope you can find everywhere in the fantasy books I used to read! You can even find it in fancy literature books, like Haydee in Monte Cristo. Ah, I suppose it is every man’s dream to own a beautiful slave girl that’s completely loyal to you._

_Of course, I know very well that slavery is very bad thing indeed in real life. But since this is a fantasy world, can you even apply the logic of real life here?_

Fiora gave a glance towards Elliot, who was also smiling proudly in the background. I know that expression. That’s the expression of a man who’s proud that he has such a beautiful girl as his girlfriend. Or in this case, as his slave.

_Damn it, you lucky bastard! I want a cute and hot slave like her too!_

“How much?” Fiora suddenly asked Elliot.

“Huh?”

“How much did you pay her for?”

“L-let’s see… 35 gold coins, wasn’t it, Chelsea?” He gave a glance towards his slave.

“Yes, Master.” She nodded. “I still remember that day so clearly. You spent all your savings to purchase me, just because you saw me that one time when you turned in that quest. I’m eternally grateful to that, Master.” She smiled again. "Truly, I am not worthy of your care and affection, especially since I had doubts in my heart that you would purchase me in the end."

"No no no you're completely worthy, Chelsea!" He grabbed both of her hands. "You've been so useful to me all this time, you know! You're the best purchase I've ever made! And of course you’ll doubt me! I was just a poor adventurer after all!"

"Master… ooohhh, Master…" She started to cry.

_Oh my God this is too sweet! So sickeningly sweet and sappy that I can feel the diabetes coming!_

Fiora seemed to agree as a look of annoyance had arrived on her face. Helen reacted the same way, with only Nicole smiling as her eyes sparkled.

“So, she’s a High Slave, isn’t she?” Fiora continued, now putting one hand on her waist. Ah, I remember that term. High slaves are generally used for slaves who have some rights, as opposed to normal slaves who have none. Said rights mostly involve protection from abuse from their masters. Whether the system actually works is another matter entirely however.

“Where did you purchase her, boy?” Fiora then asked.

“Eh?" He released his slave's hands. "I purchased her in Lestad. I stayed there for a while taking on dungeon quests while grouping up with other parties. Thanks to that, I can muster enough gold to purchase her.” He grinned.

“Hmph, the Sky Tower, is it? Boy!” She suddenly turned to me. “Do you know what that is?”

“Huh?” I was caught off-guard. “Sky Tower? That’s one of the World Dungeons, isn’t it?”

“And do you know what World Dungeons are?”

“Of course I do.” _Please stop underestimating my intelligence for once._ “They’re abnormally large dungeons, to the point that it feels like a completely different world inside. And the layout constantly changes day by day so you can’t make a map of it.”

“Very good.” She smirked. “Well, that’s all I need to know. Let’s go.”

And just like that, she decided the conversation was over, walking away from the two like they weren’t even there. _You know, you haven’t even introduced yourself yet… So much for being polite…_

Helen gave one last suspicion-filled look (at this point, I’m starting to think part of her job is to be suspicious to anyone and everyone), before following behind Fiora. Nicole on the other hand gave a short bow and a smile before leaving as well.

“Sorry about that.” I gave them an apologetic smile.

“Must be hard to have such a demanding older sister, isn’t it, Sir?” Elliot replied with an awkward grin. “Well, the other one seems to be pretty nice though. Makes me feel a bit jealous. I ain’t got any siblings, you see.”

“Uuu…”

_Judging by the sudden shift of expression on Chelsea’s face, I think he shouldn’t have said that._

“Thank you again, Sir!” He bowed again. “This is the first time I met a noble as nice as you! The last noble I met, he wasn’t very nice at all… quite arrogant actually…” He awkwardly scratched his chin with his index finger.

“Yeah, I can imagine that…” I gave my own nervous laugh. _A lot of nobles probably are Fiora-level arrogant, so her acting like that isn’t odd in the first place._ “You can make it back home on your own, right?”

“Don’t worry!” He patted his chest. “I’ll make sure we’ll get back to town in one piece. We weren’t actually planning to fight a wyvern, just so you know. We’re up here as simple travelers. But suddenly, that creature just showed up out of nowhere, taking us by surprise. And I thought wyverns are supposed to only be around on the higher parts of the mountains…” He looked warily at the far cliff where the mountains went even further upwards. “But if it’s just B-rank monsters, we can take it on. We’re B-rank ourselves after all. Well, I’m B-rank but Chelsea just started so she’s still D-rank unfortunately. But I assure you, she’s as strong as I am already!”

“That’s not true, Master.” She smiled, adorably blushing again. “I still need your guidance on many things, including combat.” _Aaahhh, what an adorable puppy this girl is!_

“Where are you two going anyways?” I asked, simply out of curiosity. “If you made such good money doing quests in that dungeon, then why are you all the way here to the south?”

“We’re thinking of moving on to a different World Dungeon to the west. We… kinda reached our limit in that dungeon to be honest.” He sighed. “Any further and it would be too dangerous to press on. And to be honest, we’re already bored of the place as well.” He sheepishly grinned.

“Ah, I get it.” I smiled back. “Being an adventurer is about exploring new places after all. Who would want to get stuck grinding the same dungeon over and over again?” _Even I hated grinding in RPGs back in my old life. I would just bypass that tedium with cheat codes and the like._

“Well, good luck.” I put my hand on his shoulder. Quite awkward since he’s taller than me. “Descend as much as you could right away, just in case there's another wyvern around. Oh, and one more thing.” I stood on my toes and whispered, “Take care of her, alright? That girl’s a keeper.”

“Hmm?” The beastkin tilted her head.

“Heh, of course! I swore to that!”

After thanking me one last time, the two left. Since they were going to the west, we wouldn’t be able to travel together. Which my perverted mind found quite the shame, since that Chelsea girl really had a hot body. Even now, as they walked away, I ogled her voluptuous butt—that her tight green pants and her moving tail only highlighted.

_Damn it Hugo, you can’t be doing this to somebody else’s girlfriend. What would you do if you have other guys ogle Sherry?_

_...Yep, I would be upset for sure, to the point that I might just punch them right on their faces. Thankfully(?), I have a feeling she isn’t the type who would grow up to be a sexy bombshell like that girl. She’ll probably have average butt and lower than average breasts._

_I don’t care though. Beauty isn’t just about butts and boobs. Every part of a girl’s body can be beautiful. Realizing that is what distinguishes an ultra pervert from an ordinary one._

_Or maybe I’ve just been smitten by her. Quite sad, and creepy if you think about it, to have a young girl as your first love. And unexpected, since even though I did have a folder of cute loli pictures on my computer back in my old life (that I would look at just to be cured by their cuteness), I only have sexual fantasies towards girls with big boobs and butts._

_Oh well, it doesn’t matter anyways. When I met her again, she would already hit puberty and grow into a beautiful girl. And then, we can finally—_ “Ouch!”

Yep, it was Fiora again.


	72. In Which Hugo Considers Purchasing A Slave Harem

_Oh, my poor bread… just left on its own without me even getting a bite…_

We promptly returned to our picnic spot where, thankfully, none of the food we left there had been touched by any wild animals.

Once we all sat down, Fiora, as I had expected, started her scolding.

“You really are a piece of work, aren’t you?” She began with crossed legs and arms. “Just running like that like a complete buffoon.”

“Look, they would’ve died if I didn’t arrive earlier.” I retorted. “I might be your bodyguard, but I’m not just going to ignore someone in trouble if I can help it.”

“What are you, some sort of a knight in shining armor? Going around saving damsels in distresses? Don’t think I didn’t notice you checking her out.”

“Ha, said the damsel herself.” I munched a huge chunk of my bread before swallowing it immediately like it was nothing. “You need me to be your guard so you pretty much fit the definition.”

“Hoo~” She smirked. “Is that a challenge? Are you throwing the gauntlet for a duel? A commoner like you couldn’t do that though. I could simply dismiss your challenge with the reason of your low social stature, and no one would care.”

Dueling. That concept exists in this world as well. You can find it numerous times in the fictions of this world, but it actually is still being practiced. It’s similar to how it works in my old world (or at least, I think it is), in how you can use it to settle differences between two nobles. Usually it’s done when someone insults your honor or if two noblemen are competing for the same lady in marriage.

And, just like she said, high society wouldn’t frown on someone who rejects a duel if the challenger is of a lower social stature than him. If the standing is equal however, it’s another matter entirely. You would get mocked for being a coward. Might even end up besmirching the name of your family in the process.

“I’m not a commoner, alright?” I replied, now visibly riled up. It always ends up like this whenever I speak to her for longer than a second, I swear. “You see, my grandfather is a nobleman of Ferus.”

“Then what are your family doing all the way in Marchen? Your father probably ran away or got disowned or something. Which meant he would lose his title. So yes, you are a commoner, boy.” She ended her sentence by taking a sip of her tea.

_Of course she figured it out right away. Though that’s to be expected. As she’s a noble, and one embroiled in politics from such a young age, she would know everything there is to know about the world of nobles and aristocrats._

_I’m tempted to say that Mother is a noble of Marchen that Father married so he moved to the kingdom, but she probably would just figure I’m lying anyways._

“Anyway, as long as you’re not some prince from some country, you can’t challenge me. I know I won’t be able to win if you go all out.” _Then why do you still have that damn smirk on your face?!_ “Then again, I’m neither a gentleman nor a knight. For a lady, let alone a princess, to partake in dueling, that would be quite the unconventional thing.

“Everything about you is unconventional.” I retorted. “What kind of princess carries around a sword like that? And to be so good at it too?”

“Why, thank you for the compliment, Sir Pendleton.” She smiled.

_...Goddamnit._

\---------

After we finished our lunch, Helen immediately packed our things so we could resume our journey right away. We took in the pleasant sights and air around us once more before we would be forced to sit for hours inside the carriage once again. Well, Fiora and I would just resume our training on top of the carriage though.

“Hugo?” Nicole walked up to me from behind.

“Hm? Oh, Nicole. What’s the matter?” I noticed the worried look on her face so this must be something important.

“Did you really ogle that slave girl?"

"Buh-what?" If I was drinking anything, I would've spitted it out for sure.

"Please be honest." She pleaded, grabbing my hands and gathering them together. "I won't be angry. I just want to know the truth."

I sighed. "Yes, I did. I can't help it. I know it's bad, but whenever I saw an attractive girl, I couldn't stop doing it."

There's no point lying about it, is there? I really didn't want her or Fiora to know that I'm a pervert but that cat's out of the bag now. Might as well admit it.

I put on a sorry expression though, since I already knew where this conversation would go.

She replied with a sigh, releasing my hands and looking away from me. “I’m worried about you, Hugo.” She continued. “You, and Sherry.” _I knew it._ “You know she would be sad, if she saw you acting like that."

"Look, Nicole." I put my right hand on her shoulder, staring at her right at the eyes. "I admit it. I am a pervert. Even at this age, I already like ogling attractive girls. It probably will only get worse as I grow older. But know this. The only girl I truly like is her." I took off my hand. "You already know how much she meant to me."

"But still…"

"This is just one perverted boy's opinion, but I think there's a difference between lust and love. You can feel lust towards any good-looking girl you meet, but you only feel love towards that special person. Love is beyond physical attraction. It's about sharing your very soul with another—your joy, your insecurities, your sorrows, even your dreams. You bare your very being with her. And I, being the shy person that I am, would never be able to do that with somebody else."

She paused, seemingly trying to process what I just said.

\------

**Nicole**

I was gravely mistaken.

I had feared that Hugo was the kind of lecherous man, or boy, considering his age, that would be unfaithful with their partner—that one day, he would betray Sherry's love and break her poor heart.

But now, I know that he wouldn't grow up to be that kind of a person. The look and speech he just gave me—there was no lie in it. He was speaking the truth.

And the way he admitted his vice… it was truly admirable. He knew it was his flaw and he didn't try to excuse himself out of it.

I have misjudged him. Behind that emotional weakness he possessed, there is a certain maturity and bravery that he possesses. He is extraordinary, not just because of his magic prowess but also because of his adult-like gentlemanly mind. And today, I learned something from him, even though I was the older one.

You truly are in good hands, Sherry.

"I apologize." I gave a bow. "I have thought ill of you, Hugo."

"Eh, it's alright." He smiled. "I am really a pervert. Milicis doesn't take kindly to my kind, does she?"

"I suppose not." I giggled. "But you are an exception, I feel. You have your sinful urges but you remain a loyal gentleman despite them. I think that's a praiseworthy act."

"Hehe." He grinned. "I'm glad to hear that."

"But still, can't you do anything about it? Your ogling, I mean. Even if it's just that, I feel Sherry will still feel jealous that you're eyeing other girls instead of her."

"Hmm, it would be hard, I think," he replied. "It's not like I'm doing it consciously. My eyes just wander on their own."

"I see…" I let out a sigh, before returning a smile. "Well, please try anyway. I don't want to see Sherry sad."

Soon after, Fiora called on to us, as we were ready to depart. And as I watched Hugo from behind, a certain, truly shameful feeling blossomed inside my heart.

I was jealous. I too wished I could have someone as mature and gentlemanly as Hugo as a lover. With the exception of his perversion, he truly resembled the princes in the books I read.

_Oh please, forgive me o Great Saint. I should only feel happiness for my friend yet my impure heart feels envy as well._ _I truly am still unworthy to be your priestess._

\-----------

**Hugo**

_Whew, that went well._

_I was afraid she would go all preachy on me, saying that my action is sinful and that I should repent right away. But she is surprisingly reasonable. I guess I really should stop seeing heavily religious folks in a negative manner like that. Or maybe she’s just the exception._

_Whatever it is, I’m glad she didn’t decide to hate me after knowing of my perverted nature. I wouldn’t want her to start telling me to leave Sherry because I’m unworthy of her, even if I might be._

_And besides, it wouldn’t suit her saintly look. I still remember how I was awed by that the first time I met her._

_Still, to stop ogling other girls, huh? That really would be hard… if I see any large, bouncing boobs, my eyes immediately locked on to them. I really can’t help it. And really, are there any healthy males out there that can resist doing it? It’s literally programmed to our very nature, thanks to millions of years of evolution. Or so I heard._

_Though this is a fantasy world so evolution probably isn’t a thing. Maybe the God Nicole worshipped, what’s his name again, Heavenly Dragon? He might be the one responsible for creating humanity in the first place. So really, she should be blaming him for my perversion._

_...Ah, that really doesn’t apply to me though, since I’m a reincarnator. So my soul came from my old world, not created by the Dragon._

_Hmm, wonder why I got reincarnated here in the first place, and not on Earth? I didn’t meet any gods or goddesses. I just woke up as a baby without any explanation._

_Oh well, who cares, really? What’s important is that I am now here and this is my life now. I might have messed it up, but I can still make a comeback._

\------------

As expected, we resumed our training right away. This time, she told me to perform the horizontal slash movement instead. And just like before, she demanded me to do it for hours, with her barking up instructions if she detected any wrong movements on my part.

When I managed to get it right constantly however, she remained silent, looking at the distant mountains instead.

Until she broke the silence however.

“Boy, that slave girl you ogled… you want her, don't you?"

"Buh-what?! Where did that come from?!"

"With the money I'll give you at the end of this trip, you can buy as many High Slaves as you want. Even the most expensive ones. They would be beautiful, they would be capable, and most importantly, they would all love you, their master."

My mind immediately went wild. I imagined myself on a large bed, surrounded by four beautiful and voluptuous girls. Two girls hugged me from both sides, placing my arms between their soft naked breasts. The other two, on the other hand, attended to my little one, with one gently sucking on it and the other massaging it with her hands. My brain promptly gave their looks. Two were a pair of ordinary elf and dark elf. One was a beastkin, just like the slave girl. And the last one was a human, a blonde princess to be exact. I don’t know why there’s a princess there since they were supposed to be all slaves, but that’s just what said brain told me.

"Impressive. You really have an active imagination, don't you, boy? Or perhaps it's only regarding perverted matters? Whatever it is, I do hope you would stop making that unsightly expression whenever you do it."

"Look, you're the one who brought it up in the first place." I protested, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Ha." She crossed her arms with a grin. "I really would recommend buying High Slaves instead of ordinary slaves if you want to use them for that purpose. They're conditioned to love their master from birth, and they are highly trained in combat, housework, and yes, even lovemaking."

"Wait, conditioned?" My eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes. You don't know?" Her grin grew. "Most of them are of the beastkin race, either kidnapped as babies or born to one of their slave farms. Like domesticated animals, they were raised to love their eventual owners. Such was the trait of some species of beastkin. They could be tamed in such a manner."

This information naturally took me by surprise. _What in the— kidnapped? Slave farms? What is she talking about?_

"Ah, that look. I like that horrified, disgusted look. You may be an unrepentant pervert but you're still a moral person." She stood up with a smile, her twintails and skirt billowing in the wind. "But you're also naive. How do you think a slave can love her Master that much? If you think it's because of true love, then you're even dumber than I thought."

_Of course. Kidnapping people to sell them—that still exists back in my old world. But slave farms? I find it hard to believe._

"Slave farms? You mean places where they raise slaves?"

"Not just that. They're born there as well. They would have pairs of older slaves producing infants to be raised as new slaves. The law allows it, since children of slaves are considered slaves as well."

I fell silent. This truly was the first time I've heard of such a thing existing.

_This world is a more messed up place than I thought…_

"So, still want to buy them? They will pamper you for sure. In fact, it would be their greatest happiness. Isn't it a win-win scenario? You get to satisfy those urges while they get to be happy."

The tone of her voice—it was clear that she too was disgusted by the practice.

As for me, well, that revelation just killed any boners I might have for the idea.

Maybe it's because of my stubborn pride, like how I refused to pay for prostitution if I really wanted to have sex that badly with a girl in my old life. Or maybe it's because of my modern Japanese mindset, that found such a thing to be quite horrifying, to say the least. I certainly could just ignore them both, and partake in the practice since I’m a citizen of this world now.

...No, even so, I still can’t. Then I will be a cheating scum for real, because there’s no way Sherry would approve.

_Ah, for me to even consider it… it makes me wonder yet again if I even deserve her in the first place…_

“How do you know so much about it anyways? Aren’t princesses usually sheltered from that sort of thing?”

“Ha, you can’t survive as a naive little girl if you’re the imperial princess,” she retorted. “Of course I know all about it. It’s a major part of my older sister’s business enterprise after all. Selling those high-class loyal slaves to nobles and rich merchants, she makes good money doing it.”

“And I guess you disapprove?”

“Hmph, you're surprisingly sharp for once."

"It's kinda obvious, the way your expression looks and your tone. And I have to say," I gave a smile. "You're a nicer person than you let on, aren't you?"

"And what makes you think that?"

"Nobles, let alone an imperial princess, don't usually care about slaves. But you do. Which means you're nicer than them." My smile turned to a grin. "Really, you should stop acting so tough for once. You'll be cuter if you smile more, you know~"

Her response? A kick to the shin, so fast that I couldn't react.

"Stop wasting time and continue your training,” she ordered, before sitting back down.

_Ah, she really is a tsundere..._

\---------------

We managed to cross the pass in its entirety right when the sun was going down, arriving at the town of Aurand at the other side. We immediately went to the inn and rested for the night there, conveniently taking our dinner in the tavern there as well. I slept in my own room while the other three shared another. Hmm, I wonder if the bed wouldn’t be too small.

The next morning, after breakfast, Fiora gathered us in her room for a meeting, to decide on what route we would take next.

“So, our next destination is the city of Sigil, where a Grand Priest currently resides.” She pointed at the dot on the map. “We can go straight southeast from here to get there quickly. However, that means we would have to cross through the heart of Zamba Swamps, which would mean fending off a lot of monsters, and strong ones at that. Another alternative is to follow the normal road where we would head east first before south, though naturally that meant we would have to take a longer road.” Her index finger nimbly traveled through the parchment.

“Wait, can our carriage even travel through swamp lands in the first place?” I protested. “The wheels could sink and that would only delay our journey even more.”

“Really?” Fiora returned with a groan. “You do know you’re a mage, don’t you?”

“...Oh… right…” I completely forgot that I could just use an Earth spell to handle that problem with ease.

“And seeing how you managed to take care of that wyvern so handily, I say we shouldn’t have any problem taking the shortcut,” she continued. “Helen, there’s no S-rank monsters there, is there?”

“None to my knowledge,” she replied. “Only A-rank at best and even those are a rarity.”

“How much days would taking that shortcut save?” I asked.

“My estimation puts it around two or three days,” the maid answered.

“Hmm,” I paused. “Is it really worth it to take that route if we only saved that much?”

“We have to consider as well the fact that taking the route might throw off any pursuers that would be coming after us,” the maid continued.

“So you’re saying that they would expect us to take the normal route instead.”

“Perhaps.” She pursed her lips. “There really is no guarantee, unfortunately. Your Royal Highness is already well-known in the palace for being the sort of girl who might just decide to take the riskier route if it will make her arrive faster.”

“Then, maybe we shouldn't take that route after all."

"No, we're taking that route," Fiora interrupted. _Oh boy, here we go._ "It would be a good opportunity for you to train.”

“But I just started training today!” I objected in disbelief. “I can’t be fighting against monsters right away!”

“Oh, don’t be a coward. I can tell that you already have a good foundation under you. Your stance and your form—they’re still crude but they’re functional. Your father taught you well after all.” She smirked.

“And besides, if anything happens, you can just blast them with your magic, no?”

In the end, Your Imperial Majesty’s selfishness won over. She was the person in charge after all, so she had the final say. We were going to go through the swamp to reach Sigil, and hopefully, not terribly dying in the process.


	73. The Two Monks

**???**

Ronia Mountain Passage—the mountainous road our protagonist had just traversed. Many travelers went through it back and fro, as it was the main connecting route between the west and east region of the southern Holy Empire. Most travelers would either walk by foot or travel on board of carriages and stagecoaches, with a few riding horses, mostly couriers and the like.

But then, that day, any traveler who went through the passage might have had a wondrous encounter with them—two men, running so fast that they even beat the speed of horses at full gallop. They certainly would beat the speed of mere carriages.

They were a pair of middle-aged men, bald and dark-skinned, wearing what looked to be monk’s robes dyed in black. One of them had a scar near his eye, which was the only distinguishing factor between them.

The men rushed through the passage, not stopping for any breaks in the slightest. They jumped over cliffs and ravines like they were nothing,

GROAAARRRR

A wyvern, the very same species that attacked the beastgirl from before, sensed their presence. They had trespassed into its territory, and so it decided to attack them.

With its high speed, it chased after them, keeping up with their speed. With its wings, it launched whirlwinds towards them, while simultaneously barraging them with fireballs it shot out from its mouth. The two however dodged out of all its projectiles with ease.

Knowing that it couldn’t harm them from afar, it decided to close the distance between them.

Or so it thought, before it was sent crashing down from the skies, spinning furiously in a spiral downwards to the ground below. A powerful force had hit it, and it made it lose control of its flight entirely.

With a simple ranged punch, one of the men had defeated it in a single move. He didn’t even need to touch the creature.

His twin brother stopped, telling him to get a move on.

After all, they had a very important prey to chase and put down.

\------------------

**Hugo**

The road through the swamps was… miserable, to say the least.

The dirt road we took was serviceable enough, and it took us through the damp and hot place as fast as it reasonably could. The trees around us seemed to come straight out of a tropical rainforest, and accompanying it, so were the tropical monsters. Like Rabid Monkeys, C-rank monsters who gleefully laid ambushes to us over and over again from the treetops. Or the Bloatflies, another C-rank monster with a disgusting smell whose bloated bellies would explode into a swarm of Predator Flies if we were to kill them. The Predator Flies themselves were considered C-rank as well, even though they were extremely weak individually. Only that they would swarm you like bees, biting off little chunks of your meat while dodging every sword swing you launched on them. Well, not Fiora’s though. With extreme precision, she cut them down in an instant.

Then there were the Mud Hippos who would fire off streams of mud from their mouth in an effort to bury us with it. They were actually B-rank monsters, and they attacked from a distance. Fiora said that one of the weaknesses of her style was the inability of striking faraway opponents, so she told me to just blast them away with my spell. “It’s too early for you to learn how to close the distance towards faraway opponents, boy,” she said. I didn’t see her doing it though. Instead, she simply blocked the mud from reaching her by simply holding her sword up and somehow slicing it into two separate streams using her sword.

_That’s gotta be her aura at work, isn’t it?_

Suffice to say that it wasn’t an easy trip, especially since Fiora ordered me not to use my magic to fight them unless I absolutely had to. So I had to kill them with just my sword.

Thankfully, Fiora herself was there fighting with me. And, just like I expected, they were no match against her in the slightest. Anytime they got to a certain radius near her, she would cut them down without fail, even though that radius was certainly larger than what the length of her sword should be able to reach.

As for me, well, just fighting a single monkey proved to be too much for me at first. He would dodge out of my slashes and thrusts every time, with me barely dodging his blows using my Wind Step. Fiora said I could use that spell and that spell only, and so I did. But sometimes, when I was facing multiple of them, I would be overwhelmed, and that’s where Nicole would come in, erecting a barrier to protect me from their blows. Helen was also there, holding her own with her daggers and throwing knives. Her main job was to protect the horses and to ensure that the monsters wouldn’t hurt them.

The monkeys and flies didn’t really give any worthwhile enough parts for us to gather and sell later (at least, not compared to the time we would waste). The rarer hippos on the other hand—their heart fetched quite nicely in the shops. I persuaded Fiora to let me collect them.

“Fine. But the money you got from selling them all goes to Helen, alright? She’s the one managing our group’s funds,” she replied. So yeah, I was pretty much only doing it out of the kindness of my heart.

For our first night, we camped on a clearing with solid land beneath it. Nicole cast a warding spell to shoo off any monsters that might decide to attack us in the night (giving me a painful nostalgic memory of Mother doing the same when we had our mountain trip). Even so, we still took turns taking watch. Helen offered to do Fiora’s turn as well, but the princess refused, saying that she needed her to be well-rested. _Wow, I didn’t expect that, knowing how selfish she usually is._

As for the one who gathered firewood, it was all Helen. We didn’t hunt however since there really were no edible monsters around. So we only ate the dried mead and hard bread that the maid had prepared before we took on the trip here. They weren’t delicious in the slightest, but they were filling.

After we finished eating, Fiora came up to me and gave her evaluation of my fighting prowess throughout the day.

“Hugo, you really are a coward, aren’t you?” she said as she stood in front of me. I was sitting near the campfire then.

“Huh? Where did that come from?” I replied, raising my eyebrows.

“Your fighting. It’s all about running away.”

“Running away? What are you talking about? I stood my grounds against those monsters you know, even though I was clearly outmatched by them,” I protested.

“You dodge their blows like a mage would. But you’re a swordsman now. You don’t dodge like that. As a Galahad-style swordsman, you only dodge using the bare necessary movement, and then counter right away once the enemy let themselves open.”

“Easy for you to say,” I retorted. “I’ve been fighting like a mage would all these years.”

“Then stop whining and kick that habit off you, or else you’ll never improve on your swordsmanship. You might as well just give up now, boy.”

With those words, she left me to my own thoughts, entering her tent.

_You know what? Maybe she’s right. Maybe I should change my mindset in combat. If I got injured, I have Nicole to heal me up after all._

\-----------------

The second day, I decided to do just that, moving around less and standing my ground more. The result? Several painful scratches on my two hands and a chunk of my hair gone when one of the monkeys yanked it off. One of them would have gouged my eyes out if not for Fiora cutting it in half.

"Boy, never break your stance, no matter what happens!" was her only words to me when that happened. _What, not even an "are you okay?" or something like that? Tch, how cold._

But she was right. After being forced to fight in this manner, I realized that you could dodge and parry much easier if you don't move unnecessarily. You simply need to move your head or your body to the side a bit, and then strike back without pause.

As a result, once the tenth day of travelling through the swamp was over, I could already handle the monkeys on my own, at least somewhat. I could dodge most of their blows, but it took me really long to wait until I could find an opponent for a counter-attack. Fiora though, any monkeys that came near her would be cut into pieces in an instant.

_Heh, now I know how it feels to be those two when I rescued them from the wyvern. Or those three when I took care of the boar._

A flash of pain came into my chest as I remembered them and their deaths.

However, I already accepted it—that death was a commonplace occurrence in this world. On our trip through the swamp, we already saw a couple of corpses. Adventurers, most likely. Or travelers foolish enough to take this dangerous route.

I was not a religious person in the slightest, but when Nicole implored me to pray with her for their souls to enter Paradise, as well as the souls of Father and Mother, I followed. This is a fantasy world, so gods might actually exist after all.

And then came the last day of our swampy voyage. If all went well, we should arrive at Sigil right when the sun is about to go down.

\-------------

For the last day, just like the other days, I still had my training on top of the carriage with Fiora if there were no monsters attacking us. Now, our exercises had moved on to her attacking me with basic blows with her sword, commanding me to dodge while keeping up my stance. She also told me to counterattack whenever I could, but every time I did, she would rapidly counter said counterattack and give me a stinging slap on my arms with her wooden sword. Oh yeah, when she taught me, she used said sword instead of her real one, while she told me that I could use my real sword. Clearly, she was saying that even if I were to accidentally attack her with a real blade, she could protect herself just fine even with a dull piece of wood.

“Where did you get that wooden sword anyways?” I asked.

“Helen bought it in Aurand,” she replied. “I could smack you with it, unlike if I use my real sword.”

“Ah, I see.” _You know, I’m starting to feel that she’s really a genuine sadist who enjoys hitting people, and me being her pupil allows her to use me as her personal punching bag._

I looked upwards, towards the sun. If I had to guess, it was already around three in the afternoon. _I should consider looking around for a pocket watch sometime, though I really don’t want to return to my old life where I have to keep looking at the clock at all times. There’s a certain beauty to just living life as it is, without any thoughts on the passing—_

CRASH

A force, so powerful that it nearly sent me off flying from the roof of the carriage, was blocked by Fiora’s sword—the real one. She stood there, groaning, as what looked like a giant fist made out of energy pushed towards her.

And then, I felt it—another powerful energy getting closer right behind me.

My reflex, honed by all the training we had been doing for nearly two weeks, responded by grabbing her while using Wind Step to evacuate the roof of the carriage. Just in time before the two fists collided.

In a split second, Nicole escaped the carriage and erected a Barrier around us. Helen, on the other hand, threw a series of knives towards the two directions where the fists came from. The horses themselves went into a panic and tried to run away, only for them to crash into the forcefield Nicole had erected.

“Your Highness!” The maid ran immediately towards us, before kneeling down in front of her. “Are you alright?”

Her worried expression however turned into an angry one, the moment she saw where my hands were grabbing her princess.

Yep, I grabbed her right on her breasts.

Before I could even enjoy the surprising fullness and softness that lied underneath her modest dress, she yanked herself free from me. “There are two of them. Monks, most likely. Helen, did you see anyone from the two directions the fists came from?”

“Apologies, Your Highness.” She bowed her head. “But I was caught off-guard by their surprise attack. They must have hidden themselves using the trees around us.”

I gave a look around at our surroundings. True enough, we were currently in the part of the swamp with lots of thick trees and greenery in general. Perfect for someone to hide in.

“Hold on.” I spoke up. “I can help.”

_All around us is mud. Which means this would be the perfect environment for her._

“Earth Sprite! Come on out!”

The fairy responded promptly, appearing from the nearby muddy ground, to the surprise of everyone present.

“There should be two people around us. Search for them, and point us towards where they are.” I commanded her.

“Nnn.” As usual, she replied in a quiet manner. She disappeared under the muddy ground promptly, no doubt to conduct her search.

“Hoo? So you can use summoning magic as well.” Fiora smirked. Nicole on the other hand had a worried expression on her face. Oh, right, the Church forbids summoning magic in its entirety.

After just a few seconds, the sprite returned. “Don’t sense any human standing in the mud nearby.” was her report.

“They could still be hiding on top of the trees,” I argued. “We have to flush them out. Hold on. I think I can utilize my magic for that.”

I moved away from the crowd, taking out my wand while still being inside the barrier Nicole had erected.

“Air Sunder!”

Using my magic, I created a cyclone that would shake and tear the leaves out of the trees, leaving no camouflage for them to hide. I could use my Boom Cannon for that purpose, but I’d rather not spend my mana firing off multiple of them just to bring down some trees. And besides, I would rather surprise them with it. If they didn’t know how fast I could fire it, they could fall the same way Vera did.

To my surprise however, after clearing out our nearby surroundings, nothing. There weren’t anybody around.

“Tch, they’ve run away.” I announced to the group. “They probably would strike again once we let our guard down.

“Not bad.” Fiora continued her smirk. “You’re quite the capable bodyguard after all.”

“What should we do now?” Nicole spoke up, biting her lip. “Should we just try to get to the city?”

“We should,” Fiora replied, turning to face her with a grim look on her face. Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever seen her this nervous. “If night falls, they would have an advantage. We shall make for the Grand Priest’s temple and seek abode there. They should not try anything as long as we were on temple grounds. Not with the Grand Priest here. The information you told me is correct, right?”

“Yes.” Nicole nodded. “Lady Lunarya is a well-known combatant. She would be more than a match for them.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll rush there as fast as we can. Nicole, could you keep up your barrier all the way?”

She looked away. “I… I do not know…” She looked back. “But I’ll try.”

And so we hurriedly departed, with Helen whipping the horses so they would gallop as fast as they could towards Sigil. I gave a hug to my sprite before banishing her. All three of us now sat on the carriage roof, with Nicole concentrating to keep her barrier up while Fiora and I looked around us for any suspicious movements that might signal another attack.

To our pleasant surprise, nothing happened. We were able to reach the city safe and sound. Nicole took down her barrier, panting as she finally succumbed to her fatigue at last.

Naturally, our arrival drew the attention of the guards posted on the gate, which numbered more than the usual number posted on the towns I had gone through before. Perhaps it’s because they were on the side of the city wall that faced the swamps, just in case if any monsters dared enough to try to attack the city. They took notice of the barrier Nicole erected, and the fact that there were three people standing on top of the carriage, looking terribly on edge.

“H-hey, what’s the matter?” One of them walked forward towards Helen. “Were you guys attacked or something?

“We were,” the maid replied calmly. “That’s why we have to hurry to the Grand Priest’s place. Church business.”

“R-right. T-then let me guide you there.” The soldier gulped. “L-let me speak to the captain first.”

It seemed Helen’s grave expression was enough to convince him that she was speaking the truth. Or maybe he was just the gullible sort, easily charmed by the maid’s beauty.

The youthful-looking soldier ran towards his superior, which was the mustachioed middle-aged man behind him. After a short talk, he went back and said, “A-alright. I’ve gotten permission. Let’s go.”

After the guards moved over to the sides, Helen whipped the horses and made them gallop once more.

“Don’t let your guard down.” Fiora whispered. “Just because we’re inside the city doesn’t mean we’re safe. Remember, the only one that can protect us is the Grand Priest. Not these guards that I could easily cut down myself if I wanted to.”

“Don’t you think they would care for collateral damage? If we fought, a whole block of the city could be destroyed,” I replied. I was pretty sure that my Boom Cannon could make a hole through several houses in one fell swoop, knowing the power it possessed.

“Hmph. That depends,” Fiora answered. “I do not know what the attitude of our attackers are. Maybe they’re the kind of assassins that only wish to kill their targets. Or maybe they would perfectly be willing to burn an entire city to the ground if it means their targets would die with it.”

With those foreboding words, courtesy of our dear imperial princess, we entered the gate.


	74. The High Priestess

As we entered through the gate, one of the soldiers was sent off ahead to warn the temple of our arrival. Nicole showed off her emblem to the captain guard, and he immediately understood that she was an official aspirant for the High Priestess position, adding credence to our claim. We didn’t say anything about Fiora being the imperial princess however. All we said that she was an imperial noble of high renown, and that we were her bodyguards, protecting her from a pair of assassins that were targeting her. Thankfully, he bought our story without asking any further questions, to the point that he assigned his soldiers to escort us. We refused to slow down our carriage speed however, so only the horse riders could keep up. They also helped us carve the path ahead, shooing any bystanders off the main road.

I kept my vigilance, looking around for any suspicious movements amongst the crowd. The day was passing, so there weren’t that many people around, making it easier for me to do so.

And then, I saw it—rapid movement from one of the alleyways we passed by.

“There he is!” I yelled, before immediately charging up my Boom Cannon spell.

The man didn’t hesitate. He wallkicked off the two buildings as if he was the main character of a platformer game, before doing a somersault kick in midair. I didn’t know how he did it, but the force of said kick manifested into what looked like a blade made out of energy, heading straight towards us.

_Heh! Nice try, but you’re not going to beat my Boom Cannon with that!_

I launched my spell right towards him, and to his surprise, my spell pierced through his energy attack. Once again, people didn’t expect me to be able to launch such a powerful spell in such a short time.

Using his hands, he guarded himself. Naturally, he was sent flying right to the faraway building behind him, crashing as he made a crater.

_Damn, he didn't get obliterated by that. Did he even die? That Aura thing… it really is real after all…_

The book had explained that you could use aura defensively, granting you toughness that could repel even a sword strike. My spell certainly landed on him head on, but he managed to protect himself so that it didn’t end up as a killing blow.

Such was the difference between magicians like Vera who couldn’t use aura to protect herself. To her, it’s guaranteed death if my spell actually reached her. So me eventually learning aura would be a big boost to my defensive capabilities for sure.

SCREECH

The thunderous noise of two blades clashing with each other alerted me that the attack wasn't over. There was the other guy, and he sent the same projectile at Fiora, who blocked and parried it upwards to the skies. Unlike me, however, she had no option to counter attack, so the man who attacked managed to escape unscratched.

"Did you take out your side?" she asked.

"My spell landed but I can't be sure if he's dead yet," I answered. "But he must be wounded at the very least."

"Tch, what a persistent bunch." She cursed under her breath.

"Oi, don't just stand there! Search the city and capture those two!" The guard captain yelled, mobilizing the other, currently paralyzed from awe guards to spread.

As expected, the attack stopped once more. Like a good assassin, they wouldn't attack unless they had an advantage, and for now, that advantage seemed to have vanished. I am concerned though, since now they knew my true capability as a mage.

"Should I go after the wounded one?" I asked.

"No, stay here," Fiora replied with a stern look. "The last thing we need is for us to be separated and getting picked off one by one."

And so we continued our rush towards the temple. As I predicted, there were no further attacks. They must have retreated, especially since one of them was injured by my spell.

The temple was located at the center of the city, located in its own separate complex away from the hustle and bustle of the small metropolis. It really reminded me of the tower back in Mira, although this one only had a little grassy greenery inside of its fence instead of a whole forest. A series of buildings stood inside, and its architectural structure really reminded me of Greek temples back in my old world. _What an odd combination_ , I thought to myself.

Thanks to the guard who was sent ahead, the gate was already opened, allowing us access to the inside immediately. We were hurried inside, and they immediately closed them behind us. I doubt a mere gate and fence would keep those guys out in the slightest though.

A young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes waited for us at the center field, right in front of the largest building, which, I assume would be where the Grand Priestess lives.

She wore what looked to be a cleric attire, although far different than the one Nicole wore. Unlike Nicole’s plain black dress, she wore something with a little bit more flourish to it. Her dress was mostly white and pink, with a design that showed off quite a lot of her legs. Behind her was a squad of knights, wearing long white capes showing off the symbol of the Heavenly Dragon. If I had to guess, they’re some sort of temple knights or something, underlings of the young woman.

My first thought was that this young woman must be the Grand Priestess. But that assumption was quickly dispelled when she introduced herself after we jumped back down to the ground.

“Greetings. My name is Michaela Everthorn, and welcome to the Holy Temple of Sigil.” She put her left hand (the one not grasping her staff) to her right chest before giving a short bow. “I have heard your plight. You seek asylum from your pursuers, correct?” She spoke towards Fiora, who had taken the initiative to act as our representative. “Unfortunately, Lady Lunarya is not currently in the premises, so if you wish to speak to her, you would have to wait. However, rest assured that we would be willing to protect you from those who are after your life.” And then, she walked forward and leaned over to Fiora, whispering, “Do not worry, Your Highness. As a High Priestess serving Lady Lunarya, I shall make sure your life is protected until she returns.”

Welp, the cat was out of the bag immediately. I wonder how she figured it out this quickly though.

I took note of her being a High Priestess though. So she’s how Nicole would look like when she finished her pilgrimage. She probably aimed to become a servant of her adoptive mother—that Lady Miriam person.

Helen and Nicole were shocked but Fiora seemed unfazed. The young woman named Michaela then turned her gaze towards Nicole. “And you are an aspirant to become a High Priestess, correct?”

“Y-yes,” she nervously squeaked.

“Then, you have to wait as well for Lady Lunarya to return. Only she can give you the recommendation you need.”

I exchanged looks with Fiora. It seemed she was fine by the arrangements given, but I could tell that she was nervous not having the Grand Priest on-site. _So there's a chance they might attack again._

Afterwards, we were escorted to our rooms by her and her temple knights. I got my own room, Nicole got hers, and then Fiora and Helen shared a room.

It was a comfortable room, though not too lavish. It had its own fireplace, with a small bookcase filled with what seemed to be religious books. There’s a basket to put dirty clothes in, and a chamberpot under the bed to do one’s business. They even gave me a couple robes I could wear, I assume as they washed my clothes.

Dinner would be served soon, so I promptly changed out of my dirty, smelly clothes (hey, the swamp was a dirty and humid place that made you all sweaty) and put it into the basket. Then, I put on the robe I was given. It was a simple black robe, probably the type worn by acolytes. It was a tad loose, but I could wear it just fine.

_Hmm, feels weird… wearing a robe like this. It’s almost like wearing a dress._

Before we had our dinner, we were told to clean ourselves in the baths first by our attendant, after the high priestess left. There were two baths in the temple complex, one for males and one for females. However, due to our extenuating circumstances, she told us that we would all use the female bath, even me who was a guy. She told us that she would just put up a bamboo curtain that separates the bath into two halves, where I could take a bath in one half while the girls took their bath in another.

Yep, if that doesn’t sound like a setup for an ecchi moment, then I don’t know what it is.

After changing, I waited inside my room until Helen knocked in my door, telling me that the bath was ready to receive us. Once I exited the room, I saw that Fiora, Nicole, and Helen, were wearing similar robes to mine. Huh, I guess this can act like bathrobes as well. Or at least, light robes that would be easily removed once we got there, and then we would just dry ourselves with towels before wearing the robes once again, since I don’t think the material of this robe is that absorbent.

To my delight however, Helen’s robe was clearly at least two sizes too small for her. I could see the outline of her buttocks from behind. No pantyline though, which meant she was wearing a thong? Oh my, how scandalous. And from behind, her twin mountains bounced every step she took. Even more than usual. Don’t tell me that she isn’t wearing a bra? Could it even be that she’s completely naked underneath, thinking that there wouldn’t be a need to wear undergarments when she’s just going to the baths? I nearly cast a wind spell just to blow up her robes, but I stopped myself. There was no way Fiora wouldn’t know I was the one who did it. And if I actively caused perversion like that, Nicole wouldn’t let me off so easily. She would lecture me for sure, and I would completely deserve it.

We departed there, led by four all-female temple knights, still wearing their white armors and capes. I assume they wouldn’t be joining, which was naturally, a shame.

Still, it felt weird, being guarded all the time like this. Fiora and Helen looked completely used to it, but I could see Nicole being more nervous than usual.

I also kept my eyes around, not wanting to be taken by surprise if the assassins decided to attack now. I sighed. Now I’m starting to feel how tired it could be being a bodyguard.

However, the only thing I found was just how beautiful the four female knights assigned to escort us. Two of them had blonde hair, one had black, and the remaining one had red. And they all had ample breasts to the point that their chestplate had to jut out noticeably so it could fit. And if only their capes weren’t in the way, they probably would have amazing buttocks as well.

Oh, I’m not against having a female knight type character in my fictional, fantasy harem. I love those types of girls who are all serious on the outside but are easily embarrassed by the main character. That’s how female knight characters usually are, right?

As my mind slowly shifted from vigilance towards perversion, before I realized it, we already arrived at the bathhouse.

_Uwoooohhh!_ I couldn’t believe my eyes. _It’s an open air bathhouse!_

Sure enough, it wasn’t inside a closed building like the other bathhouses I had been into. Sure, there was a ceiling and a floor, but the sides were completely open, allowing the gentle breeze of night air to come in.

_Seriously? I thought this is some uptight religious place. Why does it have a bathhouse that promotes promiscuity like this?_

_I’m not complaining though._

The knights not joining us was indeed a shame, but I would be perfectly satisfied if I could have a peek on Helen naked. I **really** want to see just how big those two mountains really were.

Fiora? She might be a nice extra. Her breasts are already there after all. I confirmed them myself when I grabbed her from behind back at the swamp (completely in accident, mind you).

Nicole? ...Nah. I’m not that perverted to go after an innocent girl like her. And besides, Sherry would give me hell if I did anything perverted to her good friend…. Not that she would approve of me peeking at other girls’ bathing in the first place either.

There was already a bamboo curtain put to split the pool in half. And seeing how there were nobody else bathing, it seemed the high priestess already told her subordinates and disciples not to take their bath tonight. Or at least, the female ones.

Two knights stationed themselves on my side of the bath, while the other two stood on the other side across the bamboo curtain. They then turned their backs towards me, clearly intending to give me privacy. I wouldn’t mind at all if they look though~

I undressed myself, leaving nothing on in the slightest before entering the warm water. Aaah, how pleasant. After going through the swamp all those days, this is like heaven, pretty much. I then gave a glance towards the bamboo curtain.

_Oh wow, I can make out their silhouettes from here!_

Sure enough, thanks to the lighting, and the thinness of the curtain itself, I could make out the shadows of their bodies.

Boing~♥

My eyes nearly popped out from their sockets. Even merely from the silhouette, I could see Helen's chest bouncing wildly as she took off her robe.

_Damn it, I really want to poke a hole on this curtain. But I just know Fiora will notice._

In the end, I held myself back, only looking at the blurry silhouettes and using my imagination for the rest.

Afterwards, after we dried ourselves with the towels provided, we wore out robes again and we headed straight to the dining room, with the knights on tow of course. Oh, by the way, the knights were using their light spells to light up the dark surroundings. They conjured these tiny little light orbs that circled around them. Illuminate—I believe was the name of the spell. It’s a Beginner-level Holy spell. There were only candles on the walls, without any of those light gems that emitted a much stronger light, almost to the point of light bulbs back home. So the lighting without their spells was quite limited. To prevent any ambushes from the dark, it only made sense for them to constantly have that spell activated.

The dining hall was a large one, and it was just as dimly lit as the corridors we just went through. There were only candles placed on the series of long tables, as well as at the walls of the gargantuan room. There were a lot of people there, all wearing robes similar to the ones we were wearing. Even so, the atmosphere was somber, as they talked only in whispers.

_Wow, this is kinda creepy actually. It’s like I’ve stumbled into a cult or something._

The knights delivered us to the table where the high priestess sat, which was located separate from the others at the top of the room. She wasn’t alone there, as there were also two other men, middle-aged and balding, and two other women, also middle-aged. Just like the high priestess we met, they didn’t wear the ordinary robes that the others wore. Each had their own styles and such.

_Hmm, seems like these people also have the rank of high priests and priestesses_ , I thought to myself. _So does that mean the young woman from before is their de facto leader or something?_

“Please, take a seat.” She gestured to us once we arrived at her table. After we did, she continued by introducing her colleagues, which were also high priests and priestesses as I had guessed correctly.

“First of all, the assassins that attacked you… we still haven’t managed to locate them unfortunately.”

Just like I predicted. Being assassins, they should be skillful enough to avoid detection.

“But rest assured. You would be safe in our temple grounds. We have increased the patrol of our temple knights by two-fold. And if an attack were to happen, my colleagues and I would come to your aid as well.” She gave a little nod to the others. _I dunno. They look pretty weak if you ask me. Can they really hold their own in combat?_

"I would rather have our discussion in private, if you don't mind." Fiora suddenly spoke up. Wow, that's kinda rude, isn't it? You're basically telling the other guys to leave right on their faces.

"...Very well," the priestess replied, seemingly offended by Fiora’s lack of manners. "Then, if you would…" She looked at the others and they immediately left, leaving us on our own. The knights who were guarding us also put some distance away so they wouldn't overhear our conversation.

"So, if you wouldn't mind, Your Highness. Please, tell me why you have visited all the way out here to the south. Surely, you have some reason in mind,” the high priestess opened.

“It’s simple,” Fiora replied. “I wish to meet with your Grand Priestess, so that I might secure her support in me taking the throne once Father relinquishes his throne.”

_And straight to the point, aren’t we? Guess she never is the kind of person that likes small talks._


	75. The Princess’ Sob Story

“I see,” the high priestess replied. “I figure it is something like that. The rumours have reached my ears, that your father is growing weaker and more senile at each passing day.” _So that’s why they have been so gung-ho at sending assassins over her!_ The grand priestess’ eyes then narrowed. “You know we of the Church aren't supposed to be involved in your empire’s politics, correct?”

“I know,” Fiora replied, still with her confident look. “But your Saint could. If she personally endorses me, then I would have the right to rule over the Empire over my siblings, even though I was the youngest. And to do that, I would need to earn permission to meet her personally, meaning, I would need to be vouched for a meeting with her by the Grand Priests, including yours.”

“Such arrogance,” the high priestess replied, taking a sip from her cup. Here I noticed Helen sending a glare towards her, that she promptly ignored. “You think the Saint would endorse you over your siblings? I have heard the tales, you know. You’re called the Wild Princess at the capital, due to you being unable to curry favor with the nobles there. Once, you kicked a son of a duke right between his legs. And many other rudeness that puts you at odds with them.”

_Ha, seriously? So it’s not just me then who is victim to her brattiness._

_But to think that she would dare saying such things to an imperial princess. Is she not afraid of the possible ramifications? Maybe if anything were to happen to her, it would be taken the same as the Empire declaring war against the Church. So I guess this functions also like an embassy of some sort, as the Church’s base of power is at the Holy Land, to the far west of this continent._

“He deserved it,” Fiora responded without pause. “He’s an arrogant, annoying brat that kept asking me for a dance even though I was not interested in the slightest. And when he yanked my arm, I gave him what he deserved.”

_Yeah, I could easily imagine her doing that._

“And that’s why you are not suited to be a leader. You don’t know how to solve things in a diplomatic way, unlike your older sisters. You only resolve your problems through violence, and that is not the way of the Church.”

“Hoo?” Fiora smirked. “Are you saying that you would rather support them than me?”

“Yes. And I shall speak frankly in the matter towards Lady Lunarya once she returns.”

_Oh wow, this is the first time I saw someone standing up against Fiora like this._

_You know, she got a point. If Fiora is the type that can only solve things through strength, then the Empire might just end up doing another invasion against the Magocracy if she took the throne. The country would turn all militaristic and war-loving, and the citizens would suffer._

_Not that I’m going to tell her that though._

“Very well then.” Fiora stood up. “I suppose our conversation is over. Come, Helen. We shall return to our quarters. And Nicole.” She glanced at her. “Feel free to continue your talk with her.”

And thus, for the very first time, I saw her retreat in defeat. Helen gave the high priestess an absolutely murderous gaze, but once again, she ignored her entirely. Two of the knights followed them, while the other two remained here.

_Hey, how about your dinner? Argh, what a handful she is. I’m not going to be the one carrying your food to you, you hear me?!_

I was thinking of stopping her, since we shouldn’t be separating ourselves like this when those assassins were still on the prowl, but looking at her face, I just knew that she wasn’t going to listen.

“So,” the high priestess turned to Nicole. “You are an aspirant to become a high priestess, correct?”

“Y-yes,” Nicole replied, taken aback by the sudden attention.

“What do you desire from the title?” she asked.

“I wish to serve Lady Miriam as her high priestess,” she replied. “She had been good to me, and I would like to repay that kindness by devoting my life to her.”

“Lady Miriam? You mean Lady Miriam Blanchimont? I see. So you hail from Silipha. Are you perhaps the talented priest that she had adopted?”

“Y-yes! That’s me!” Nicole replied. “I wouldn’t say I am talented though…”

“Humility. Something your princess friend could certainly learn from you.” She smiled. “But to be able to reach Master-level at Holy Magic at such a young age, you really have a gift in the art. Do not worry. I’ll talk to Lady Lunarya and give her a good impression of you once she returns.”

“T-thank you very much!” She gave a bow. “Though please, don’t have the wrong impression of Fiora. She’s a good person beneath her rough exterior. And I believe she would make a good empress for this country in the future.”

“Hmm? How curious. You call her by her first name.” She pursed her lips. “That means you’re a good friend of hers. Perhaps you might think so, and perhaps that might be the truth. However, if she couldn’t project herself as a fitting ruler for the empire, she wouldn’t be able to be a good empress, no matter how flawless her inner character might be, which I doubted as well.”

Once again, she had a point. You need the people’s support to be a good ruler, even in an absolute monarchy like what I assume the Empire is.

The rest of our dinner was spent in mostly silence. It seemed what the high priestess said made Nicole realize the weakness of her dear friend, as she didn’t really have a retort for what she had said. I couldn’t help but feel sad for her though, especially with that expression on her face.

Afterwards, we were escorted back to our rooms, with me wondering if I should do something about this situation.

\---------------

The next morning, I was woken up by none other than Fiora, who demanded that we started our training the first thing in the morning, even before breakfast. And once again, she barged into my room, not caring about the impropriety of it all.

"Alright, alright, I'll go." I yawned as I sat up. "You know we have assassins after our heads, right? Don't you think it's a little bit dangerous to do training in this kind of situation?"

"Oh, don't be a wuss, boy," she replied, playing with the ends of her left twintail. "Remember, one day without training and your skill will atrophy back one week."

"Wait, hold on. I have something I want to talk to you about." I raised my hand.

"Hoo? This should be interesting." She took a seat on the dressing chair with folded hands. "Fire away, boy."

"It's about what that high priestess said last night. I think she has a point, if I were to be honest with you.”

There. I said it right to her face.

Last night, I had decided to do something about it after all, even though it really wasn’t my job, and that Fiora hadn’t really been a likeable person in general.

I dunno. As someone who had some life experience before, however little, I felt the need to teach her that the way she acted was wrong, and that it would only bring her ruin in the future, especially if she was really aiming on becoming the Empress. Not that I have any experience being a leader or anything, let alone a good one, but I had experienced two kinds of leaders in my old life, with my old boss being the good one and the new boss—the one who fired me—being the bad one. The new boss was the epitome of a distant and cold leader, who only cared about using his authority to order people around. My old boss on the other hand was a warm and caring leader, who even old cynical me couldn't help but like at least a little.

"I don't think it's a good idea to always act tough all the time," I continued. "A leader needs grrace and charisma as well—that thing that inspires her subordinates to work hard for her sake.”

“Interesting,” she replied with an amused look. “So you say I have no grace or charisma?”

“You certainly haven’t persuaded me to believe in you—the same way Nicole does. To be honest, I still view you as a royal pain in the ass, no pun intended.” Once again, I had decided not to hold my punches back. “If you treat your future knights and subordinates like me, I don’t think they would be very loyal to you.”

“So. Are you saying you aren’t loyal to me?”

“Hey, I’m only helping you because you’re traveling together with Nicole. I didn’t want anything to befall her, seeing how she’s the only friend Sherry had before she met me.”

She paused, looking away for a moment with an uncharacteristically distant stare.

“Hmph, I suppose I should tell you. My little sob story, that is. You seem to be the kind of guy that is easily taken by such things, am I right boy?” She glanced back at me, still with that smirk. As usual, she figured me out far too easily. “Boy, do you know why I want to take the throne so badly, to the point that I would risk my life and my servants’ lives on it?”

“Because you don’t want to lose to your older brother and sister?”

“Ha, that’s part of it, to be sure.” She grinned, before looking away from me once again. “A promise. I have made a promise to myself that I would take the throne and change this rotten empire to my whim.”

“A promise?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. Do you know the meaning of my middle name, ‘Guinevere’?”

“Guinevere… Isn’t that the name of the princess the Legendary Hero married after he slew the Demon God? Together, they ended up founding the Holy Empire as we know it.”

“I see you’ve read our empire’s history. Very good.” She smirked, glancing back at me. “However, there’s a deeper meaning on why I was given that name, as my older brother and sister didn’t have that middle name. They have Rhea instead, which is the name of their mother—the queen consort of the emperor.”

A certain understanding dawned on my face.

“Indeed. I am an illegitimate child, born out of pure accident. You see, my dear father isn’t satisfied with just his wife. For a powerful and influential man like him, it isn’t odd at all for him to have other relationships on the side. In fact, a lot of noble women would throw themselves at him, as they would be able to gain favor with him if they did. And his imperial maids, consisting mostly of low-ranking nobles and well-off daughters of the middle class, were no exception.”

“...And he actually bore a child with one of them.” I finished her sentence. “That child being you.”

“Which would not be so scandalous of a move if it hadn’t happened with the only one whose background is a slave.”

_...And now I know why she has such a distaste towards slavery._

She paused for a few moments, looking away from me once again.

“Ha, what a joke. Father loves women so much that he would do it with every attractive maid that serves him. Of course, using a contraceptive drug, there should be no worry of conceiving an illegitimate child. But Fate just loves to throw a twist on things, and somehow, my mother became pregnant with me.”

At this point, there was a clear tone of bitterness to her voice.

“Of course, she always said that she had drunk the drug before doing the deed every single time. But who could trust her words, especially that of a slave? The other maids accused her of intentionally skipping the drug, just so she could bear his child. They had always been jealous of her, you see, as apparently, out of all his personal harem, he liked my mother the most.”

“And then?”

“And then she died. Executed in the most gruesome fashion, pulled apart by a pair of horses going on opposite directions. Her crime was officially conspiring to assassinate the emperor, though naturally, it was a lie. She was framed by the jealous maids, and the queen consort, who’s also jealous of his affections towards her. And I was there, witnessing her execution with my own eyes as she screamed in pain, begging for Father to save her, only for him to watch coldly, with not a single expression on his face. He might have been affectionate to her before, but he had lost his interest in her, just like he lost interest towards his wife.”

“And thus, since that day, I have decided. I would take the throne and become this rotten country’s empress, just so I would wipe the wretched smile off that woman’s face—her and his son and daughter, who were also complicit in the act. I don’t care how many corpses I have to stand on top of my dream. I would get the throne, or die trying.”

“In fact,” She turned her head to look at me. “I’ll even kill Father if I have to, though with his declining condition, in just a few years, he would surely kick the bucket on his own. So there would be no need for that.”

...It’s strange—the way her expression is right now. She had a scary smile on her face, one of that of a killer. But at the same time, her eyes were watering, and I could see a drop of tear traveling down her right cheeks.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to come over to her and hug her.

“I haven’t told the revenge and murdering part to Nicole by the way.” She continued. “She thought I wanted the throne to honor the wish of my dead mother. That wasn’t a lie though. She told me how hard her life was when she was still a slave. She was sold as a young age by her poor parents, and she ended up in the hands of a deviant who took her virtue even before she bled for the first time. It was only by sheer luck that she was rescued from that hell when she met Father. He purchased her and sent her to the maid academy at the capital in order for her to be trained as an imperial maid. She gave it all every day, just so she could repay his kindness. Of course, if she had known how it would all end, perhaps she wouldn’t have tried so far for his sake. Or perhaps she would. She was always madly in love with him after all.”

“And to think he would betray her in the end… Scum like him… Wouldn’t it be better for them to disappear?”

Chills suddenly appeared all over my body as she gave another terrifying smile towards me. Her killing intent—it emanated from her, suffocating me who was sitting just a few meters away from her.

“Now you know why my half-siblings wanted me dead. They know one day I would seek revenge and destroy everything they hold dear. So really, I wouldn’t blame them for going on the offensive right away.”

Silence fell, with neither of us speaking a word for a good few minutes. Realizing she was tearing up, Fiora used her sleeve to wipe her face.

I am now speechless. Really, what the hell are you supposed to say to that?

“So, now that you know.” Her usual smirk returned as she looked at me once again. “Do you still wish to act as my bodyguard? Perhaps you should tell Nicole the truth and persuade her to leave me. Then you two can go on your own, without any worries of assassins and the like.”

“...Heh, I told you before—you really should stop acting so tough all the time, Your Highness.” It was now my turn to grin.

She tilted her head, seemingly genuinely surprised.

“I sympathize with you. I really do. For a man to abandon his lover like that, especially after she gave birth to his child, I would never be able to forgive such scum. I have to ask though. Do you have any further goals beyond simple revenge?”

She laughed shortly, before smiling a little. “What I told Nicole, that I want to eradicate both poverty and slavery, that isn’t a lie. After my revenge, with my power as an empress, I shall strive to reach that utopia. No matter how many bodies I have to cut down in the process, for you see, slavery is a well-ingrained practice, with many powerful backers, from rich merchants, powerful nobles, and even my older sister who is profiting greatly from the business. If I want to eradicate it, then I would need to cut them all down. It would be bloody, but I would be willing to bathe in that blood if it means I can bring a world where no woman would ever end up like Mother again. Some poor countries up north even rely on it, having nothing else to offer to other nations with their limited territory and resources. I would have to destroy them as well as a result.” 

She chuckled. “If I succeed, history books would name me as a wise empress and a great liberator. But if I fail, I would become a villied tyrant. ‘In this chapter, we learn about Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, the vile woman who massacred anyone who stood in her path to power’.” She mimicked the tone of a history teacher.

“I ask again. Would you still be willing to follow me all the way through that bloody future?”


	76. Fiora’s Seduction

“No,” I answered, folding my hands with a serious look on my face.

For a split second, Fiora paused, a clear look of disappointment drawn on her face. Only to turn back into her usual proud expression, as she answered with, “Good. That is really for the best.”

“However,” I interrupted her, still keeping up my serious expression. “That doesn’t mean I am going to abandon you. I’ll be your bodyguard until we have to separate up north, with you going to the west and me going to the east, crossing over to the Demon Continent. And then, as promised, you’ll pay me a thousand gold coins, just like you said you would.”

“Hmm?” She replied, looking genuinely surprised. “Why? You don’t seem to approve of my goal.”

“Approve? It’s not about that. I just have no interest in politics, especially helping a princess ascend to the throne. I just want to meet Sherry, and then go to where my sister is with her. Afterwards, we’ll just become ordinary adventurers. Nothing more. Nothing less. That is the life I’ve decided to want to do.”

And then, she laughed. “Ha! Ordinary adventurer? With that level of strength, you can be so much more than that! A ten year old boy with the ability to cast that level of spell at such speed, nearly every country in the world will want you as part of their military force, boy! You can be a court mage, given a lofty place in social standing with your own land and servants! You like women? Then women would throw themselves to you as well!”

I sighed. "Sure, being famous and powerful and all that would be nice. But honestly, as you already know, I'm a big pervert. Ultimately, what I want is just to have a pretty girl by my side. We'll get married, have lots of fun time together, and then raise some kids. I'll buy us a nice home in the countryside, and then work as a humble knight. Yeah, just like my father." I smiled. "Having that kind of life is already good enough for me. I am not a big dreamer like you are, and I certainly don't want to get involved in the game those high nobles play. And that's why I'll have to say no to your offer."

Once again, Fiora seemed to be taken aback by my statement. Another look of disappointment flashed on her face.

"...Sherry… was her name, was it not?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Suddenly, she stood up, walked right up to me, and pushed me back onto the bed. Before I could react, she climbed up the bed as well, placed her hands to the left and right of my head, and hovered above me with a smirk on her face.

"So, which one is cuter, hmm? Me or her?"

To even more of my surprise, she took my left hand with her right and put it right on her left breast.

"You like this, don't you boy? Does your Sherry have the same size as mine? Have you even felt her up like this?"

There was no questioning it. She was outright seducing me right now.

"You know, I was actually considering taking you as prince consort once I became empress. At first, I thought you were just a crybaby. But I see now that you have the qualities I want for a partner. You're honest and you're not afraid to talk back to me if you don't like what I do. You're strong and you're a faithful lover as well. You see, I need someone to set me straight if I ever go astray. I don't need any more blindly obeying servants. I want intelligent equals like you, someone I could have an entertaining banter with. As much as I like Nicole, she's not good for such a thing, unfortunately."

"Of course, you can have your Sherry on the side as well, as a concubine. I wouldn't mind her sharing the bed with you. You can even never touch me as a woman if you want to keep your faithfulness to her to that extent."

"But, since by doing merely this, you're already all excited." She released her grip on my hand and circled her thumb right on the tip of my bulging member. “I expect sooner or later, you would want my body as well. So I suppose if you really want to be that faithful to her, you have to reject my offer.”

She then retreated, lifting her body upwards and climbing down the bed like nothing had happened.

“I shall let you consider my offer, boy.” She gave a haughty glance towards me as she put her hands on her waist. “Do not rush. The fight for me to ascend the throne would not occur until years later, I imagine. I am still lacking the strength necessary to do so. Once it’s about to start, I’ll come to you and ask for your answer then.”

And with that, she left, saying that she would be waiting for me on the fields for us to have our morning training.

Leaving me with a painfully throbbing erection that I need to take care of.

\---------------

And that is how I had my very first ejaculation in this body of mine, signifying that at last, I was starting to have my puberty.

The event that just happened was so shocking to me but I half-felt I was only dreaming it, a wet dream to be exact.

But it indeed just happened. Fiora just told me that she wanted me to become her husband, offering her body in the process, if I were to help her in her future efforts on taking the throne.

I really **did** not know how I should react. Should I be happy? I believe I should. Another girl actually showed her interest to me, not just Sherry. And Fiora was certainly a beautiful girl. And dare I say, sensual as well, the way she boldly did that to me. I am certainly into being the seduced party instead of being the seducer in bed.

Her boobs—I now got to examine just how soft they were. And they were indeed soft, so the sensation I received for a split second back at the swamp wasn’t just one of my perverted delusions.

My member hardened as a result, and she took advantage of it by actually touching the tip and smothering it with her thumb. The briefs and the thin robe I wore didn’t protect myself from the powerful sensation that sent shudders all over my body.

As a result, for the first time in my new life, I felt that familiar, strong desire to masturbate. Which I did, resulting in me putting said robe and briefs to the laundry basket (I just hope that whoever poor sod is on laundry duty today doesn’t notice the jizz stains on them). Thankfully, I was given more than just one robe, and of course, I had spare underpants ready inside my trusty bag.

I didn't want to make it a habit though. Masturbating too much on your own really made you feel like a loser. I mean, if you're a successful human being, you'd have a girlfriend to do it with, right?

_I wonder if Sherry would be willing to do it everyday with me… Unlike in porn, women can get sore down there after doing it, especially if you do it too much. Not to mention a woman's sex drive is in average lower than a man, or so I heard._

What Fiora did back there, that was a clear display of manipulation by her. She's using her charms to seduce me to become her permanent bodyguard. Ha, to think such a prideful princess would stoop to such lows.

Still, she nearly got me. I was just about to retaliate and attack her back. Maybe kiss her and grope her breasts for real. Thankfully, she stopped her seduction before I crossed that line, though honestly, knowing her, she would just kick me in the nuts again if I had done that. Hmph, in the end, she was just an inexperienced young girl (not that I was any better, of course).

I doubt her promise of making me her prince consort is actually true. At best, she’ll just make me her knight—another one of her servants. She never saw me as an equal. Not with that attitude of hers.

And besides, I’m not interested in her type. I’m not a masochist who liked being ordered and abused by a pretty girl. I’m a wholesome pervert who just wants a wholesome relationship with a gentle and kind girl.

What? You say Sherry doesn’t fit that description? Nonsense! She’s perfectly cute and lovely under that stubborn expression and super strength! I know she’s the kind of girl who would just melt if I lovingly give her a hug and a kiss. And she’ll be perfectly willing to be an adorable housewife as well, judging by how she was willing to clean my room while wearing that maid outfit of hers. Fiora would never want to do that!

I sighed. Nicole was right. My perversion really could lead to me becoming unfaithful towards Sherry. She certainly would not be happy if she knew what had transpired this morning.

Afterwards, I went to the field like she had instructed, with my assigned knights following. I just hope they hadn't overheard our conversation.

Fiora and her own assigned knights were already there, with the former greeting me with a smirk. "What took you so long?" Yep, that smirk told me she probably knew what I just did.

"You like it, don't you?" I replied with my own smirk. "Doing that to me?" I figure outright saying that she was seducing me was a no-no, not with the knights present.

"Hmph, what are you talking about, boy?" She twirled her hair, not fazed in the slightest. Oh, so she's just going to pretend that it never happened. Alright. Fine. But once we're back in private, I'll always remind you that you're a pervert that likes teasing innocent young boys such as me.

We sparred for a while until it was time for breakfast, then we resumed doing it afterwards. We got nothing better to do as we waited for the Grand Priestess to return. Nicole on the other hand seemed to already have plans with the High Priestess on her own. Probably talking about their priestly stuff.

There was no sign at all of the Fiora that just asked whether she was cute to me or the Fiora who teased the tip of my member with her thumb. It was the usual Fiora, proud and unhesitant in teaching me in the physical manner, hitting me with her wooden sword if I gave her an opening, which, naturally, I did multiple times. It almost made me think what happened this morning was just a perverted dream I had—the key word being “almost”, as there’s no way I could forget how it led to my very first ejaculation. As this was my second life, I knew exactly what my member shot out. Not like in my first life where my parents never taught me about that kind of stuff. I didn’t know what the white stuff was until I looked it up online.

So yeah. This doesn’t count as her taking my first time, I hope. As a romantic person, I want to give that to Sherry, with her giving her first time to me.

I quickly put those thoughts in the back of my mind. If I don’t focus on Fiora’s sword movements, I’ll get hit over and over again.

\---------------

**???**

Meanwhile, in a small, seedy bar on the corner of the town, three men were having a private conversation in a small underground room, away from prying eyes and ears. From the outside, the bar was just an ordinary, low class bar, existing to serve the poor with their cheap beer and even cheaper food. However, the truth was, it was controlled by the Assassins’ Guild, an underground organization that only a few knew to exist.

And of course, said Guild had been hired to send its assassins after the second imperial princess.

Of course, most of the patrons there didn’t know of the true nature of the place. Any assassins that came were told to blend themselves with the crowd. And if they couldn’t, then they had to enter through the secret back entrance, which the monks did.

The two monks had fled to this place after their second failed attempt at assassinating the princess. With one of them wounded, with broken ribs thanks to Hugo’s spell, they had to. Thanks to his harsh training, he could bear the pain to flee the scene, but he certainly couldn’t fight in his current condition. And even if they were back at their best, they realized they were outclassed in strength, with Hugo being there. He wasn’t part of the information they had received. How could there be such a strong mage with her all of a sudden? And since when a hobbit could be that strong in magic? (they wouldn’t assume that Hugo was a normal 10-year old human child, of course).

Using an underground currency only shared between those in the business, they seeked shelter in the building, as well as purchasing the service of a healer, who quickly fixed one of the twin brothers’ wounds. And then, they decided that they had to recruit another member to their cause before making another attempt, before the Grand Priestess returned.

They praised the Heavenly Dragon, as it just so happened that a certain infamous assassin was there.

“Eh? What d'ya guys want?”

He was a man around his twenties. Or rather, he was a catfolk, with two cat ears on his head and a cat tail jutting out from his trousers. They were black in color. As for his attire, he wore what could only be described as a tattered white shirt and a tattered brown pants. If not for the lack of collar, and the twin scimitars attached to said trousers, he would look like your ordinary, run-of-the-mill beastkin slave.

"We seek your help.” One of the brothers spoke first. “You should already know about the contract for the second imperial princess.” The other spoke as well.

“Eh, the princess?” The man spoke. His blue bangs were covering his eyes, so the only thing they could see was his grin. He was leaning back on his wooden chair, with his feet up on the table. “I don’t take boring jobs like that. Killing demure little princesses isn’t my thing.”

“She herself is a powerful swordswoman,” the first brother spoke. “And she also has a strong mage accompanying her,” the other one followed.

“Good enough to give you two trouble?”

“As much as it shames us to admit.”

“We would train our bodies in the mountains once this job is over.”

The young man’s grin only grew bigger, and, as a display of his incredible litheness, from that position, he somersaulted backwards, landing on his feet in a perfect manner, with his chair being the only one that fell.

“80%.”

“What?”

“80% of the contract price. I want that.”

The two brothers looked at each other.

And then, they begrudgingly nodded in agreement. As assassins, they held a certain code that they would never abandon the mission they had accepted. And besides, the pay was good enough that they would still receive a large sum of money, even if the majority of it was given to the cat man, which they respected as they knew very well his ability surpassed even theirs, who had trained for so many years as monk-warriors.

“Oh, and give me some advance payment as well. 10%.”

They could only bow their heads.

\--------------------

**Hugo**

Our training lasted until dusk, resulting in aches and bruises all over my body, courtesy of Fiora’s wooden sword. Thankfully, one of the knights guarding us offered to heal my ailments away, so I could rest in perfect comfort and health.

Training your body in this world really is convenient, as long as you have a cleric nearby.

Still no sign of the Grand Priestess. Guess we’ll have to wait for tomorrow then.

As we returned, we met with NIcole, and immediately my brain started to consider whether I should tell her what happened with me and Fiora this morning—the murdering part especially. Maybe I could leave out the seducing part.

I gave a knowing glance towards Fiora, but she didn’t respond. Either she didn’t notice or she didn’t care, most likely the latter.

_Hmph, maybe I should tell Nicole after all. See if she likes being a friend of someone who’s willing to kill her own family members for her goal._

_I would have to get an opportunity to talk to her alone first though._

“Hey, Nicole?” I stopped her before she could end the conversation.

“Yes?”

“Can I talk with you for a sec? In private?” I whispered.

I gave another look towards Fiora. Nope, still doesn’t care.

“Is something the matter?” She tilted her head.

“I just want to talk to you about something,” I replied. “If you could, maybe you could come to my room later?”

“Your room?” She raised her eyebrows. “Alright.” She smiled. “I’m not sure what could be so private that you don’t want Fiora and Helen to hear though.”

“Be careful, Nicole.” Fiora finally chimed in. “You know this boy is quite the pervert.”

I gave her a smirk. Finally, she’s squirming in her boots.

“Oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything improper towards me.” She turned to face her friend. “He might have the… inclinations towards pretty girls, but I am not pretty at all, you see. I am plain, so he would have no interest in me,” she explained.

_That’s not true though. She has her own charm in her own way. And as weird as it might sound, she’s starting to remind me of Marina, in a way. Without the teasing and proudful part however._

And so I returned to my room, waiting to reveal to Nicole the true nature of her dear friend.


	77. Another Assault

_Knock. Knock._

“May I come in?”

After just a few minutes of waiting, Nicole knocked on my door.

I sighed. It was time for me to break the news to her.

You know, come to think of it, this is the first time I've ever invited a girl into my room. Now I can't help but feel nervous a little.

"Come in!" I replied, waiting for her as I sat on my bed. Only now I was self-conscious enough to realize that my feet weren't really touching the ground properly as I did. Well, I should have a growth spurt soon, knowing I'm going into puberty right now.

Once Nicole entered, I welcomed her to sit on the same chair Fiora sat on. She then looked at me with a neutral expression, waiting for me to begin.

“You see, it’s about Fiora.” I sighed. “We had a chat this morning and she told me about her family.”

“She did?” Her expression turned into surprise, before transforming into a pleasant smile. “That’s good news! That means she is beginning to trust you more, Hugo.”

“That might be true, but she told me something she said she hadn't even told you yet—something you might not like. And I think I should tell you."

Her eyebrows perked up in curiosity. But then it went down again as she stopped her own excitement, saying, "You know, it's not nice to tell other people's secrets like this. If she doesn't want me to know, then I won't peer into it."

_Oh Nicole. You're such a nice girl, you know that? Too nice perhaps. Fiora could certainly learn some things from you._

"I think this is something you really should hear, Nicole." I continued to pressure her with a determined look. "Because it's something you might not approve."

I then told her everything, about how Fiora despised her siblings and father enough that she wouldn't care if she had to slaughter them all on her way to the throne. That also included anyone else who stood against her, like the high-ranking nobles who supported her siblings over her. It would be a purge of anyone who dared to oppose her. I also told her that she offered me a position by her side once the time came for her to enact her plan a few years down the road.

When I finished, Nicole's smile had disappeared, replaced by a melancholic look as she stared at a distance.

"I suspected as much. That girl… I sense a lot of anger inside her." She turned her head towards me, now smiling bitterly. "She asked me the same thing, you know—to be her permanent retainer. But I refused, saying I would like to devote myself in the path of priesthood as an aide to Lady Miriam. That is the future the Heavenly Dragon has chosen for me."

"Chosen?" I asked, unsure of the meaning of her words.

"It is my calling. It is not my fate to be close to an empress. I only wish to help the people—to guide them towards the light. I wouldn't wish for power, the thing she wished for."

"But then, why are you with her?!"

"Because I wish to prevent her from going down the wrong path," she continued, now with a brighter smile. "She is a good person. And I believe she can be a just and honest ruler in the future. However, she still needs to learn of kindness and mercy, and I hope, by the end of our journey together, I would be able to teach her that—that it's alright to be weak. We mortals are all weak in the eyes of Heaven. Our fates are ultimately not for us to decide. Like the Great Saint Milicis once said, "Struggle and Heaven may decide to alter Fate to your favor."

The room became silent for a while before I resumed our talk. “So, when the time comes, where she would make her move to take the throne, would you be there by her side?”

Nicole looked away once more, pausing for a good amount of time before she answered.

“I believe I would. I wouldn't abandon a friend."

_...Welp. That's just as I feared._

I sighed, before standing up from the bed, walking up to her. "I guess there's no changing your mind, huh?" I gave a wry smile.

"Wouldn't you put your trust in her as well?" she replied with a small smile.

"It's not for me—that kind of life. I just want to make a happy family with Sherry. That's all. Glory and fame might be nice, I admit, but if I have to drag her into danger in the process, I think I'll sit it out." I smiled back.

"Then, how about if the reason is to do good?"

"Hmm?" I raised my eyebrows. "So you believe that helping Fiora to ascend the throne is to do good?"

She looked down at her interlocked fingers.

"I believe she is the only person who is willing to transform this country, no, this whole continent, into a better place. Even if it would lead to instability and chaos in the short term."

_Well, that's a surprise. I didn't expect those words to come out from her mouth. That's almost like a speech of a well-intentioned extremist._

"She hates poverty and slavery. And I share that sentiment. But many believe that it is simply the nature of the world, for some men and women to be bound in chains or starve to death. They believe that it is their fate, as decreed by the Heavenly Dragon." She then gave a thin smile at me. "Do you think I should subscribe to that belief as well?"

I didn't answer. I don't know how to answer. In fact, I took a few steps backwards as she suddenly stood up.

"When you have nobles gorging themselves in feasts and parties while their citizens go hungry, do you believe it to be justice? Do you believe the Great Saint would approve of such a fact?" She continued, a subtly angry look on her face that honestly terrified me a little, as this was the very first time she went this much out-of-character.

“I might not look like it, but I am willing to smite those that pervert the justice of Milicis.”

_I see it now. I have underestimated her. She's not just the typical nice female cleric. She's also a crusader, willing to fight for what she believes is right._

_I like it. I respect that attitude. Though I just hope she doesn't turn into a zealot somewhere down the line._

"Is that why you healed and gave money to those poor folks when we first met?"

"Yes," she replied, sitting back down. "I can't just ignore them if I could help them, can I?" She smiled.

I sat back down, smiling as well. "You really are amazing, Nicole. When I first saw those people, I didn't think on helping them in the slightest. I was just wary of them, and even a little scared."

She shook her head with a little blush. "I'm simply doing what I have to do as a priestess of Milicis. Providing for the weak and hungry is a virtue most beloved by her."

Another curtain of silence fell under us, until she deigned to continue speaking.

"Hugo, would you not be willing to use your strength for the good of the people?” She clasped her hands together near her chest.

I sighed. It’s only a matter of time until she asked me something like this, I suppose.

“I dunno. I’m only good at killing stuff. I’m not a healer like you. And giving alms like that isn’t my style. I do have a dream of having a lavish lifestyle, you know, unlike you who seem to be content with giving almost every coin that you got to the poor and living a humble life.”

“I am fine with that.” She smiled in return. “You need to make Sherry happy after all. That girl has suffered so much and I only wish happiness in her life in the future.”

“Then, what are you talking about? Wait, don’t tell me that you want me to support Fiora as well? Do you really trust her that much? You heard what the High Priestess said about her. I have to agree with her. Those flaws wouldn’t make her be a good ruler.” I folded my hands.

She avoided my eyes. “Perhaps she wouldn’t be the perfect and ideal leader.” Only to return back to look at me unflinchingly. “However, I still believe she would keep her promise, of creating a Holy Empire, no, the whole Holy Continent, free of poverty and slavery. She would reduce the corrupt lavishness of the nobles and redistribute those taxes into the welfare of the people. She would also forbid the practice of slavery altogether, and hunt down anyone who still insists on continuing in the act.”

“And that means she would make enemies out of so many powerful people,” I replied with a grim look. “But hey,” I gave a grim grin. “Fiora doesn’t care, does she? She’ll be willing to cut down all those people. How about you, Nicole? Do you agree with her methods?”

She paused. I could sense that she was unsure on how to reply to my challenge.

“...I do. Like I said, I would be willing to bring divine justice to all the wrong doers of this world, no matter who they are.”

At that moment, the determined look on her face told me everything I knew about her resolve.

I chuckled to myself. _This girl… is just as stubborn as Fiora._

\-------------------

We ended our little chat soon after, with me realizing that there really was no winning over Nicole to my side. She had decided on her resolve, and so had Fiora.

Me? The only resolve I had was to make Sherry happy. That, and one day returning to Marina and Erika, asking for their forgiveness for running away, once I was ready to do so. I would also improve myself in strength, both physically and mentally. No longer I would be a crybaby, like Fiora said. I would be a real man that I could be proud of.

It truly was a selfish resolve, now that I think about it. I don’t care the slightest about my surroundings, unlike Fiora and Nicole.

Well, I’m just a nobody. I’m not a prince, and I’m not a priest sworn to do good by a religion. So I can get away with it.

_Haah, you certainly have one troublesome friend, Sherry._

I rested on the bed with my hands behind my head. It was still a little bit more until the bath was ready, so I could still relax like this for a good—

KLANG KLANG KLANG

_Hmm? That noise… that sounds like—_

KLANG KLANG KLANG KLANG

_Bells! They're ringing the bells! Why are they—_

A chill suddenly crept into my spine as I remembered what the high priestess said when we first arrived.

"Oh, and if you hear the sound of the bells, that means there's an intruder in the temple grounds. We have a life detector magic set up in the perimeter, so we can sense people coming in from somewhere else other than the main gate."

_Shit, we're under—_

CRASH

A loud noise filled my ears as I coughed, closing my eyes at the dust that suddenly filled my sight.

“Come out, Great Fairy!” I yelled.

She manifested just in time to block the swing of two scimitars aiming right towards my neck.

Not with her sword, but with her body, as she was nowhere near fast enough to react with her own sword.

“Kyaaah! Master!” She yelled in pain before dispersing into a burst of water, as the two scimitar switched into a slashing motion and cut her in two.

_Dammit! I’m sorry!_ I apologized to her in my head for a split second before returning my focus back to my assaulters. That yell certainly sounded painful. Once again, I used my summon as a meatbag to absorb a blow from the enemy. _This is exactly why I’m training my swordsmanship!_

The two swords retreated to the dust cloud, but I know very well that the attack wasn’t over. If I hadn’t stored my wand in my pocket and retaliated by firing a Boom Cannon as fast as I could to the ceiling (for they had broken through it), I would’ve been dead meat. It gave me time to grab the sword I placed beside my bed and ran as fast as I could towards the door using my Wind Step.

Or I would, if a hole hadn’t appeared behind me, courtesy of Fiora, who had slashed the wall into pieces using her sword. In a split second, I sense one arm dragging me behind. Judging by the two mounds of softness pressing into my back, I could tell that it was Helen. Just in time for me to enter the safety of Nicole’s barrier, who blocked a fist heading straight towards me.

Yep, it was one of the monks from before. So that means there should be—

CRASH

_The barrier! It shattered!_

The second monk had launched his own fist, aiming right at the same spot where his brother landed his. The combined pressure was too much and Nicole’s Barrier was overwhelmed. I heard a yelp from her as she no doubt suffered from the backlash.

Fiora swung forward at a speed that surpassed my eyes. And it clearly also surpassed what the brothers could react to, as she managed to cut off one of their arms before they could retreat. If I had to guess, they had no time to redirect their aura from offense to defense since they had just attacked.

Only for her to immediately be pressed into the defensive, as the scimitar user moved forward, aiming right at her head with lightning speed. If not for her impressive reflexes that allowed her to block the twin sword, her head would’ve been separated from her torso for sure.

“Hee, not bad, little princess…” He grinned.

And now, we got a good look at who our attackers were. Now there were three of them, with the scimitar wielder being the new addition to their new group. The two were a pair of dark-skinned bald twins, at least forty in age. Their robes were identically brown, to the point that the only distinguishing feature they had was one of the brothers having a scar across his face. Well, that, and the arm that Fiora had cut off.

_That’s a… cat man?_

His ears and his tail told it all. I had no time to look at him more carefully however, as the monks were still not out of commission yet.

“Boom Cannon!”

I fired off another one of my spells towards the healthy one. And just like before, he immediately responded by covering his head with his arms, no doubt putting his aura there to lessen the blow. To my surprise however, the other monk, the one with the bleeding stump of an arm, instead of being immobilized by the pain, he supported his brother by standing right in front of him and putting the same pose as he did.

The spell hit dead on, and even through their combined efforts, they were still sent flying away, creating a hole on the wall behind them on their way out of the room.

_Good! This means the knights outside would be able to take them on! Now we just have to deal with catguy here!_

Helen was the first one to move against him, leaping forward with her dual daggers drawn. She recognized that her mistress was in danger and wasted no time protecting her. Recognizing that he was outnumbered, the assassin kicked his bare feet to the ground and dashed away, climbing up the rubble and into the ceiling hole that he or the monks had produced. He didn’t turn his back however, preventing Fiora from attempting a slash from behind. Looking at her panicked expression, I knew that she was surprised he could keep up with her speed.

_Shit, I mustn't let him go!_

I decided to chase him, knowing that if we let him go now, he would surely strike again in the future. And knowing just how close he nearly got to lop my head off…

_Brr, he's a dangerous opponent! And I had enough of assassins hounding us like this!_

Using my Wind Step, I flew upwards, following him through the hole. 

Or I almost did, if I hadn’t stopped myself. _That’s exactly what he wants. He’ll ambush me the moment I come out from that hole._

And so I decided to do something else.

“Earthen Break!”

The ceiling of the room was made out of stone, so I could cast this spell that made it explode into pieces. The room was pretty much destroyed anyways, so who cares if I do a bit more property damage?

The entire ceiling now collapsed, shattering into multiple pieces of sharp stones flowing upwards towards where the assassin should be. With a little modification, you could manipulate the direction where the rocks exploded towards.

_There he is!_

I saw a glimpse of him amongst the flying rocks. To my amazement, he managed to deflect every single one of the rocks flying towards him using his two scimitars. _He really is at Fiora’s caliber._

I promptly started my Boom Cannon and fired it while he was still in mid-air. However, as my wand was pointed towards him, he realized what I was doing. He already saw the spell in action after all.

_Ha, you can’t escape! You’re in mid-air! You can only defend!_

Or so I thought, before he did something I thought to be impossible. Without actually touching anything, his legs kicked off air itself, allowing him to just barely dodge my spell in time.

_What the hell was that? Was that Geppo?_

“Air Sunder!”

Using the wind spell, I blew away all the rubble dust that blocked my view. But it was too late. When the view cleared, the assassin was no longer there.

_Damn it! I’m too slow!_

“Guwaahhhh!”

A scream came from a different direction. It was the two monks. They were still battling the knights as they too attempted to escape. Hilariously enough, it seemed they had become unwilling decoys to the other guy. I doubt this was part of their plan.

There were now even more wounded than before, with large red gashes and torn robes giving proof that the knights were too much for them. Perhaps not individually, but they were powerful enough to overwhelm them through numbers. Although this led to quite a number of them laying down on the dirt unmoving.

And of course, the high priestess being there didn’t help matters either, as she was firing off what could only be described as golden chains in an attempt to bind and immobilize them. One of them raised their legs high upwards before stomped it down, sending an energy projection of a giant foot bearing down towards the high priestess. She, however, managed to block it with her barrier, though not without a clear exertion on her part. And it gave an opening to one of the remaining temple knights to perform a slicing motion that hit him right on the side, creating a large open wound on the side of his stomach. It slowed him enough for another knight to land a Holy Bolt on his left leg, blowing it up completely while heavily injuring the other.

“Graahhh!”

The other brother, the one with the dismembered arm from Fiora’s attack, tried to drag him along. But it only slowed him down even more, allowing the high priestess to finally land her chain spell.

“Surrender! And I won’t have to send you to the afterlife!” The high priestess shouted as the brothers tried to yank the chains off them.

And then, something I didn’t see coming occurred. The two monks, knowing that they no longer had any chance for escaping, decapitated themselves using a chopping motion into their necks.

_Of course! Professional assasins would rather commit suicide than to betray their client's identity! That's a common trope in the books I've read!_

The two bodies fell to the ground with a thump, and with it, the attack was over.


	78. In Which Hugo Finds A Pair of Holy Panties

"Four of our knights were killed and eight were injured. What a terrifying opponent,” the high priestess reported.

We were now outside on the field talking to Michaela, who was overseeing the clean up from the assault. After the two assassins killed themselves, and the other one ran away, she immediately ordered her subordinates to search for the latter, while she and a couple other priests and priestesses went around healing the wounded. Despite their best efforts however, four of them had fallen in combat, as they had died before they could treat their wounds.

_There’s no such thing as a Revive spell in this world, I suppose…_

Nicole went to each of them, giving them a prayer for their souls to enter Valhalla. Yep, like you may have guessed judging by the name, it’s the paradise intended for brave warriors who devoted their lives in the path of righteousness.

I felt bad for them as well, as they technically had died to protect us from the assassins. But, after what Nicole said to me back then, I wouldn’t blame myself for it. People die in this world. It’s an inescapable fact. There’s no use in believing that you can save every single person you meet from it.

One of Michaela’s knights then came over to report, and apparently, the other assassin had escaped. The high priestess sighed, shaking her head.

“Fortunately, the Grand Priestess should return tomorrow, and with her present, that man, if he had any common sense, shouldn’t attempt this again. Lady Lunarya, unlike myself, is a very competent combatant. If she were present tonight, that vile man shouldn’t have escaped.”

We were then given a different room entirely to sleep for the night. To be exact, we were lent the room of the high priestess, as together with the room of her superior, it was located in the most secure building of the premises, just in case if that cat assassin was to strike again. Michaela doubted that though, saying, "Those murderers are a cowardly bunch. They would only strike when they have an advantage."

Thankfully, she was kind enough to place an extra bed in the room, so I would be able to sleep properly and not on the floor.

...Yeah, there's no way Fiora would allow me to sleep together with her.

Michaela personally took us to said room after we had our dinner (it's too risky to go to the baths at this time) and told us to consider it our own. Guess a holy person like her had nothing to hide. I would never let strangers into my room myself.

When we entered, we were greeted by a cozy and somewhat large room. A tiny study was there, with a number of bookshelves filled with religious texts that I had no interest in reading whatsoever. The bed was large enough for multiple people, so there would be no issue for Fiora, Nicole, and Helen to fit comfortably on it. The extra bed was smaller, only designed for one person.

_Hmm? What's that?_

I saw what looked like a pink fabric peeking out from under the bed. I bent over to pick it up.

_This is… panties?!_

Quickly, I hid it inside my shorts pocket, just in time before Fiora and the others entered the room. They had remained outside for a bit, conversing with Michaela.

"What?"

"N-nothing!"

Her sharp eyes only grew even sharper. But she quickly dropped the matter, to my relief.

_Don't tell me… these are Michaela's panties?!_

A thought occurred to me that I should go out there and hand it over to her before she got too far. But on the other hand…

_Hehe, panties…_

Yep, I can't stop myself.

"Hey, Fiora." I called out to her. "I'm leaving for a bit. Gotta go to the privy."

With that excuse, I could get the privacy I needed to check out this holy fabric I just received from the heavens.

I exited the room. To my surprise, Michaela was still there, along with a squad of knights.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing! Just… need to go to the privy, that's all!" I gave a nervous grin.

"Then let me and my knights accompany you. For tonight, I shall be part of your security."

She then told the majority of her subordinates to stay, only taking two other knights with her.

_I can't say no, can I?_

\--------------

The walk there was awkward, to say the least. I kept stealing glances at her and my right hand rubbed my pocket where her panties were stored. It didn't help that the knights she took were females as well.

My eyes wandered down to her graceful hips, imagining a pair of tightly fitting pink panties hugging them. _Damn it, why do they fit so well?_

Thanks to that dirty thought and others (she had quite the nice body after all), a tent formed on my robe, making me have to put my hands in the front to hide it as I tried to calm myself down.

"Do not worry. The privy isn't far from here."

_Ah, she probably thinks I need to go pretty badly. Well, this is embarrassing. But it's less embarrassing than being found out that you got a boner, I suppose._

We soon arrived there—a humble wooden shack in the inner garden. The three stood outside while I did my business—that is, checking out Miss High Priestess's underwear. Thankfully, the place was clean with no stinky smell that would ruin the atmosphere. 

_...Oh wow, these are cuter than I had expected. They had these frills to them and a ribbon on the front and—hold on, that's..._

My thought was cut short as I noticed something quite scandalous—how the crotch part was darkened and dampened.

_...No freaking way…_

Yep. I wasn’t mistaken. Just one slight sniff, and I could immediately know the high priestess had come while wearing this pair. The scent of her juices were unmistakable. _Don’t tell me that she had been masturbating before the attack happened? She must be in a rush to leave so she just left them there, and then she forgot about them entirely! Ooh, what luck!_

Immediately, my robes tented again. _Oh my, to think that a lady of her stature could be so naughty…_ My mouth formed a naughty grin.

For a split second, I was reminded of those porn books I used to read back home. Blackmail was inside quite a number of them, and I could imagine blackmailing her using these soiled panties of her. But I quickly dismissed the thought. I am not a bastard like those guys (as a matter of fact, I dislike that genre), and, as a fellow stealth pervert, I have to support her you know.

I also thought of keeping them in my possession. I do enjoy the delightful mature woman scent that they gave off. I can just imagine her pleasuring herself in her room, away from the watchful, prying eyes of her subordinates who believed her to be the perfect high priestess. But, I decided against it. I had sworn to be a better man, and that also meant to stop being a pervert, at least on the level that I was in my old life. At the very least I need to turn it down a notch. I want to be a gentleman after all, and no gentleman would steal other women’s panties without their permission. If I go through with this, I would disappoint Marina, Sherry, and Nicole; all in one fell swoop. Fiora? Ha, she’ll probably just grin and say, “You really are a pervert, aren’t you?”

If the woman gave her panties voluntarily though, that’s another matter entirely.

I sighed as I suddenly remembered the two pairs of panties I got inside the box back home. I just hope they will remain hidden forever. Erika would hate me even more if she knew I was hoarding girls’ panties like that. I just know it.

And so, after giving the pink panties another hearty sniff, I left it behind in the privy, balled up in the corner of the small shack. I went outside after my boner went down, telling Michaela that I was finished doing my business.

Little did I know that I would end up creating a scandal in the near future, as a disciplinary investigation would be launched on the owner of said panties. Michaela would have to shamefully order her subordinates to find said person, knowing very well that it was her. She didn’t know how her dirty panties had ended up in said privy, only that it did, and it took all her acting skills to pretend she didn’t recognize them.

Didn’t stop her little naughty habit though.

Back at our new room, I managed to get a decent sleep, though after what I just went through, it was a miracle I didn't become too nervous to sleep. Like Helen, who said that she was going to stay up all night to protect her princess.

_Dammit. No looking at Fiora's sleeping face then._

\--------------

**???**

Under the dim moonlight, a certain beastman was jumping rapidly on the rooftops of the city, heading straight towards the outside of the walls. He was, of course, the assassin that had escaped. With his speed, there was no chance for the knights to catch up to him.

And now, he was grinning like a madman.

_Ha… ahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha!_

_That was fun! Really fun, little princess! To think that a royal brat could be that strong!_

_And that kid—he’s strong as well! Amazing! This is exactly what I want! At last, a worthy hunt—good enough for the whole crew to partake in!_

_Now, I have to do the bothersome work to gather them all. Would take months to do so, under my estimate._

_O Great Saint! Please, hear my plea! Protect them until the day comes that we could hunt them all!_

With a jump, and another on mid-air, he leaped right above the stone wall. The guard stationed on the rampart didn’t even notice, as he was dozing off at his work.

\--------------

**Hugo**

_Oh no..._

When I woke up in the morning, to my horror, my briefs felt clammy and damp.

I just had a wet dream.

And yes, it was about the high priestess. I saw her grinding her womanhood on the corner of the pulpit she used for her sermons, making all sorts of lewd expressions in the process.

_I really am hitting that puberty process all over again, aren't I?_

I gave a glance towards the other bed. Good. None of them had woken up. Even Helen had surrendered to her drowsiness, as she slept sitting on the foot of Fiora's bed. A naughty thought came up to me as I glanced at the maid's hefty chest, but I shook my head. _This is no time to fool around, Hugo!_

I gave a glance towards Fiora and Nicole. _Well, that's cute. Fiora is snuggling up to Nicole and she's hugging her back. They really are good friends, huh? Or don't tell me that this is a hidden yuri development?_

I put those thoughts away as well. I need to change my clothes ASAP.

I took out my spare clothes and underwear from my bag. Giving another glance towards the three of them, making sure that they were still asleep, I began to undress myself. I did it quickly, thanks to my clothes being easy to put on, being a simple shirt and shorts combo.

When I finished, I threw my dirty clothes in the laundry basket, before turning around.

Only to find Fiora sitting on the bed, smiling as she stared straight towards my direction.

_What the— Since when she’s—_

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. I didn’t see anything. Well, anything worthwhile at the very least.”

_W-was that… was that her insulting my size?_

Shaken, I immediately tried to perform a retort. Putting up the smuggest grin I could muster, I replied, “You really are a pervert, aren’t you, Your Highness? Peeking on a boy while he’s changing? Tsk tsk tsk. That’s not very ladylike of you, is it?” I put my hands on my waist.

“Oh, really? You’re an even bigger pervert then, exposing yourself like this while in a room with three girls?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you suddenly decide to wake up.” I shrugged. “And the fact that instead of telling me to stop and cover myself, you instead just watch in silence—that proves you’re a pervert who enjoys looking at naked young boys like me.” I grinned again. “You really should just admit it, you know. I’m not mad. I’m not a prude after all.”

“Of course you’re not. You’re too lecherous for that.”

Suddenly, our conversation was interrupted by Nicole, who groaned as she sat up as well, rubbing her right eye.

“Oh, you two are already awake?” She smiled. “Good morning.”

Fiora and I exchanged looks. Who would make the first move to tell her what just happened? Would it be me saying that Fiora was peeking at me while changing? Or would it be her saying that I was a perverted flasher who intentionally changed in a room with three girls?

In the end, neither of us made a move. Fiora gave a signal with her eyes, saying that "if you don't tell, then I won't tell either." And I agreed.

_Heh, for now at least. I'll tell Nicole once we're alone without you butting in._

I'm glad she didn't notice that I had a wet dream though. She could get the upper hand from that.

\---------------

“Her Holiness Lady Lunarya has returned!”

Those words were yelled all over the temple complex the next morning, right after we had our breakfast. _Finally! Took her long enough!_

We rushed outside, seeing others doing the same to the point that a crowd was formed on the temple courtyard.

And then, we finally got a good look on her.

And she was nothing like I imagined her to be.

_Oh wow, she’s a beastkin?_

Sure enough, with those pair of white wolf ears adoring her silver hair, and a similar-colored white tail coming out from behind her, she was a beastkin for sure. Her hair reached down over her waist, complimenting her visible muscles to give that wild beast look. Her eyes were crimson, with one covered by a black eyepatch. _Hmm? An eyepatch? Couldn’t she heal her eye with her magic?_ Her clothes gave an inkling that she was a priestess, but the way she was built gave more of an impression that she was a warrior. She didn't wear any footwear, though her feet were certainly not hairy like a hobbit's. She carried with her a massive staff on one hand. It was made out of steel and pointed at the end, making me believe that she could very well kill a large monster just by swinging that thing around. The other end of the staff was shaped like a key, oddly enough. I guess it’s used if she preferred a blunt attack instead of a piercing one?

Really, there was nothing there that was remotely similar to how Michaela or Nicole looked.

I gulped. _This person… since she’s also a Grandmaster-level mage, albeit in Holy magic, she should be as strong as Vera, right?_

She arrived on top of her steed, and she gracefully leaped down from it, before letting one of the priests take it to the stables. Michaela immediately came up to her and gave a bow.

“Hey, why the long face?” The grand priestess spoke with a grin. “I told you to smile more, didn’t I?”

Michaela responded with a whisper, making the grand priestess glance towards our direction. She then walked over to us, her grin vanishing, replaced by a serious look. “Greetings. I am Lunarya Silvermoon, the Grand Priestess of Sigil. You came here to talk with me, correct? Then, let’s do that right away.”

With those short words, she ended the conversation, gesturing to us with her hand without even bothering to look back to follow her.

_Now this one doesn’t seem to care about mannerisms, unlike her subordinate._

_Ha, Fiora might have a chance after all._

\----------------

_Wag wag_

_Left… right… left… right… left and right again._

_Man, they really aren’t exaggerating when they say watching a beastgirl’s tail can be hypnotic._

Such was the thought in my mind as we walked behind her. Her white wolf tail was moving back and forth as she walked, only adding to the sensuality of her moving hips and butt, as their shape was quite visible on her black robe.

_And no sign of pantyline either, which means she might actually be going commando under that. Aah, how nice…_

I had to hold myself back from feeling up that tail, since I was pretty sure she could kill me using that giant staff of hers with a single swing. She had that proud look to her, which meant she would most likely not take kindly to sexual harassment, even if the one doing it was a young boy like me.

Also, I just realized that none of the knights or the high priestess were following us. I guess they are really that confident of her strength? Or maybe she had told them expressly that she wouldn’t want to be followed.

She led us to what looked like a private meeting room, filled only with a large round table and a couple of chairs for us to sit on. She took the chair in the 12 o’clock direction, with me and Nicole sitting on one side while Fiora and Helen sat on the other side.

She rested her chin on her hands that were placed on the table. “So,” She turned her gaze towards Fiora. “Let’s begin with you, Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, second princess of the Holy Empire. You ask for my support in you taking the throne, correct? Then,” She suddenly smirked. “Why don’t you regale my ears with the kind of country you would shape this land into if you were to become empress?”

Looking at Fiora’s reaction, I was surprised. The way she talked to her didn’t show any sign of respect whatsoever. She called her by her full name and challenged her to make her case. And yet, Fiora didn’t look upset in the slightest. _I guess she really does only demand respect for those she deems to be lower than her in the social stature. And I reckon a Grand Priestess is taken as equals to her? I really don’t get how this kind of thing works._


	79. The Grand Priestess

"I know who you are, Grand Priestess," Fiora began with a smile. "And your past."

"Heh," Lunarya replied with a grin. "Everyone already knows that." She then leaned back on her chair, putting her hands at the back of her head. “Go on. I don’t mind.”

“Then, I shall cut the chit chat and go straight to the point,” Fiora continued, her smile disappearing. “Slavery. We both detest that, don’t we? After all, you are a former slave yourself.”

Looking at the expressions of both Helen and Nicole, the two seemed unfazed in the slightest, meaning they already knew about it beforehand. Me though? I was quite surprised. I mean, how did a slave end up holding such a high-ranking job?

“Hmph. Correct.” She now folded her hands under her chest. “I vow never to forget those days. That’s why I never heal this right eye of mine, even though I am very much able to, with my magic.” _So that’s why she wore an eyepatch like that._ “That cruelty—the way that demon gouged my eyes out, I could never forget it.” _Wait, gouged her eyes? Seriously?_

“You killed your master, and then you ran away.” Nicole suddenly spoke up. “And by Fate’s blessing, you ended up being taken in by the former Grand Priest of this region. Despite your background, you persevered through your trials, and proved yourself enough that the Saint herself acknowledged your devotion to our faith. Thus she gave you this position, after the person who took you in passed away from old age.”

The beastwoman chuckled. “Who told you all that?” she asked Nicole.

“Lady Miriam spoke highly of you,” she replied with a smile. “She believed you to be the paragon of how a grand priest should be.”

“Ha! Me? A paragon? Don’t make me laugh.”

“You’re strong.” Nicole continued, undeterred. “And you actively defend this place from any strong monsters that might appear. You left because you were off monster hunting again, didn’t you? I know how you would go to the peaks of the Blooming Rose Mountains occasionally, seeing to it that no dangerous monsters would come down and destroy the villages nearby.”

“That just makes me at the same level as those adventurers, no?”

“Not only that, but you also use all the money you get from selling those rare and valuable monster parts to feed the poor and clothe the needy. And you would also open free clinics all through the city, employing your subordinates to man them. And you ran your own orphanage as well. All that combined—I have to agree with Lady Miriam that you are a person I have to look up to, Milady.” Nicole gave a little bow with her head.

_Wow, so she’s that nice of a person? Is she the type of woman that’s tough on the outside but soft on the inside? I have to admit—I do have a liking for that type of girl. That’s why female knights are one of my favorite archetypes._

_Hmm? Fiora? Ha! That girl doesn’t have enough softness on the inside to count!_

_How old does that make her though? Looking at her now, she’s probably in her mid or early thirties or so, but she could very well be older than that._

"Well well well, you certainly know how to flatter someone, little girl." She gave a light grin towards Nicole. "You're the aspirant for the high priestess position, aren't you? You think saying those words would make me go easy on you? Think again!"

"I do not wish for something like that," Nicole replied, shaking her head. "Please, give me the same trial as you would give the others." She lowered her head once again.

Lunarya pursed her lips, seemingly examining Nicole closely for a brief second before returning her attention back towards Fiora.

“So, you think you can get my support just because of that?” She crossed her arms.

“Of course, I would also create a prosperous empire that is free from hunger and want,” Fiora continued, unabated. “I would lower the taxes and reduce the lavishness of the nobles. And most importantly, stop their petty squabbles for power. In my empire, only the loyal and capable would be granted influential governing positions.”

And then, the beastwoman laughed.

“Ahahahaha, how naive!” She hit the table with her fist. “You really think you would be able to do all that? You know how many enemies you would make by doing such a thing? The entire nobility and the powerful slave merchants would be all against you, little girl! Even if you became empress, they would never obey you. They would only conspire to backstab you one day and put on their favored puppet instead.” She shook her head. "No, as much as I want to punch those nobles and merchants in the face, your method wouldn't work in the slightest. You would only end up causing chaos, and as a grand priestess, I can't allow that. I am also here to promote stability, as if the empire shows weakness, those magical folks to the south would surely start another war with us."

Of course, she was referring to the Magocracy by that.

Fiora didn't reply immediately. She instead looked away from the grand priestess, to the picture behind her. It was a picture of a female cleric, seemingly leading the way for the line of ragged people behind her through a field of thorns.

_That's supposed to be the Saint, isn't it?_

"Very well." She finally spoke, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "I suppose I should tell you this secret. As much as I loathe it to use his name, my father, Emperor Sigmund Freya Pendragon, has spoken to me of his desire to see me become empress. Indeed, I was his favorite candidate for the throne.”

Lunarya’s eyes widened in surprise. She did not see that statement coming in the slightest.

“Hoo? That’s a nice lie you just told there,” she replied. “You expect me to believe that with just your word?”

“I wasn’t lying,” Fiora continued, glaring at her. “I do not understand it either. One day, he fetched for me—called me into his room. He then told all his servants and guards to leave us together. And then, with that stupid grin of his, he told me that he wished for me to be the next empress after him.” At this point, she was looking away. I think, judging by the slight softness on her expression, she still has some love towards her father, even after what he did to his mom.

“And so,” she continued, looking up back towards Lunayra. “Even if the nobles and the wealthy merchants aren’t on my side, I would have the Imperial Knights with me.” She looked back down again with a bitter smile. “Or so I hope, seeing how my siblings are making their moves to win them over to their sides.”

Silence. Even the grand priestess needed a few seconds to process this new revelation.

“Even so,” She finally spoke up. “I’m still doubting your ability to lead, little girl. The knights are the sword of the Empire. The only influence they have is in prestige and strength. But to have a functioning government, you would need your subordinates to actually transmit your orders to their own subordinates, and the dukes and marquesses are the ones with that power, as rulers of their own respective territories. They, along with the merchants, are a linchpin of this Empire’s prosperity. If they were to be annihilated, who would step in to fill the void? Unless you have an answer to that question, then no, I can’t lend my support to you.” Suddenly, she smirked. “Really, if you don’t realize that already, then you really aren’t suited to be a ruler. Truly, the rumors were true, that the third princess was nothing like her older siblings. You have no charm nor charisma, and you don’t have their ability to navigate the world of court intrigue either. No. You’d be better off abandoning your dream entirely and becoming a swordswoman instead, since you seem to be already pretty suited for that role, seeing how you’re all about strength, while lacking the brains to—”

CLANG

Her sword unsheathed in a flash, heading straight towards the grand priestess’ neck before the older woman blocked it with her barrier.

“Your Highness!” Helena shouted. Nicole’s mouth was wide open and I was paralyzed with surprise as well. _D-did she… did she just attack her?_

“Abandoning my dream? Over my dead body,” she said with a murderous glare.

“Then it shall be your grave.” She smiled in return.

_That was just bluffing, right? You know, the kind of stuff you often see swordsmen do in manga and stuff, putting their sword right at the opponent’s neck but not actually cutting through?_

Looking at her expression, it was the first time I saw her this angry. She was always calm and collected, and at the very most, she would only look annoyed. But now, it was a genuine and cold anger, filling her expression entirely.

_No, she can’t actually mean to kill her. That would be so terribly stupid and out of character for her._

_But then again, this is already entering stupid territory on its own. Really, provoking the person you need to obtain approval from?_

And then, she stood up, still with the cold and angry look, withdrawing her sword but not sheathing it back.

“Very well. I suppose the path of asking nicely for the Church’s backings is off limits as well. That only leaves me with one option.” At this moment, she gave a look towards me, before facing back towards the high priestess. “I will have to take the throne by force.” 

At that moment, she swung her sword to the side. She wasn’t hitting anything but air, but she did it so fast and sharply that I could feel it cutting the air even from all the way here. At the same moment, for some inexplicable reason, I felt chills crawling all throughout my body.

Fear. That was what I felt. I felt as if she was going to chop me into pieces with that sword at any second.

“The Legendary Hero founded this Empire with strength, as he cut through the hordes of demons that plagued the world and built a nation where humans can live in peace. And so I shall do the same. After all,” She gave a bone-chilling smirk. “I am his descendant.”

With that speech, she walked away from the table towards the door, sheathing her sword in the process. “Your Highness!” Helen quickly rose up and followed her as well.

“Girl, you would cut down the soldiers of the Empire? Kill all the Seven Imperial Knights?” The grand priestess half-shouted. To my surprise, instead of an angry expression, she had an amused smile instead. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

Fiora stopped, Turning back slightly, she said to her, “I know.” She smiled. “I might just decide to destroy the Empire altogether.”

And with those ominous words, the two left the room, leaving both Nicole and I completely speechless.

“What an amusing girl,” the beastwoman spoke, resting her chin on her hands. “If she actually ends up making this thousand-year old Empire collapse, well, I say it’s about time. Nothing in this world lasts forever. Even the long-lived high elves would die one day. That is Providence.”

“But—” Nicole protested. “You just said that you don’t want chaos to happen under her rule.” She would’ve apologized profusely for her friend, if not for the fact that the grand priestess now had a cheerful expression on her face, which she honestly didn’t know how to react to.

“True,” she replied, giving a slight smile towards the priestess. “As a grand priestess, I wouldn’t want that to occur. However, as my old self, who despises the order of the world… Well, let’s just say that I was quite similar to her at that age.” She sighed. “'Rebirth through destruction'. The words of our Great Saint Milicis herself. Perhaps if the Empire was to be destroyed, something better could arise from its ashes." Her smile was tinged with bitterness.

_Oi oi that kind of talk is usually reserved for a bad guy, you know? Did the Saint seriously say that?_

"Is the Empire really that bad?" I spoke up. Slavery and poverty are bad things for sure but they don't warrant complete destruction, do they? Especially when other countries also have them.

"That bad?" The grand priestess smirked towards me. "A lot of things are bad in this world. And the Empire certainly has a fair share of them. Really, I wouldn't call it Holy by any means."

She raised one leg under the table, crossing it over the other one. "However, I have to say that it's gotten worse over the years. The upper nobles only cared about their own petty squabbles, to the point of sending assassins against each other. If the Imperial Knights were to abandon their neutrality, then it would be a full blown civil war. The vassal kingdoms would be dragged into the conflict as well. The Magocracy would also see it as an opportunity to invade, as well as other nations who never had a good relationship with it in the first place. In short, the whole continent would be thrown into chaos."

"Wait, so Fiora wants to—"

"She wants to fix that corruption," Nicole interjected. "By any means necessary."

“So if she wanting to fix it would cause chaos, but no one fixing it will also cause chaos as well, what’s the difference then?”

“Exactly my point.” The grand priestess flashed a wry grin towards my direction. “My main problem with her is really just the way she would do it. By the sword. Not to mention that disrupting the slave market would definitely cause ripples of chaos as well, since many of the prominent merchant companies that exist right now would be on her list as well. If they were to close doors all of a sudden, that would be quite a blow to the Empire’s economy.”

Another curtain of silence fell in the room before Nicole decided to speak.

“‘Thou who walk on the path of justice, forfeit thy comfort if it would only weigh thee down.’ Saint Milicis also uttered those words. And I believe it applies to our current discussion.”

“Hoo, interesting!” The grand priestess spoke. “So you say the people of the Empire should just accept their decline if it means walking on the path of justice and righteousness.”

“Indeed.” She nodded, with a forlorn smile. “‘Thy love for power and gold shall lead to ruin’ was another sentence our Great Saint uttered. So I’m fine with the Empire weakening if it means justice is served.”

“Well well well, it seems we have a model high priestess here already!” Lunarya grinned. “Although, let me tell you that your opinion on slavery isn’t shared by the majority of Church folks. Only a few, such as you and me, believe that keeping it around is not just. The concept of high slaves was born out of our camp compromising with the majority, vying for a better treatment of slaves instead. Although naturally, judging by your expression, I assume it is not enough. Fiora told you of the slave farms they have, didn’t she? That isn’t exactly common knowledge, you know. Most of the people who bought them don’t know, or don’t care. All they want are capable servants, both in daytime and in bed.” She chuckled. “Ah, the perverseness of society. Sometimes I wonder if humans are any better than orcs or incubuses in that category.”

My eyes linked towards hers for a brief second, and I immediately averted them with what possibly could be a guilty expression.

Yeah, I certainly have imagined buying slaves for nighttime purposes, I admit that. But I decided against it in the end, you know, so don’t lump me in with those folks!

Although, if Sherry doesn’t exist, I might end up buying one after all, just because qt slave girls are just something you gotta have if you’re in a fantasy world.

So yeah. I think I belong in those “perverse folks” category that she talked about.

"Anyway, let's just finish this boring meeting." Lunarya spoke. "Nicole, if you want my approval for your pilgrimage, then all I ask is one thing." She smirked. "Make your princess friend apologize to me."

"Apologize?" She replied with surprise.

"Yes. I want her to swallow her pride and apologize. Humility is an important character for a leader to have, and if you can make her apologize, in a genuine fashion, then I would both approve of her bid of power and of you becoming a high priestess. Guiding a hardheaded and prideful person like that to the right path—that's a skill a high priestess should have as well."

"But that's unfair, isn't it?" I spoke up. "I know her. She's not going to apologize to anyone. Ever." _Really, making her bow her head down and beg for forgiveness is just plain impossible. Might as well try to ask a mountain to lower its peak._

"Then, you help her as well, boy." Her smirk still remained. "And that maid as well if you want. As her retainers, you are part of her strength as well, so I don’t mind you helping to soften that girl up a little.”

She then stood up from her chair. “Oh, and I’ll give you a time limit. One week from now. After that,” She looked back towards Nicole. “You have to decide whether to continue attending to her or to continue your pilgrimage, as I wouldn’t give my letter of recommendation if you are still with her.”

And with that, she left the room, leaving the two of us looking at each other, speechless.


	80. Fiora’s Feelings

En route back to our room, I decided to have a little chat with Nicole beforehand—about Fiora naturally.

“Nicole, one sec.”

“Hmm?” She stopped, turning around to face me.

“About Fiora. Can you let me handle it?”

“Handle it?” She tilted her head. “You mean you’re going to try to convince her to apologize?”

“Yeah, that. No offense, but I don’t think your approach would work, Nicole. You’re just too kind, you see. That girl—she would be better off with a friend that would talk back to her. Like me.”

She paused, before sighing with a smile. “I suspected that. You know, she’s been happier ever since you’re around, Hugo. I think your presence entertains her.”

“Entertains her, huh?” I gave a light grin. “What am I, a clown?”

“She enjoys going back and forth with you. Talking with you like that, I feel she can finally have a true friend that can be her equal.” She clasped her hands together.

“How about you, Nicole? Aren’t you her friend?”

“I am.” She averted her gaze, a sad expression drawn on her face. “But I am not her equal. I am not as smart or bold as her. But you are, Hugo.” She looked at me. “You are her equal. I’m even sure that her treating you like a servant is just her wanting to rile you up.”

“Rile me up? What, she enjoys making me angry?” I frowned, folding my arms.

“Teehee.” She giggled a little. “She doesn’t mean any harm with it. She really just wants an interaction that is not just people bowing down to her and doing her orders. I believe if you were more like a proper bodyguard, she would lose interest in you quickly and ignore you entirely. But instead, she showers you with it. She wants to be with you, Hugo.”

“In fact,” She sighed again. “If you weren’t already engaged with Sherry, I might ask you to become her lifelong companion. You know, when we were still in the academy, she once said she wanted a lover that is her equal in every way. And I believe you fit that description. But of course, I couldn’t ask you to do that now. It would only hurt Sherry terribly if you abandon her for another girl.”

She looked away once more as silence fell between us. We were thankfully in the middle of a secluded corridor so there was no one else coming back and forth to interrupt our talk.

_So her seduction back then… that was real? She seriously wants me to become her lover?_

My imagination immediately went wild, as I remembered her thumb caressing the tip of my member. I envisioned her laying down on a bed, wearing only a skimpy nightgown that showed off her lacy royal panties (I imagine they were white). With an inviting look, a smirk, and a blush, she said to me, “Come Hugo. Prove to me that you are truly a man by pleasuring me until I climax. If you can’t make me scream your name, then you don’t deserve to be my prince.” She then would move her panties to the side, exposing her sacred spot to me. Of course, she would already be wet down there, as she was merely pretending to be tough, even though her entire girlhood was already aching for my member. And then, with my own smirk, I would take out my weapon and plunge it right into her—

“Umm, Hugo? You’re drooling.”

“...O-oh, r-right, sorry about that.” I quickly wiped it off.

“Hugo, were you fantasizing about Fiora just now?” Her eyes narrowed.

"U-uh, well, I—"

"You did, didn't you? Look, the front of your robe is renting."

Sure enough, she was right. It was all too obvious.

Nicole gave a short glance at my boner before blushing and looking away, only to steal another glance shortly after, repeating the cycle altogether. _Oh wow, I never thought she could be this cute. You know, it’s okay if you want to peek~♥. Or so I want to say, before I stop myself. I would only anger her further if I start teasing her._

“Really, Hugo. You really should start reigning your desire.” Oh boy, is she going full lecture mode now? “I’m starting to get worried again that you’ll one day cheat on Sherry with another girl, just because you find her pretty.”

“Look, I don’t even like Fiora,” I interrupted her. “I find her to be arrogant and an annoyance—not the type I like at all. But as a healthy young man, I also recognize her beauty. So it’s not odd at all that I would fantasize about her, especially after you suggested that I should become her lover.”

It’s true. Fiora certainly had her charms and I would love to have my way with her in bed, but it only applies if I can make her break down in pleasure with my technique though, which, naturally, has never been tested before. But if our fun session just ends up with her mocking me for my incompetence, well, that wouldn’t be nice at all for my low self-esteem.

But other than that, I really wouldn’t want her to be my girlfriend, or God help, wife. Imagine having to live the rest of my life with her nagging personality. I would not have the ideal household life that I always dreamed, with a loving and gentle wife that wouldn’t order me around at every minute.

I suppose you can call her the type of girl who’s only good for one-night stands, as horrible as that sounds. Really though, if she would just fix that personality of hers, and become more princess-like, then I would like her far more.

"...I suppose you're right," Nicole replied. "But please, try not to… show that _indecent_ thing like that."

"Yeah, sorry about that." I smiled, putting both of my hands on the front of my robe to cover it. Call me an exhibitionist, but I don't mind showing my boner like this. As long as I don't get called a pervert for it anyway. Even in my old life, I was satisfied with my size. Probably thanks to my hormones that I have in an abundance. And now, thankfully enough, it seemed I was going to end up with the same size. Well, since I was still young, it was still small. But I’m sure it will grow bigger in no time!

“Anyway.” She coughed in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness. “Back to our conversation from before, if you want to persuade Fiora, then I won’t stop you. I too would try to persuade her later, but for now, I’ll leave it to you first.” She smiled. “I truly believe she would listen to you better than she would to me.”

“Well, let’s just hope you’re right. That girl is both really stubborn and prideful—a deadly combo if you ask me.” I gave a little chuckle.

When we reached our room, Fiora and Helen were already there. The princess sat on the bed while the maid stood in front of her to the side. They were in the middle of a conversation when we entered, and they immediately stopped once they noticed our presence. 

“Welcome back.” Fiora turned her body to face us, putting on her usual smug grin, as if nothing had happened. “So, how did it go? Nicole, did she give you her recommendation letter?”

Nicole averted her gaze, answering with, “She would, if I could do this one task for her.”

“And that task would be?”

“To make you apologize to her for your outburst. In a genuine manner.”

Fiora paused, her grin disappearing into an annoyed expression, before returning once more. “Ha! I see what that woman is trying to do! Probably something along the line of ‘teaching me humility’ or something! You Church folks are big on that after all!”

"Fiora, I agree with her." I stepped in with a firm look. "I do think you should apologize. She was right and you were in the wrong. You were being childish, acting like that."

She immediately sent a glare towards me. Yep, she's pissed all right.

"Fine." She folded her arms under her chest. "I'll apologize."

"That wouldn't work. You have to be genuine about it."

"Genuine?" She smirked. "I can fake that."

"No, you don't understand." I shook my head, giving her a concerned gaze. "Look, I've said before that I don't care for your plan. I'm just here as your bodyguard. But now, I feel I have to tell you that the way you're doing things wouldn't work. You'd just end up ruining the Empire, and I'm pretty sure that's not what your mother wanted."

Nicole gave a surprised look towards me. I guess Fiora didn't tell her about our little conversation on that morning.

Her glare insentified. "You… How dare you tell me what my mother wants or not?"

She then stood up and said to Helen and Nicole, "Leave us. I have to teach this foolish boy a lesson."

Helen gave me a "You're gonna get it now look" while Nicole gave a worried one before they left, leaving only us two in the room.

I stood unflinching. To teach this brat a lesson she desperately needed, I have to stand up to her without fear.

"I had a mother as well you know," I continued with a calm stare. "And she wouldn't want me to be embroiled in revenge like you are."

"Easy for you to say. You already killed Vera. My enemy is the entire court. I wouldn't be satisfied until they're brought low."

"The rest of the Magocracy was in it as well. Just like your father, they allowed it to happen, which made them complicit in the act." I frowned.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" She asked me back with a smirk. "Get strong enough to take them out one by one? Rule over the Magocracy as the strongest mage? If I were you, that's what I would do."

I paused. I wouldn't say that the thought of revenge had never crossed my mind. However…

"I would not." I shook my head. "Not because I don't hate them, but because I would rather live my life happily and to the fullest instead of wasting it for revenge. I want to travel the world and see everything there is to see."

"With Sherry?"

"Yes, with her. And Marina as well." I smiled.

"Ah, your big sister…"

She trailed off, averting her gaze for a few moments before looking back at me.

"Isn't it nice? To still have your family like that?"

A smile formed on her lips—a bitter one.

"The only family I have left is Helen. Bill, Lancaster, Hector, and all my other servants were murdered in their efforts to protect me.”

“Nicole?”

“She had made her choice to be with her adoptive mother instead. So she would leave me when the time came. As would you.”

_...Damn it, is this her attempt on guilt-tripping me to join her for real?_

_...No, I think—I think this is her genuine feeling she’s showing right now._

“Here’s my offer to you.” She continued. “If you would become my loyal knight, then I would listen to your advice. Otherwise, I do not wish to hear anything from a mercenary who’s not going to share my ambition and dream.”

With that said, she walked past me and left the room. She didn’t have her smirk as she said that. She was completely serious.

“Hold it.” I placed my hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “I’m not standing here as a mere hired bodyguard. I’m speaking to you as a friend.”

“Hoo? A friend?” She turned around, her smug look returning. “Since when you’re a friend of mine?”

“Don’t lie. I already heard from Nicole how you are happier since I was around. If that’s not what a friend does, then I don’t know what else.”

She paused, moving my hand away from her with the back of her hand while her sharp eyes seemingly drilled inside my head.

“Oh, I could think of one other role that would fit.”

“And what’s that?”

“This.”

And then, she grabbed the back of my head, yanked it upwards (as I was shorter than her), and forced my lips to touch hers.

“!!!”

...Yep, she just forced me into a kiss.

I was so surprised that I didn’t do anything until it was all over. I didn’t know how long it lasted. It could be just a second or two or it could be an eternity, to be all poetic about it. It was a chaste kiss, but it was a ravenous one nonetheless, as she pressed her lips strongly into mine.

“There. Your answer.”

And with those three words, she left the room, leaving me completely stunned.

_A-ah…_ My right fingers immediately went to caress my lips.

_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?_

\--------------

For the rest of the day, I was somewhat in a light daze. Not just from the kiss, mind you, but from what she said as well.

I wasn’t dense. I knew perfectly well what she meant. _She likes me. In a romantic, man-with-woman manner._ That was the only conclusion that I could reach.

I was ready to dismiss it as just her manipulating me once again, like I originally thought when she did **that** to me. But after what Nicole said, I could no longer ignore the possibility that she might actually have a genuine interest in me.

And cursing myself, deep down, I realize that I might be attracted to her as well, even if just a little.

_Damn it, I'm supposed to be faithful to Sherry! I'm not like those cheating riajuu bastards who would two-time their girlfriends! Calm down, Hugo. That's just your little guy speaking, isn't it? Think about it! Do you really want a girlfriend with that bad of an attitude?_

_...Oh goddamnit. I just broke my promise to Sherry not to kiss other girls when she was away, didn’t I? Welp, that’s another thing I have to tell and apologize to her when we meet again._

Swimming with those thoughts, I walked around the temple complex on my own, as Fiora opted to rest in our room instead, most likely having a chat with Nicole. Guess she wasn't in the mood to teach me. I ended up spending a couple hours training on my own though, just so I wouldn’t get rusty.

I also spent a little bit of time in the temple library. Not that I was particularly interested in the religious books that should be abundant there, but just simply out of pure curiosity. And I was grateful for that decision, as I did find a book that interested me.

It was a story about the journey of the Legendary Hero to defeat the Evil God. It reminded me immediately of that book I read way back then with the same topic. Only that one was from the Magocracy, which made this book quite a lot different from that one. For starters, Milicis was actually portrayed as a wise and kind saint in this book, instead of the incompetent high-strung cleric that she was in the Magocracy’s version. Mira on the other hand was, actually not that bad. I mean, she is portrayed as kind of a shady witch, if you get what I mean, but she’s also a competent member of the party.

The interesting part however came after the Evil God was defeated. According to the book, Mira, who ended up founding the Magocracy, ended up becoming a full blown dark mage in the end, delving into the forbidden arts like necromancy, blood magic, curses, demon summoning and the like. It led to a rift between her and Milicis, who was obviously against it.

Well, it made sense. The Magocracy used to allow all study of magic after all. They only banned necromancy after the whole Necromancer King thing happened. But of course, this book put it in a way to sound that Mira went insane with her power at the later stages of her life.

Still, much better book than the Magocracy one. It helps that it’s intended for an older audience, judging by the complexity of the language.

Before I knew it, the day was already over, and it was time for dinner. I purposefully had a late lunch to avoid meeting with Fiora (the temple cafeteria was nice enough to still serve me even though I came when there was no one else there). But I couldn’t dodge out of dinner.

Or so I thought, until she decided not to come altogether, opting to have it delivered to our room instead. So that’s another bullet dodged. Or delayed, as I had to meet with her anyways afterwards.

When I returned to our room however…

“Boy, you’re late. Where have you been?”

She was back to her usual self like nothing had happened.

She already wore her nightdress, which, I had to regretfully admit, actually looked quite good on her. It was white with a pinkish hue, frilly yet elegant at the same time. It seemed even though she was (technically) a tomboy, she wasn’t afraid of wearing feminine things like that.

"I was at the library," I answered.

"Hoo? I never thought you're the kind of boy who likes to read books, let alone religious ones."

I shrugged. "You didn't want to teach me today so I figured I would use my free time for something else."

"Well, prepare yourself, for tomorrow, I'll work you twice as hard." She smirked, folding her hands under her chest.

_This girl… she's not going to talk about it, is she?_

_Yeah, I'll have to confront her tomorrow, before we have our training. If you really like me, then stop pussyfooting around it and tell me straight on._

That night, I had an erotic dream about her.


	81. Staccato

“...ke up.”

“Wake up, boy!”

My eyelids slowly fluttered open, as a voice called out to me, pulling me away from the pleasant dream that I had.

_Ah, I feel this has happened before already._

When my sight focused, I saw Fiora standing beside me with a displeased expression. She probably had been trying to wake me up for a while now.

_Oh right, didn’t I just have a dream with her? I can’t remember…_

“We’re going to train. Wash your face and get ready.”

I gave a glance towards the grandfather clock in the room. Still five o’clock in the morning. And sure enough, both Nicole and Helen were still well asleep on their bed.

“Oh, and take care of **that** thing as well.”

I followed her gaze, straight towards my morning wood.

Well, I wouldn’t say I was embarrassed. This is just how it is for us guys.

\---------------

Since we woke up so early, there was barely anyone around. There were the knights assigned to guard us, of course, and two of them followed us to the courtyard while the rest remained to guard the still sleeping Helen and Nicole. 

However, when we actually got to the courtyard, we found out that we weren't alone after all, as a group of what could only be the temple squires were in the middle of their sword training, led by a female instructor. Judging by the armor she wore, she was probably a full-fledged knight already. Although she didn’t have the cloak with her.

_Ah, this is probably like the military back home. Wake up really early, fall asleep really late with your joints aching all over. Or so I heard. I would have killed myself earlier if I got into the military, I imagine._

"Oh, here's a fun idea," Fiora suddenly declared with a grin. "Hey, Miss Knight!" She called over to their instructor. "My guard here wants to show a thing or two to your students! Through a spar!"

_Wait, what?_

And thus, before I knew it, I ended up in a series of spars with those guys.

My first opponent was this cocky redheaded guy. Taller than me, older than me, more muscled than me. I can see where he got that cockiness from. His hand pretty much shot up once the instructor knight asked who would like to volunteer.

_Why do I have the feeling that he's the bully of the class?_

He stepped up with a grin, looking down at me, both figuratively and literally. Alright. He probably thought I was easy prey, just because of the way I looked. _Doesn't this kid know that I just repelled an assasination attempt on Fiora?_

_Oh right, her identity is supposed to be a secret. So I guess the incident would just be about thieves breaking in or something. Usually, in this kind of strict organization, you can’t really demand answers from your superiors, so these young folks wouldn’t know anything._

"Merton here is the best fencer in our class," the instructor explained. “So please, feel free not to go easy on him.”

We would be using wooden swords naturally. However, they were weighted by some metal, so the heaviness wasn't that much different from a real sword.

And of course, that also meant you would land a much more painful blow if your strike landed.

With that said, after we each gave our respectful bows, the match began, with him taking the initiative to attack.

_This is—!_

An overhead swing. So easy and predictable that I could block it with ease. However, I flinched as the impact hit. His blow was heavy. It's clear he was putting all his strength into it.

_Right, in this situation, I should use… this move!_

I pushed his sword to the side. And in one quick move, I thrusted right on his stomach.

"Gaah!"

He staggered back before falling down on his behind. I immediately used the opportunity to rest my sword at his neck.

And just like that, I won.

_That was so easy, I can't believe it! Compared to Fiora's lightning blows, he's nothing! He just has the advantage of strength and that's it!_

Similar results happened when I took on the other squires one by one. None of them posed any challenge whatsoever. Even when I got distracted by some of the more… ahem, _voluptuous_ female squires, I still beat them in the end.

_So this is the result of my training?_

"Well done, my servant," Fiora spoke with a proud look. "Now, to your final challenge. Miss." She turned to the instructor. "“What rank are you with the sword?”

“Eh?” The instructor replied with a surprised look. “I'm an Apprentice at Lancelot-style."

Sword ranks. They were the way to classify your skill with a sword, at least according to the two main sword schools, that being Lancelot and Galahad. By the way, even though they mainly do indeed teach sword-wielding, it doesn’t mean that you can’t use other weapons with it. It’s just that the official weapon is the sword, seeing how it was the weapon of choice of the Legendary Hero and all. An Apprentice was the second classification from the bottom, so in absolute terms, she was nowhere near the top tiers of the practitioners. 

I guess you could say it’s similar to how magic works with its levels, but since the number of ranks and levels don’t match, I wouldn’t know how they would compare with each other.

And besides, it’s stupid if you think that just because you have a higher rank or level that you would automatically win. Like how I am confident that I can beat Fiora, but as long as when the fight starts, I am nowhere near her range where she could cut me with her sword in an instant.

"Then, I would like you to spar with him as well." Fiora smirked.

_Wait, seriously?_

I gave a protesting look towards her, but before I could say anything, she already interrupted me, saying, “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be able to fight quite well with you. I taught him personally myself after all.”

I looked back and saw the squires looking with me all bright-eyed, expecting me to put up a good show. _Goddamnit, if I back out now, I’ll look really uncool, wouldn’t I?_

I looked at the teacher. She was young, probably around eighteen or so. So she was still young, probably just earned a place as a temple knight. That’s also probably why she didn’t wear the cape like our guards wore.

Still, I wouldn’t know how well I would fare against her. After all, I’ve only been trained by Fiora for two weeks or so. Sure, she said that the basics I learned from Father were good enough that I was certainly nowhere near a beginner, but to be up against a teacher like her?

In the end, I took on the challenge, bowing before readying my stance once more, waiting for Fiora to signal the start of the fight.

As expected, as a practitioner of an offensive style, she took the initiative. However, instead of going into melee range, she instead opted to use that ranged slash move right away.

Fiora never used this kind of move against me. However, I know well enough how to counter it.

_Like this!_

With a precise horizontal slice, I hit the energy blast right in the middle, parrying it away, sending it to the sky above.

I read it in the book Fiora gave me. It said you could redirect a sword slash like that if you hit it at just the right angle and spot. And even though this was my first time doing it, I was confident that I could do it.

Why? Because Fiora had drilled into me the importance of precision, right to the millimeters. Thanks to her training, I can swing my sword much more accurately now. And I could stand my ground as well, unafraid of an incoming attack that I know very well I could handle.

_Now's my chance!_

A look of surprise came to the instructor's face, and she immediately followed with a barrage of sword swings that managed to keep me away. She was relentless, just like how the practitioner of the Lancelot style should.

However, that left her open, and after parrying and blocking a couple of her attacks, I did a quick strike straight to her abdomen.

To my surprise however, instead of flinching, she resumed her attack, allowing a blow to land on my wrist, nearly knocking my sword out of my hand.

I was the one who ended up flinching. But I quickly put a distance between us, stabilizing as I resumed my defensive posture once more.

“Boy! You’re doing it again!” Fiora shouted.

_And by that, I mean me falling into the same trap that Fiora likes to use against me. She would fein an opening, allowing me to come in before retaliating with a harsh counter attack. She says that the way to counter that is for me to keep an eye on not just the spot I am about to attack, but also the rest of her body’s movements. “As a practitioner of the Galahad-style, we only counterattack if it doesn’t leave an opening for us. Worse comes to worse, we would outlast our opponent through stamina, as our style is much more efficient than the brutish, aggressive style of the Lancelots,” so she explained._

_I have to focus. And not get greedy with my attacks. It’s like those action RPGs where you only attack when the boss gives you a clear opening._

I returned back on the defensive, parrying her blows one after the other. I waited for my chance once again, while she prodded and poked my iron-steel defenses. Sure, I could use my magic here to gain a clear advantage, but this is supposed to be my sword training session. So I would only use my sword and sword alone.

And then, I saw it again. Another opening, This time, I could possibly knock the sword out of her hand, guaranteeing my victory if I could make it happen.

In a split second, I made my decision to attack. However, this time around, I saw in my peripheral vision her body movement, intending to swing a fist right at me.

_Hey hey hey, isn't that cheating?_

_But then again, like Fiora said, in real combat, your opponent could use their entire body as a weapon, not just their swords._

I saw through the trap and switched my posture. I allowed her fist to come forward and then—

"Hyaah!"

I moved my body to the right sharply, just enough to dodge her fist.

And fast enough as well to strike at her other hand, sending her wooden sword flying, guaranteeing my victory.

"Wooah, that was awesome!"

"Did you see that? His movement was so fast I could barely keep up!"

Such excited whispers spread like wildfire amongst the trainees, making me inadvertently grin. I was, naturally, enjoying the praises showered towards me after all. And I was impressed by myself as well. Since when I got this good in the sword?

Fiora stood there with a satisfied look. She really was proud of my progress after all.

\--------

“Alright, boy! It’s time for us to start moving on to the difficult stuff,” she declared once we were back on our own, away from the squires. “Conjure a big rock with your magic. You can do that, can’t you?”

“Huh? A big rock?” I replied, raising my eyebrows. _Oh, I get it! She’s going to tell me to cut through it, isn’t she? Finally! I would be able to do what Sherry was already capable of doing when she’s just six years old!_

_...Wait, that doesn’t sound very nice._

I did as she told, using Rock Cannon to conjure a boulder without actually firing it.

“Now, let me demonstrate first.”

She walked over to the front of said boulder, placed her hand on the handle of her sheathed sword, and then…

“Staccato!”

A flash appeared in the air for a split second, before the boulder was cleanly split into two.

“This is Staccato, one of the basic special techniques of the Galahad-school of swordsmanship. Using your aura, you sharpen your sword into an impossible level, to the point that you can cut through rock like butter,” she explained. “Now, conjure another boulder.”

I nodded, still taken aback by her display. I don’t think I’ve read about the technique in the book she gave me, which meant we’re already going into the more advanced territory, like she said. That book was just an introductory book after all.

Though I am curious about the name. That’s a musical term, right? Why are they using something like that for a sword technique? Is there a deeper meaning to it or is it just a coincidence? It fits though. Staccato means something like a sharp spike, right? Makes sense that it would be used for an offensive technique like this.

I cast the same spell, producing a similar sized boulder just beside the one she just split into two.

“For today, you shall attempt to do the same thing I just did. Use your real sword for this one.”

After she said that, to my surprise, she started to walk away.

“Wait, you’re not going to be instructing me on how to do it?” I yelled.

“Oh, you won’t need me to tell you how to do it. Just focus and think of the boulder as the enemy you want to cut.”

She didn’t even bother turning back as she said that.

And thus, I was left to train on my own.

I couldn’t help but wonder though, if this was a ploy from her to avoid me or something.

I thought of chasing her to talk to her about the Grand Priestess, but I decided against it. If she acted strangely like this, she probably still needed more time to calm down, and I was going to give her that. After all, we still got a week to do it.

I spent the remaining day hitting the rock with my sword, trying to mimic what she did to it, to little success. I tried imagining transferring my aura to the sword the same way I would do it with my mana, but it didn’t work. Neither the book nor Fiora had any explicit method on how to draw out your aura. No wonder most swordsmen out there didn’t even know that the concept existed.

I was making progress though. Slowly but surely, I was able to actually make a dent on the boulder. However, it was still far from what Fiora instructed—a clean slash that cut the boulder in half with little effort.

The training made my hands sore and raw, thanks to all the return force they suffered every time the iron sword hit the hard rock. I started to consider wearing gloves, though I never liked wearing accessories like that. I would’ve healed it using my fairy, but I remember how the Church frowns on summoning magic in general, so I hold off from it. I’ll just wait until the day is over for Nicole to heal it for me.

The tip of my poor sword was starting to chip as well from the constant blow it received as I tried to cut the boulder. It wasn’t any special sword after all. It was just a simple iron sword Father brought me as proof that I was trustworthy enough to handle an actual sword. It wasn’t like Fiora’s fancy sword, with its thin blade and slight curve at the end. Galahad-style practitioners usually preferred thin, light swords as they preferred precision and speed over power, unlike Lancelot-style practitioners who preferred thick, sturdy swords that could withstand their raw strength.

_Maybe I should buy a better sword when I get the chance. That gold Fiora promised would come useful for sure. Yeah, a magic sword would be really cool to have…_

With those thoughts in my mind, I retired for the day. Fiora didn’t even bother visiting me back afterwards. What was she doing all day anyways?

“Training hard, eh? I like that.”

I turned around and saw the Grand Priestess standing behind me with one hand on her waist and a grin on her face.

“Come. Accompany me for a walk.”

It wasn’t a request as much as an order. She placed her hand on my shoulder casually, before pushing me forward.

To my surprise, we actually left the temple complex. None of the knights seemed to mind however. They trusted her strength that much.

\-----------------

She took me to the outskirts of the city, where there were a little bit of farmlands scattered around. The land here was swampy, so it wasn’t really suited to ordinary crops like wheat and such. Hmm, I wonder where this city gets its income from then.

“I want to talk to you about your little mistress.” She began. Ah, I already expected this, to be honest, which was why I went along with her without a single complaint. “How about it? Making any progress with Your Royal Stubbornness?” She chuckled.

“No, unfortunately.” I decided to be honest with her.

“Well, don’t give up. You’ll reach her sooner or later,” she replied, patting my shoulder. “You know, today, she challenged me for a fight.”

“Wait, seriously?!” I yanked my head towards her.

“Yep. She told me not to involve her subordinates, especially Nicole and her promotion. And that she would be willing to face me in combat to show both her strength and determination. What an outrageous girl!” She laughed.

"Did you accept?"

"I did. And naturally, I came out victorious. She didn't give up though. She said she would try again tomorrow. I even lent her a private room so she could train on her own for our rematch."

I fell silent. _Fiora—she's taking it all on her own._

_Heh, she really is a softie underneath all that toughness._

"Can you take me to her?" I asked.

"Of course." She smiled. "Feel free to chat all you want with her. I'll make sure no one interrupts you two." She winked. What? She thinks we'll get all lovey dovey there? Ha, fat chance! Even if she tries to tempt me with her body, I will resist! I’m loyal to Sherry after all!

“Also, one more thing.” She suddenly stopped, turning around to face me.

_Wait, is it just me or her expression suddenly gets a lot scarier?_

“You’re Hugo Greenwood, aren’t you? The son of the family responsible for Vera Marjoram’s assasination?”

_...Oh crapbaskets._


	82. The Princess Grows To Be Less Stubborn

“The Greenwood Family… the people responsible for Vera’s death… I have heard all about it, you know,” the Grand Priestess smirked. “We of the Church kept quite the close eye on the Magocracy’s activities after all. One day, they appeared out of nowhere, climbing the icy mountain where Vera resided, and then killed her in cold blood. Two of them fell in her hands, but the remaining two still survived, and now had become fugitives. We didn’t know where they went though, but we knew that one of them was a young boy, just like you. And thanks to the report of one of the merchant ships being used by a stowaway, who brazenly tore open a hole on its side and close it back with magic, we knew that it could only be the work of a skilled mage.

I gulped. I instinctively started to reach out from my wand and sword.

“And now you’re here—another boy with an amazing talent in magic. Could it be just a coincidence, I wonder?” She smirked.

“Y-yeah, it totally is. I have no idea who this Hugo Greenwood is. I’m Charles Pendleton, son of a noble in Frastelleren. I am just this talented with magic, you see, which is why I got recruited by Your Imperial Highness.” I faked a sheepish grin.

“I’m sorry, but there are no noble houses named Pendleton in Frastelleren.” Her smirk grew wider. “Come on, just admit it. It’s not like I will eat you for it or anything. The Magocracy is the enemy of the Church after all.”

I sighed. There really is no wiggling my way out of this situation, I suppose.

“Fine. I admit it. I am Hugo Greenwood,” I replied.

“There we go! Now we can have a proper talk. That’s why I brought you all the way out here by the way. Just so no one could eavesdrop on our little conversation.”

“So, what do you want?” I put my hands inside my pocket, putting on a frown (I was just acting cool here). “If you think I’m going to work for you, then you’re mistaken. I have somewhere I need to go, and me being a bodyguard to the Imperial Princess like this is just a side gig I took in since we are heading in the same direction.”

“I see.” Her smirk didn’t disappear. “Well, certainly, you would be an asset to the Church if we could get you to join. But honestly, free spirits like you shouldn’t bother. Too many rules and all that.”

_Huh, so she’s not going to threaten me to be the Church’s lackey or anything? Well, I guess it’s not so surprising, considering her easy going personality so far._

"So, where are you heading to?" She continued to smirk. "If you're getting as far away from the Magocracy as possible, then I guess you'd be heading north. Or perhaps you'd even decide to go to the Demon Continent. With how strong you are, you'd probably be alright there."

"Do I have to tell you that?" I replied defiantly, crossing my arms. "I would really rather not tell my business to anyone I just met."

_I say that yet her guess is pretty much correct. Not going to tell her about Sherry though._

"Not really. Just curious, that's all," she replied nonchalantly. "Though I have to say, for a young boy, you're certainly more mature than you look." I couldn't help but puff my chest a little from this comment. "Are you sure you're not a dwarf or a hobbit or just a really youthful-looking and short adult?"

Now that, I took offense from.

"Feel free to think about me anyway you want," I huffed. "I'm not telling you anything else. I'm a fugitive, remember? I'd rather throw my old identity away if I could."

"Alright, alright." She chuckled. "But let me give you one advice." She raised one finger. "If in the future, you become even stronger, and I suspect that you would, seeing how diligently you train every day, then sooner or later, trouble would surely find you again. I wouldn't ask how or why your family decided to kill Vera, but if I had to guess, she probably bothered you first. And people like her are many in this world. They would want to use your strength for their own purposes, and if you don't comply, they would eliminate you as a threat."

"Then I would just have to get even stronger," I replied with a grim look.

"Hmm, you would have to be really, really strong for that to work though. Stronger than me for starters. So strong that you're like a force of nature, with no one being able to stop you, making you able to do anything you wish, even to impose your will on the world itself." She looked away from me, staring at the setting sun on the horizon. "I am nowhere near that level. That's why I am unable to change this world the way I want it to be. And if I am not strong enough, then that little girl isn't strong enough either. And I want her to recognize that fact."

"Another reason to put some humility into her, huh?" I commented with a smile, looking at the same scenery as her. It was surprisingly beautiful, with it's golden reddish tint as it dyed the clouds around in.

"That way of thinking is kinda for demons though. To rule over everything with strength. That's why their Demon Lords are so strong. They have to be, unlike human kings and queens who could afford to be weak."

I raised my eyebrows. I've read about them. They were the de facto rulers of the Demon Continent. They were quite different from human rulers though in how they ruled. They say demons barely had any government, even though they still had cities and towns and the like. I wouldn't know how that would work. Maybe like an anarchist society, where if you want to rule, you just beat up the current ruler? Might makes right and all that?

"And what do you think us humans should think?” I asked, out of curiosity.

She didn’t respond. Instead, she just smiled and patted my head.

“Well, now that's all cleared up, let's go back, shall we?"

And with that non-answer, she decided to end our conversation.

\-------------

As promised, she took me to where Fiora was doing her training. It turned out to be the small shack located at the corner of the temple complex. It was so small and insignificant that I didn’t even notice it being there until she took me to it.

“She’s inside.” She told me when we stood in front of its door. “This was actually my private training chamber and I decided to lend it to her. Now, don’t get carried away, you hear me?” She grinned before pushing me forward. _Hey, like I said, I have no plans to do that kind of stuff with her!_

I opened the door and entered, realizing that it was pitch black inside. _She’s seriously training in a place like this?_

"Who is that?" A sharp voice spoke from the darkness. "Ah, it's you, Hugo."

"Wait, how could you tell?"

"Your presence."

_My presence?! What is this, a shonen manga?_

_Oh, right, this is a fantasy world with superhuman abilities. It wouldn't be odd in the slightest._

"How did you know I'm here?" She spoke again.

"The Grand Priestess told me."

"Hmph, so she sent you to have a talk with me. Fine. Let's talk."

I then heard a light movement downwards. She must have sat down.

"Oh, don't light up the place. Let's talk in the dark like this."

I raised my eyebrows. But I decided to just let her have her way. I sat down as well, cross-legged.

"Why are you training in the dark like this?" I began the conversation.

"Sharpening my senses. I need to be able to see an attack coming without actually seeing it," was her answer. "How about your training? Cut that boulder yet?"

"Nope. I chipped my sword though," I chuckled.

"That's because you don't put enough aura into it. You have to strike without hesitation—full strength from the start. Slash like you're going to take your enemy's life."

"I know that," I pouted. "I'll try again tomorrow."

"Good. It's the first step for you to reach the next level of your training."

_Sniff_

_Sniff sniff_

"Hey," I grinned. "It smells like sweat here. Your sweat, I presume?"

"If you don't sweat when you train, then you haven't been training at all," was her deadpan reply.

_Heh, I wonder if she's embarrassed being all sweaty right now, which is why she wants to keep the room dark. She might be a full-blown tomboy, but she's still a girl and a princess at that._

_Of course, using my magic, I had cleaned myself off my own sweat._

"So," I decided to stop beating around the bush and started right away. "I heard you challenged the Grand Priestess to a fight."

"She told you about it, huh? I won't deny it. I did indeed challenge her to a fight. Didn't win, as you should have known already. She's just too strong for me."

"Ha, I guess even the invincible princess has her limits," I replied with a grin.

"Hmph, maybe you should challenge her to a fight next."

"I'll pass. I don't fight people for no reason."

Silence fell between us for a few moments before I continued.

"You know, you really should learn to rely on others more."

"Hmm? Explain," she replied.

"You challenged the Grand Priestess because you don't want Nicole to be involved with your problem, didn't you? And yet you kept it all from me and her and probably even Helen."

"It was something only I could do," she answered. "I have to make that woman give me the respect that I deserve."

"Then apologize to her. She'll respect you more if you start being more humble, you know."

"Ha! I won't! Not after she insulted my dream like that."

I sighed. Her immaturity really is showing right now.

"You know, I share your dream as well. I do prefer slavery to be forbidden and for the citizens to prosper and be more equal. I've seen them, you know. The poor. A little girl died in my embrace when Nicole and I tried to heal her. But there was nothing we could do. She was just too weak from her malnourishment. Her ribcage was showing. She must have starved for many days."

Fiora didn't reply immediately. Perhaps she was taken aback by my statement.

“How did Nicole react?” she finally spoke.

“She gave her prayers, hoping that the little girl would enter Andalucia once she departed for the next life.”

“Hmph, it’s just like her. She accepts the misfortune of this world so readily, that girl. I suppose that’s also why she doesn’t want to join me either. But how about you? Since you seem to think alike with me, why did you refuse to join me as well?”

“I already told you. All I want is a peaceful life. I've had enough being involved with big problems like yours. Do you know how hard it is to do your plan?" I sighed. "And besides, I can't repricrocate your feelings either. You like me, but I already have Sherry."

"Hoo? You think I'm fond of you in that way?"

"Oh stop denying it. You kissed me and you touched me down there as well. If you don't actually like me, then you must be merely seducing me for my strength. And I don't think your pride will allow you to stoop that low."

And then, she giggled.

"Fine. I admit it. I am fond of you, boy. I want someone like you by my side. I am fond of our interactions together. I don't know if I would call it love however. I don't know what love is like, other than madness that infects your brain and makes you lose all reason. My mother loved my father, and look where that got her. Straight to her death. No, I have no need for love."

Her tone was so full of bitterness that I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I myself am a foolish romantic that still believes, or at least _wants_ to believe, that true love exists. At the very least, I know it exists in this world. I have Sherry after all.

"And that's why I am completely 100% faithful to Sherry," I replied. "Because I know she loves me genuinely, and I want to love her back. I won't abandon her, no matter how much you might tempt me to do so. And that's what you want from a man, don't you? Loyalty?" I smiled.

"Hmph, don't flatter yourself," she retorted harshly. "You're the kind of guy that would attract many girls to him in the future. I doubt you'll be able to stay loyal to your first love. Especially since you're just a pair of brats when you declared your supposedly undying love with each other."

My smile turned into a grin. "Is that jealously I hear? Are you perhaps including yourself in the list of girls that would be attracted to me? Well, just so you know," I put on my teasing tone here. "I much prefer girls who are more graceful and less haughty. Sherry is somewhat of a tomboy, like you, but she's also sweet and caring. If you budge a little towards that direction, perhaps I would consider being your ally.”

“Then I suggest you become my older sister’s knight instead.”

_Whoa, that’s even more bitter than before!_

“If you want a beautiful and graceful princess, then she fits the bill perfectly. They say she’s the most beautiful woman in the capital, or even in the entire Holy Empire. And since you’re also a pervert, you’ll get along perfectly with her.”

_Yep, she’s jealous alright._

“No need to get mad. I'm just telling the truth," I continued my teasing voice. "And besides, I think it would be good for you to be less tough, you know, if you're going to be an empress some day. Charisma. Every leader needs that to be good at their role. I want you to be an empress that would be loved by your people, not feared by them," I spoke with a smile.

Silence. Was she out of words for a retort?

"Then, perhaps it would be better if my older siblings took the throne instead."

…

"That's it. I have enough of you being all mopey. You knocked me out of my stupidity and now I'm going to knock you out of yours too." I stood up with a frown on my face. "I'll tell it straight away. The way you are right now, you'll never be the empress that you want. Transform yourself. Be a better person. Like I'm doing right now. I want to stop being a crybaby and be a real man that can protect those I care about. That's my dream and I'm doing everything I can to achieve it. That's why I tolerate your attitude all this time, because I want to be stronger under your tutelage.” I took a deep breath before continuing.

“And yet, you can’t lower down your ego for a bit? I know you’re smart enough to realize that without any detailed plans for what to do after you take the throne, you would only end up destroying the Empire. And I know that it’s not what your mother would want. She wants you to be a good empress that would make your people happy and prosperous, just like you say you want to. So stop being so haughty and realize your own weakness. Start from that annoying grin of yours.”

I finished my rant, waiting for her response from the dark.

"...Hugo Greenwood. You are already this wise even though you're still so young. You really are a unique existence, suited to become the life partner of the future Holy Empress." _Wait, did she just call me with my—_ "Oof!"

Suddenly, I felt two hands pushing me to the ground, before wrapping their arms all around my waist. 

Once again, Fiora was on top of me—her sweaty scent permeating my nostrils

“It’s truly a shame... for you to be taken already..” Oh God, she’s starting to rub me again down there! “But that is fine, for I shall prove to you that I am worthy of your aid once the time comes.” And her breath! She’s whispering so lewdly in my right ear! “I shall polish and transform myself to become a worthy empress, and a woman deserving of your affection. Tell that Sherry of yours to be careful, for if she doesn’t treat you right, she might just find her lover being stolen away from her.”

And then, she stood up. The last words I heard from her were “I shall apologize tomorrow to the Grand Priestess. But for tonight, let me be on my own here. Please return to our room, Hugo.”

_T-this girl… she’s too good at her seduction moves for one supposedly so arrogant and prideful!_

I did as she ordered, leaving with a fresh new tent on my robe, making me awkwardly walk back with two hands on the front.

We had our dinner without Fiora, with Helen saying that she would take her food to her, as usual. The two didn’t return until Nicole and I already fell asleep. _They probably took a private bath together, knowing how sweaty Fiora was._

\------------

The next morning, the Grand Priestess summoned us to the meeting room once again.

And without hesitation, Fiora stepped forward, curtsied while bowing her head, and said, “Please forgive me, Lady Silvermoon. I had acted terribly the other day. Instead of heeding your wisdom, I instead threw a tantrum unbefitting of my position as the Second Imperial Princess.” She said it with such elegance that it didn’t make her look pathetic in the slightest. Instead, she only shone, as I saw a new side of her that I had never seen before—the elegant, truly princess-like side.

“Good,” the Grand Priestess smiled. “I see your retainers finally got through you. And to think they didn’t need a whole week to do it too. Impressive. Who managed to pierce your hard heart, if I might ask?”

She gave a glance towards me, but said, “It was Nicole Blanchimont, Your Holiness.”

“What? That’s not true, Your Holiness!” The cleric immediately protested. “Sure, I’ve tried myself to talk to her, but I wasn’t the one who turned her around. It was all—”

“Shh, that’s fine, Nicole. That’s fine,” the Grand Priestess interrupted her. “I am satisfied by your performance as well. And your honesty. Fiora already told me everything, about how you pleaded with her all teary-eyed to not be consumed by her desire for vengeance. It is all I ask from you. The words of the Saint couldn’t possibly reach anyone. What’s important is a pure and honest heart to transmit them to the people. And I believe you possess both.” She smiled, patting her on the shoulder. “So congratulations. You are one step closer in becoming a High Priestess.”

Nicole’s eyes opened and brightened, going as wide and sparkly as much as they possibly could. “Oh thank you so much, Your Holiness! I swear I will not disappoint your expectations!”

The Grand Priestess then turned back to Fiora and said, “As for you, Imperial Princess, I shall lend you my support as well. The way you are now, I trust you have the capability to grow to be a wise ruler, one that doesn’t just rule by the sword.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Holiness.” She bowed and curtsied again. Unlike Nicole, her expression remained completely neutral. But I know deep inside, she must be happy as well.

I smiled as well, seeing that everything was finally settled, and that we could resume our journey at last.


	83. Marina’s Side — Duskglow Plains

**Marina**

We departed Glinda’s residence in the morning, leaving Ortessa promptly from the northwestern gate. The maids had already prepared our supplies, so there was no need for us to make a trip to the shops in town.

My discussion with the court mage was more fruitful than I imagined. She gave me her personal notes on magic, knowledge she had to research herself, as the Academy didn’t teach it to her. Of course, she asked for something in exchange, and that is, the grimoires I stole off Vera’s library. I gave them readily, as I had taken care to copy them word by word every time I got the chance to do so. Like true mages, we exchanged knowledge for knowledge.

My first goal? To be able to perform Dual Casting, just like Vera did.

Unlike what they taught you in the Academy, you could learn how to Dual Cast. You didn’t necessarily need to be born a special genius to do it. However, it wasn’t easy, as Glinda warned. It took her years to be able to do it.

It made sense that the Academy would cover that fact up. You essentially would double the power of a mage if he or she learned Double Casting, the ability to cast two spells at once.

Skimming through her notes on the subject, it seemed the core of being able to do so was the ability to split your thoughts into two, which, naturally, was a really difficult thing to do. You would need to maintain equal focus on both spells, while at the same time, paying attention to the battlefield as well. It was a herculean feat. No wonder so little mages were able to reach that level of expertise.

I have no doubt the rest of the Council is already able to do it though, which is all the more reason why I should learn it as well.

We first went through the northwestern provinces of Marchen, before crossing over to the border into the so-called Duskglow Plains. It was mostly an easy journey, with only the occasional monsters and bandits trying to attack us, thinking we were easy prey. 

Well, we weren’t. Not in the slightest. In fact, they proved to be good training practice for me who was trying out new things with my spell. I needed to innovate if I were to be better at a fight.

After around three weeks on the road, we finally reached the border. There was a fortress there, along with a wall that prevented travelers from just going around it if they wished to reach the other side. I showed them the papers Glinda made for me, and they let me through without any problem. She was nice enough to make me a fake identity, along with Erika.

Going through said fortress, stumbling out on the other side, we were finally at the Plains at last—a no civilization zone between Marchen and Tolany, the kingdom on the other side.

Starting from here, I had to be vigilant. The monsters would be much stronger and if I were to be ambushed, Erika and I could very well die at their hands.

And I couldn’t let that happen. I had promised myself that we would reunite with Hugo, no matter how long it would take.

The way the Plains worked was simple. At night, the unique grasses and small plants there would glow, and that glow would attract monsters. That means the wisest way to travel was to stop at night and prepare for monsters to attack.

I could burn the glowing plants to be sure but I doubt it would do anything other than attract even more monsters. The creatures here seemed to be attracted to light instead of being afraid of it, like most nocturnal monsters.

Since I couldn’t have Erika in watch duty, given how young she was, that meant I would have to remain awake for the entire night, taking my sleep in the morning instead.

And I had to do that for who knows how many days it would take to traverse this place.

_Taking the southern route would still be longer though… I’ll just have to brave it._

“Uwaaaa, such a huge plains! I can’t see the end at all!” Erika shouted as we left the border fortress. She was currently sitting on my lap—her eyes sparkling with joy as she took in the sight of her surroundings.

I smiled. She had been so much more cheerful lately, that I felt the old Erika already returned. It had been around two months since I brought the bad news after all.

Erika’s a strong child. She wouldn’t mope around forever. I know that for a fact.

Oh, by the way, there wouldn’t be any villages we could stop by while we were in the middle of the plains. It’s a non-habitable zone after all. There are many like it in the world—wilderness where human habitation hadn’t really reached. The strong monsters and the sheer amount of them were a big part for sure.

We rode like that through the plains, and soon enough, Erika’s joy was replaced by boredom, as she realized the scenery wasn’t changing in the slightest. There really was nothing out here, not even monsters. I suppose they would only come out in the night.

She went back inside to sleep, while I continued driving the carriage. And after she had her afternoon nap, she would read one of the many story books Glinda had generously given to her. I didn’t know where she got them though. Maybe she bought them, or maybe she just had them lying around in her library.

When the sun fell, it was time for us to set up camp—for our first night here in the Plains.

“Sis! Look! The flowers are glowing!” Erika shouted.

Sure enough, the moment the sun vanished behind the mountains, the plains immediately lit up.

“It’s so beautiful!”

Her jaw was pretty much wide open, as the sight completely took her by surprise. I smiled, as I too appreciated the sight. It really would make a good camping site, if not for the dangerous monsters.

There weren’t any trees around to make firewood. Thankfully, I am skilled in Earth magic, so producing a couple of logs to burn was not a problem for me in the slightest.

"O power that lay hidden beneath the Earth! Hear my plea! Grant me the blessings and bounties of nature, so that I might shake this very world with your manifestation! Yggdrasil!”

I cast my Master-level Earth spell, conjuring a giant tree that stood tall in the middle of our campsite. Thanks to my training, I now managed to cast it with a truncated version of the original chant. Not quite chantless yet, but it’s getting there.

I wasn’t creating it just to create wooden logs however. It was an autonomous spell, and it could last for the entire night. I could set it so it acted like a sentry, warning me when there were monsters approaching.

I had our humble dinner with Erika, eating the salted meat we had purchased before we got here. There should be enough to last until we reach the next city, but if push came to shove, I could just hunt some monsters here and cook their meat for food.

Thankfully, Erika no longer complained about the bland-tasting journey food we had. I knew it wasn’t the best—far from Mother’s cookings, but that’s just how travelers would eat. They wouldn’t be able to eat delicious food every day, even if they had the coins to spare.

After dinner, I sent Erika to sleep quickly. And then…

“Transformation Magic! Dryad!”

A bright green light shone, enveloping my body. When the light dimmed, I was no longer the human girl I once was before. I was a dryad girl, green-haired and completely naked, with wooden skin.

At this state, my magic capability was severely limited, as I would only be able to use the magic a dryad could use as well. However, it fit well enough for my purpose, that is, to become a watchman for the night.

Facing my back towards the giant tree, I grew a pair of long roots from my back, attaching it to the massive trunk. I then lifted myself backwards, letting myself join with the giant tree.

This is my combination ability that I developed. Using this method, I could gain full control of the giant tree, and I could stay on my dryad form indefinitely, as Ygdrassil would absorb mana from the soil and feed it into me.

I suppose one could call this my “Mother Tree” form.

This way, I could remain in a state of half-sleep like a plant. I would still recover my strength, but at the same time, I would keep my alertness.

It’s unfortunate that this technique could only be used in fertile lands with wide open spaces however.

I remained in this state for a good while, maybe for about a few hours, before I sensed them—monsters approaching towards our location. Using Yggdrasil, combined with my natural ability granted by my dryad transformation, I could utilize the shining plants and grasses nearby as part of my senses.

_There are forty of them. Judging by their steps, they seem to be a pack of wolves of some sort._

I knew they would not be ordinary wolves however. I already researched this place beforehand by the encyclopedia given to me by Glinda, and I knew that these wolf-like creatures were actually a pack of Werewolves—B-rank monsters that were much more powerful than ordinary wolves. They would assume wolf form at first, only to turn into their humanoid form once the prey let their guard down.

_Ygdrassil, protect the tent and the carriage._

The tree immediately obeyed, covering the two objects entirely using its thick and sturdy roots, guaranteeing that no harm would ever come to them. The horse naturally panicked, but the roots also ensured that it stayed still, by wrapping themselves around its body and the wheels of the carriage.

_Now, it is time for me to fight._

I reverted the transformation spell and released myself from the tree. It would be easier for me to fight in my human form than in my dryad form, as I had yet to reach the so-called “hybrid” transformation where you could both get attributes from the creature you were transforming and to be able to cast magic as well.

And then, I summoned them all—my three summons.

(High) Flower Fairy, Dryad, and Owlbear.

"All of you. Prepare yourselves. We're going to fight a pack of werewolves."

"Aye aye, Miss!" The fairy and dryad replied simultaneously, while the owlbear simply roared.

And then, they came.

"Yggdrasil! Assume defensive posture!"

The tree obeyed, and it created a wall of thorns from the ground that surrounded us in a circle. Some of the wolves were caught in them, but others managed to leap over them, transforming into their humanoid forms in mid-air.

"O spirits of ice! Grant me your strength!”

I started my chant—the spell I learned from Vera’s grimoires. The werewolves immediately went towards me, but thanks to the work of my summons as well as the tree, they couldn’t get close to me. Not in the slightest.

“Envelop my enemies with your cold embrace! Wrap them in ice and snow and deliver to them a freezing grave! Shatter them and break them like the foolish beings they are! Cold Nova!"

And then, I blasted it, the Master-level Ice spell. In groups I froze them all with my spell, as it was a channeling-type. No need for me to turn it off as long as I still had enough mana and as long as I was still out of their melee range.

Using that spell, all forty of them were frozen solid, leaving the cleanup by the tree branches smashing them one by one extremely easy.

_I guess I’m finally branching out to other elements._

After the battle was over, I thanked my summons, gave them their payment, and sent them away. But not before telling them about something that I already had in mind for quite some time, ever since my meeting with Glinda.

“All three of you.” I spoke to them with a serious look. “I have a request to make.”

“Ooh, a request?” The dryad smiled with joy and curiosity. “What else can I possibly do for you, mistress?” The fairy spoke next.

“I wish to turn our relationship to a permanent one. That is to say, I wish to make you all three be my familiars.”

“...Eh?” It took the dryad by surprise.

“F-familiar?” The fairy spoke next.

“Roaaarrr!” Even the owlbear was obligated to comment.

“I need to obtain greater power as a mage.” I continued. “And one way to do that is to bind you three with my own soul. You would be able to manifest fully, reaching greater heights as my summons. I know I am asking a lot, as you would be stuck with me until the day I die, but it is what I want.”

The three looked at each other, unsure and confused. Even the owlbear whimpered.

“That is fine.” I smiled. “You don’t have to answer right now. I simply would like to tell you what my selfish desire is upfront. You are dismissed.”

The three then disappeared, leaving me on my own once more.

_This is the first part of reaching the next heights of summoning magic—to be upfront with it with your summons. Glinda’s notes taught me this as well._

Using this method, we journeyed across the plains day by day, with me fighting a horde of monsters every night with Ygdrrasil and my summons. And it wasn’t just one wave of monsters every night. The average was around three, going up to five at one night. Thankfully, my Ygdrassil also allowed me to recharge my mana, so there was no fear of me running out of spells before dawn came.

The monsters I fought off weren't just werewolves. There were also carnivorous flowers, masquerading themselves as ordinary ones that would uproot once we got close. There were also giant ants, complete with their even bigger queen. Since an encounter with them meant we would have to fight off an entire colony, not just one or two ants, the rank given to them as a collective was A-rank. They were still no match for my Frost Nova after all. I'm glad I decided to learn it, even though I would be doing so using Vera's books.

In the end, it took us only six days to traverse the whole place, before we reached the border fortress at the other end. And my dryad actually evolved into a Lady Dryad in the process. Only the owlbear remained unevolved, but it's already strong enough at it is, at least for now.

We were entering the kingdom of Tolany at last. I showed my papers once again, and we were let through without a hitch.

\---------------

From what I had read of Tolany, it was just another small kingdom in the continent, even smaller than Marchen. We would only be going through it, stopping at its capital, Mosa, as it was located near its northern borders. Not all kingdoms necessarily had their capitals right in the middle of their territory. It all depended on how strategic the location where said capital was located. Mosa was built right in the four way intersection that led to the west, east, north, and south. So it was a really good location to build a merchant city.

In total, it took us a month and a week to get there from Ortessa. A satisfactory rate, if I do say so myself.

Mosa was another walled city, located in the middle of a rocky terrain that didn’t really allow farming and the like. So it thrived only from the trades that went through it.

We were immediately greeted by what looked like a bazaar the moment we entered the city. I had to carefully drive our carriage through the crowd, taking care not to trample anyone in our path.

“Woah, there’s so many people around, Sis!” Erika smiled. She was now sitting beside me on the driver seat, as she liked to do everytime we moved into a different area.

I smiled, but at the same time, I had to warm her as well. "Listen, Erika. Never leave my side while we're in this city, alright? If you get lost, then it would be hard for Big Sis to find you."

"Don't worry, Sis!" She returned with her own smile. "I'll make sure to stay close with you all the time!" She hugged me and giggled, making me giggle as well.

That joyous moment however, soon vanished into the wind, as an unpleasant sight was displayed to our very eyes.

"Come! Come! Take a look at our merchandise! We got a tiger beastman here, perfect for your manual labor needs! And we also have a rabbit beastwoman. With her fluffy ears and tails, she would surely be a good sleeping companion for any gentlemen out there. And last but not least, a young dwarf girl, fresh from the mountains! She nobly gave herself to us to save her poor parents from hunger and need! Isn't it just wonderful? Doesn't her plight touch your hearts? But if her sad story isn't enough, let me tell you that this dwarf is very skilled with her fingers—carpentry, stonemasonry, even crafting jewelry—she could do it all!"

It was a slave auction. Three people were placed on display on a podium, with chains and collars on their bodies. A pair of adult beastkin, and a dwarven little girl. They were all topless, even the latter, with their skin oiled to make them look more attractive. I knew however from just the way they looked how miserable they must have been. Their traders weren’t the kind to treat their slaves well, it seemed. The man who was speaking was also a nonhuman, a foxkin to be exact. I would say it’s ironic that he’s selling his own kind, but we all know that humans also sell other humans as slaves. Around him were a number of scary-looking men, no doubt acting as the auction’s guards. Even if the slaves still had any wills to escape, they would be cut down immediately the moment they tried doing so.

“Sis, that’s—”

“Don’t look, Erika. Don’t look.”

I brought her closer to me and covered her eyes with one hand, while I kept trudging on the carriage through the crowd.

If there was one thing I could praise the Magocracy for, was that you couldn’t find a sight like these in their cities.

The carriage slowly moved as the auction began. The two beastkin slaves were quickly sold off—5 gold coins for the man and 10 gold coins for the woman, but it seemed no one was interested in the dwarf girl. As I left the scene, I could only hope that someone kind would purchase her. 

_To think that a parent would sell their own child like that... If I had been in their position, I would rather starve to death than doing something unthinkably cruel._

With those grim thoughts, we moved on into the residential district, looking for an inn to stay.


	84. Marina’s Side — The Bazaar

We rested in the modest-sized inn that we had chosen. As long as the place looked respectable and clean enough, I wouldn’t bother seeking for a better one. We still had a decent chunk of our money left, but it didn’t mean we could just splurge on useless expenditures. 

After we had our lunch, we decided to return back to the bazaar from before, as we did need to restock our supplies. Well, originally, I was planning to go on my own, but Erika insisted that she wanted to go to the bazaar as well. 

"No, Sis, I wanna go! I wanna go see the bazaar!"

"Erika, it's too dangerous for a small child like you to be there in the crowd," I responded, bending my knees to be more of an eye level with her.

"Nooo! I wanna gooo!"

I sighed. She now started to yell and cry.

"All right, we can go together." I smiled, patting her head. "But in one condition." I put on my serious expression back. "Never let go of my hand, alright?"

"Yaay! Alright, Sis!" She smiled as she hugged my right arm.

_Well, it might be safer for her to be with me than to be left alone at the inn._

\------

Returning back to the bazaar, I took care not to be separated, holding her hand firmly at all times. I also made sure to be wary of thieves and pickpockets that would surely populate such a place.

Of course, I steered well away from the clearing where that slave auction was before. I didn't know whether it already ended or not, so I wouldn't take my chances.

"Sis! Sis! Look! What are those?" Erika shouted as she pointed towards our left.

_Hmm?_

I followed her direction and saw a stall, selling what looked like a row of oddly shaped figures made out of clay.

_Hmm, that's… those are actually figures of monsters, aren't they?_

"Sis! I wanna see it closer!!" She pulled my hand.

"Alright, alright, calm down." I smiled. When she's cheerful like this, my heart lightens up immediately.

We approached the stall closer, and we were greeted by who looked like a middle-aged gnome. To be honest, I didn't really get the best impression of him. The way he grinned with his two missing yellow teeth, one above and another below at different spots, it really made me be wary of him.

"Oh? What's this? Young lady is interested in my miniature statues?" He continued to grin.

"I wanna this one!"

She pointed towards the clay doll shaped like a dragon. Huh. I thought she would prefer cuter things.

"How much?" I asked the shopkeeper right away.

"Oh, a mere 1 gold, miss," he replied.

"That's far too expensive, don't you think?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh, don't mistake my statues to mere ordinary clay figures, miss. They are enchanted, you see—to move on their own as if they were the real thing. Watch!"

He then took one of the figurines—a bat one—and tapped it on the head three times in a row.

"Screech!"

Immediately it came to life, just like he had told. It flew around him, almost like a real bat, before landing back on top of his hand.

_True enough. I could sense the presence of mana inside each and every one of them. So they're definitely not fake. However…_

"5 silver coins." I narrowed my eyes again. "Sure, these miniature statues could move, but if I have to guess, they could only move for around half an hour at best."

"N-no, Miss! You got it all wrong! I assure you! These dolls could move for a long time!"

The shopkeeper now visibly sweated. He certainly didn't expect me to hit the jackpot right away.

"I am not a fool." I continued. "I could tell that the mana stored inside wouldn't last for long. So five silver coins. Take it or leave it."

The shopkeeper bit his lip, looked away, tapped his fingers on the counter, before replying, "Fine. You got a deal."

I smirked. "Thank you very much."

\----

Her dragon statue in hand, Erika and I moved on to the other stalls. I immediately told her not to play with it while we were walking, and that she should conserve playing with it as much as she could since it would only come alive for a short time, which, naturally, she was displeased to hear.

"Sis, couldn't you do anything to put more Mana into it?"

"Hmm, it would be difficult," I replied. "I am not good at all in magic crafting, you see. And I don't even know if the core inside the statue is the rechargeable type."

"Core?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Ah, right, it's still too hard for you, isn't it?" I ruffled her hair. "Hmm, tell you what. If we got the opportunity, I'll buy you a book about magic crafting. Maybe after reading it, you'll be able to charge it yourself."

"Really, Sis?" She brightened. "Then I'll study hard and do it myself! I can't let you do everything all the time after all!"

I chuckled. _Oh Erika. You really are too precious. I doubt even if I buy you the simplest magic crafting book, you'd be able to do it right now though. Maybe a few years down the road when you're older._

_And seeing you like this, it really reminds me of Hugo when he's about your age. You really are his little sister after all._

_If only I can make you forgive him…_

Indeed. Even after all this time, if I brought up his name, her expression would promptly sour and she would immediately badmouth him. If I tried to correct her, she would get angry with me as well.

_I really shouldn’t have teased him with my panties back then. Really, what was I thinking? Of course it would make him look like a pervert. Maybe Erika would be willing to forgive him more readily if she doesn’t think of him as one._

_I was such an impulsive fool…_

\------

Before we knew it, our visit, which was supposed to be just an expedition to stock up on supplies, turned into a full-blown trek through the bazaar. There were just so many interesting things around that we couldn’t resist. Well, mostly Erika, but even I was starting to enjoy it as well. It’s a nice change from the constant traveling we had done on the road, just looking at the lonely road ahead of us.

I ended up purchasing a couple more things for Erika, and even some for me as well. For her, it's just more magical toys, but for me, I bought some books, mostly related to plants. Their knowledge could aid me in enhancing my Yggdrasil.

We eventually moved into the agriculture section of the bazaar, where various farmers and gardeners were selling their produce to the public.

_Ah, that’s right. It’s spring already, isn’t it? For them to hold a bazaar at the beginning of spring wouldn’t be odd in the slightest. Winter leaving is always a reason to celebrate after all._

“Sis, let’s go somewhere else… it’s boring here…” Erika complained once she realized that the only thing she would be looking at here were plants, plants, and more plants. Like a normal kid, she never liked her vegetables. Unlike Hugo, who readily ate whatever vegetable Mother served on his plate. With Mother gone, it was now up to me to make sure that she had the healthy and balanced diet she desperately needed as a growing girl. The key to that was simply one word—balance. She needed to have a balanced amount on all categories of food in her meals. Too much meat would make her fat, while too little meat would make her weak. Vegetables were the same way. Thankfully, I had enough money in my wallet to ensure that. Well, as long as we aren’t in some wilderness like back in the Plains, that is.

“Sorry, Erika.” I smiled. “Your Big Sis needs to buy something here first.”

That something was plant seeds. Not because I wanted to plant them or anything, but because I could analyze them so I could use the plants they were from as part of my magic arsenal. If I could know the structure of the seeds, I could replicate it using my magic. So I wouldn’t just be stuck with growing simple vines or roots or thorns. I could move on to more complicated plants. I could grow them in conjunction with Yggdrasil as well.

Eventually, I found the stall that I wanted—a stall that displayed strange and exotic plants. It was noticeably more spacious than the other stalls, to the point that a crowd could gather in front of it. The owner was apparently doing an auction on a series of rare seeds that she had.

_Yep, just as I expected. She's an elf._

Elves tend to be the race that cultivated unconventional plants humans would never dream of growing themselves. Most human farmers weren't mages, but, with their innate talent and affinity with magic, most elven farmers were mages as well, and they would use their magic to plant and grow wondrous magic plants.

_And now I know why she attracts so many people._

She was breathtakingly beautiful, with long and flowing green locks and emerald eyes that drew you in with their depths. Her body was no slouch either, and whether or not she was conscious in her attire decision, her dress flattered her assets a lot, particularly the pair of mountains on her chest.

_Elves… the beautiful, long-lived race. The latter is especially true for the pure-blooded amongst them. High Elves, they were called. Supposedly those folks can live for a thousand years and even more._

Beside her were a pair of two muscled men with swords sheathed on their hips. Bodyguards. A wise choice, in case of any perverts who would try to assail her. With such beauty, there’s no way there weren’t any men who were interested in doing such things to her.

“For our next seed, let me introduce you all to the wonderful world of Blessed Shrubs! If you plant it in your fields, it would increase the fertility of your soil by two-fold, guaranteed! Just make sure you water them regularly or else they'll poison the land instead!"

The farmers who gathered all grumbled to themselves, unsure whether they should take the risk or not. Others just stared at her like deers in the headlight, clearly more interested in her looks than the goods she had to sell.

"Alright! We'll begin from the low low price of 1 gold coin per one dharm of seeds!"

_One gold coin for one dharm? That's pretty expensive. For seeds, you should only get around a small pouch worth of them._

Just as I feared, no one raised their hand. For these folks who certainly didn't look rich in the slightest, the price was too much for them.

_In the end, they're probably only here to ogle her._

"No one? No one is interested once again?" The elf looked around with an exasperated look.

"It's too expensive, Missy!" One of the farmers yelled with a grin. "Drop it to one silver then we'll talk!"

"Or, I'll give you one gold if you're also willing to plant my seed in you, gyahahaha!" Another spoke up with his crude joke.

Hearing her sad expression almost made me raise my hand. But I stopped myself. I had no need for that kind of seed for fighting.

"W-well, since no one seems interested, let's move on to the next item on the list, shall we?"

"Sell me your body, Miss Elf!"

I sighed. _Why can't there be more gentlemen in this world? I won't even mind if they're a little perverted like Hugo. Just don’t shamelessly yell your perversion in public like this._

Erika suddenly tugged at my hand. “Sis, what did he just yell? I don’t understand. Why are they all cheering at her?”

“Oh, i-it’s nothing,” I quickly replied with a smile. “Don’t think about it.” _Erika’s too young and too innocent for me to explain that kind of stuff._

_...Now that I think about it, should she even be here amongst this rowdy crowd? I really want to buy any interesting seeds that she has to offer, but if that means Erika has to stand around here for a long time..._

“Sis, are you interested in the stuff she’s selling?” she asked.

“Hmm? Well,” I smiled again, bending down to look at her in the eye. “I suppose I am. I’m an Earth mage that specializes in plant-based spells, so naturally I’m interested in all sorts of magic plants as well.”

“Then, don’t mind me, Sis! Buy whatever you want!” She returned my smile with an even brighter one. “You’ve bought me so many things already! It’s only fair you buy some for yourself too!”

_Oh, Erika…_

“Alright then.” I ruffled her head. “Big Sis is going to stay here for a while. If you’re bored, you may play with your toys, but remember. Stay close to me at all times, alright?”

“Don’t worry, Sis!” She grinned. “I’m a big girl already, you know! You don’t have to worry about me that much!”

With that settled, I returned my attention back to the auction, where the elf had moved on to the next item—tomatoes that doubled the size of ordinary tomatoes. I sighed again. Would I actually find something use—

“Be careful! If you don’t harvest them in time and they grow too large, they would explode, throwing their razor-sharp seeds everywhere!”

_That’s it! I can use that!_

I didn't hesitate. I immediately raised my hand.

\-----

**Erika**

_Hehe, Big Sis’ eyes are all shiny all of a sudden! The stuff that elf lady sells must be really interesting to her!_

_And she starts yelling as well while raising her hand! I don’t understand what’s going on but it seems she’s really enjoying it, so I’m happy for her!_

I took out the dragon from before from my dress pocket. Tapping on its head, it immediately came to life and started walking on my palm.

_Aah, so cute! But it’s so cool as well! Dragons are cool after all!_

It then roared, but since it was so small, the roar was cute as well!

“Let’s see… I shall name you, Coco! You’re brown like chocolate and the Co part comes from Draco as well!”

It roared again. “Teehee, that’s a yes, isn’t it? Alright then, Coco! I’ll adopt you as my pet!”

_Flap flap_

"Ooh, you wanna fly, Coco? Do you need my help? Alrighty then! I'll launch you up to the sky and then you can start flying right away! On three... two… one… go!

I threw him upwards, giggling as I did.

Only for my legs to suddenly give as my vision turned pitch black.

\------

**Marina**

"Congratulations to the young lady over there! Come up here and take your seeds!"

I smiled. It ended up costing me 5 gold since there was actually someone else fighting against me in the auction, but I was ultimately satisfied in the purchase, for this would definitely provide me with better fighting capabilities once I could accommodate it into my spell.

“Alright, Erika. Let’s go to the front and get—”

She wasn’t there.

“Erika?”

I looked around. She wasn’t anywhere that I could see with my immediate sight.

My heart trembled. A chill crept behind me onto my neck.

“Erika?! Erika!”

I started yelling, ignoring completely the elven woman’s plea that I came up to her and received the pouch of seed as promised.

“Sir! Did you see a blonde little girl anywhere around? She wore a white dress and she was around three to four years old in age.”

“Huh? Ain’t see any girl like that around.”

“Nope. Did she come here with you, Missy?”

"I saw her sure. But she was with you. How should I know where she went?"

No one—not a single one knew where she currently was, or where she went.

"Erika! Erika!!! If you hear my voice, please shout back!"

No good. My voice is being drowned by the general loudness of the bazaar.

And then, I saw it—the dragon toy she had with her, flying around in a circle weakly, hovering just inches above the ground.

It soon fell, as it ran out of its stored mana.

"Gyahahahahaha!"

I looked behind me and saw the same old man who made those perverted comments from before 

"Give it up, Missy! Your little sister is gone! Once again, the phantom of the bazaar has claimed it's victim!"

"The phantom of the bazaar? What are you talking about?"

"Young girls spirited away! Disappeared into the wind! Don't tell me you haven't heard of it! They say it's a vengeful ghost, sucking the souls out of young girls, jealous of their beauty and youth!"

"A ghost? At daytime out in the open like this? Don't make me laugh!" I yelled.

"Exactly! You're a smart one, Missy!" He took a swig out of his pocket-sized canteen. "Your little girl wasn't eaten by some ghost! She's going to suffer an even worse fate! Just like my daughter when I sold her to them! Gyahahahaha!"

My eyes widened. 

Slavers. Erika had been kidnapped by slavers to make her be their merchandise.

"It's too late, Missy. When they got ya, they got ya. By now, they were probably already back in their hideout, wherever that is in this big city. Oh, and don't even bother with the town guards. Those guys are under their thumb. You'd know that if you're not some foreign traveler or adventurer or whatever."

He took another swig of his canteen. Meanwhile, my entire body was shaking as cold sweat permeated every inch of my skin.

_W-what should I—_

_What should I do?_

My legs gave. I fell to the ground, tears pooling in my eyes.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?"

Two men and a woman walked up to me, dressed in armor and wielding swords, signifying that they were most likely part of the town guard that old man just talked about. The woman was the one on the lead. She was a brunette, around middle age with a beauty mark just under her left lip.

“Oh please, Erika! My younger sister! She’s disappeared! She was just here before but after I looked away for a few moments, she had disappeared entirely!”

I didn’t hesitate. I threw my pride to the wind and crawled up to her, placing my hands on her belt as I begged her for her help.

“Another missing person case, huh?” She scratched the back of her head. “Then go to our office and make a report there. We’re just a patrol here, making sure that the bazaar went smoothly. And please don’t pull down my belt.”

“No, please! She was just here! She can’t be that far! If we search right away, then we can catch up to her!”

“Sure! Sure! Everyone says that! Even with the same tears you have! But really, we’re underfunded and undermanned as it is. So get in line with the others and wait until we can handle your case.”

She slapped my hands away before turning to leave, ordering her subordinates to continue onward.

“I beg of you! She’s the only family I have now!”

“Aah, noisy brat!”

A heavy object hit me right on my face, drawing blood out of my nose. It was her thick boot. She had kicked me in order to make me release her.

“If you can’t keep just a single little sister safe, then it’s your own damn fault. Don’t drag us into your mess.”

I could only see them leave, as if my plight meant nothing to them whatsoever. The rest of the crowds returned to their activities as well. Even the elven auctioneer continued her business like nothing had happened.

“Gyahahahahahaha! Told ya they didn’t care!”

Another swig and he quickly returned to his former holy task—ogling the elf from a distance.

_Erika... why, why must this happen? Why am I so foolish, to let my guard down like that, just because of some seeds? That guard was right. It was my own fault that she got kidnapped._

_...No. What am I doing? Why am I crying and wailing around in despair like this?_

_If no one is willing to help, then I just have to do it myself, don’t I? That’s what Hugo would do. He would save Erika right away, no matter the consequences._

_I’ll do it. There’s a way to find out where she is—this city be damned._

I stood up, wiped my tears, and steeled my resolve.

And then, I began my chant.


	85. Marina’s Side — The Dryad’s Wrath

**???**

“Let me go! Let me go, you meanie!”

_Heh, this brat surely is a lively one…_

A cloaked man stood in an abandoned alleyway, at the part of the town that no normal person would ever deign to visit on their own. To enhance the defensive capabilities of the city, in case of it being attacked or occupied by foreign forces, it was designed to be almost labyrinth-like in its structure, to confuse invaders who wouldn’t be familiar with the layout of the streets and buildings. It allowed the kingdom’s locals to mount a more effective resistance, perhaps even utilizing guerilla warfare, attacking one second and vanishing the next.

And that was exactly what this man had just performed.

He was an employer of a certain slave trading company with ties to the underworld. Or rather, the company itself rose from it. They used to be mere ordinary bandits and robbers, before they became black agents of said company, kidnapping people to be made as slaves. Sure, kidnapping is a crime in this country, and anywhere else for that matter, but slavery is not. And the moment you become a slave, no matter what or who you are before you become one, you will forever be a slave, meaning the kingdom would not care in the slightest that you are being sold and bought against your will.

He was a mage attuned to the dark element, with one special expertise, that is, using a certain spell as nimbly and in the most stealthy way possible.

Shadow Merge.

It was a spell that allowed the caster to generate a special shadow that he or she could submerge into. And not only that, the caster could also move with the shadow. The caster is also able to grab someone else and bring them inside their shadow if they so choose. Utilizing this spell, he would sneak up on his targets, line his shadow right under their feet, then drag them right under. Done well, which is perfectly in his capability as he had experience doing this for a long time indeed, the victim wouldn’t even have a chance to scream. After the victim was swallowed by his shadow, he would immediately retreat. With how busy the bazaar was and how everyone’s eyes were certainly not staring down towards the ground, no one noticed the strange, silent shadow that could move on its own.

And that was what he just did to his newest target, Erika.

It wasn’t because she belonged to the Greenwood Family—the people who were responsible for the assasination of one of the Magocracy’s Council. Oh no, he wasn’t aware of that in the slightest, as the news had yet to reach. Erika was simply unfortunate enough to be born with bright blue eyes and beautiful fluffy golden hair. Not to mention her unblemished skin as well. One of their customers was a certain duke who took a liking to cute little girls like her so he would always pay a generous sum if they would bring any lovely young females to his doorstep. He knew perfectly well of course what said duke was doing with them inside his estate, away from prying eyes. But he was never the moralistic, hero type. He was perfectly fine with the life of a scoundrel. It’s just a fact of life that bad things happen to good people.

In the alleyway there were already four other men, waiting for him to come. They were his subordinates, ready to help him with the up and coming slave if she decided to be too feisty for her own good. Not that he really needed their help though, since the victim was just a weak young girl that wouldn’t be able to fight back, even if she was brave enough to do so.

“You meanie! Big Sis will get you for sure!” She shouted as she struggled with the black ropes that tied her hands and legs. 

Shadow Bind. Another one of the man’s dark magic.

“Your big sister?” One of the other men came to her, grinning in a mocking manner. “Heh, ahahahahahaha! Forget about her, young missy! You'll never see her again.”

“You lie! Big Sis will come for me for sure!”

“Oh, really? Then I suggest she’d better come soon before we sold you off to our client!”

“Gaspard, enough. Put the collar on her and let’s be on our way,” the cloaked man interrupted.

“Sure boss,” the burly man shrugged. “Alright little Missy, be a good girl and stay still while I put on your—ouch! You little brat!”

SMACK

Erika had responded by biting into his hand while he attempted to put on the collar he got in his hand. And he retaliated by smacking her in the face, making her fall to the ground from the sheer force coming out of his large hand.

“Gaspard! What are you doing? You know very well our client doesn’t appreciate it if we ruin his merchandise,” the cloaked man warned.

“Aw, boss, surely we can have some fun with her first? We can just patch her up with some healing magic before we send her off to him!”

“U-uwaaaaaaa!”

“Oh great, now the little brat is crying. Right after she’s acting so tough too. And God, why is she so loud?”

“...Fine. Knock her unconscious.”

“Aye aye, Sire!”

With the cloaked man’s permission, the big man kicked Erika right on her head, knocking her out in one move. The cloaked man shook his head. Sometimes he disapproved of the brutishness of his comrade.

After knocking her out, the man called Gaspard undressed her completely, even down to her panties. As the cloaked man burned her old clothing with a fire spell, he put on what could only be called slave rags on her, before finishing the makeover with a collar, along with chaining her hands together.

“Dye her hair. Just in case,” the cloaked man ordered.

Using a dye they had obtained from an alchemist, they turned her hair black. It wasn’t a permanent dye of course. It was really another precaution to prevent whoever her big sister was from recognizing her, at least from afar.

It was quite the ingenious method, really. Since slavery was accepted here, no one would bat an eye on a little girl asking for help, as long as she’s dressed like a slave. Even the town guards would be obligated to return any runaway slaves to them. When a decent chunk of your economy is made out of the slave trade, you better treat the slave merchants with the same rights as you would with any other types of merchants. Slaves are not people. They are merely goods, to be bought and sold.

“We'll make her more docile first in our headquarters," the cloaked man ordered. "The customer wants his goods to be all nice and dolled up when they enter his doors. A week of whipping and beating should break her spirit. Then she'll think of our customer as her savior."

It was basic psychology, especially effective to kids like her. Make her suffer as much as possible, then hand her over to the customer who would treat her well. It's fine for them to be hated, but the best slaves are the ones who love their masters.

The cloaked man and his subordinates then departed back to the populated streets, with Gaspard slinging Erika's body over his shoulder. They merged with the crowd as much as they could, with the cloaked man taking off his hood, revealing that he was actually a black-haired man around his twenties. Unlike Gaspard and his other subordinates, he was actually pretty good-looking, with a cold gaze that some females would find very attractive indeed.

As expected, only a few people even gave them a glance. Runaway slaves happened somewhat frequently, and they just thought the little girl must be another runaway, and that they were agents of the slave company, sent to fetch her back.

Not everyone was heartless however. Some did sympathize with Erika’s plight. But they knew better to involve themselves. It wasn’t like they had any obligation to save her. And if they did indeed decide to save her, then what about the other slaves? Should they save them too? They would be hypocrites if they only save one while ignoring the others, right? So no one bothered, with their concern being forgotten not even a minute later when they returned back to their own tasks.

And that is why, when a certain girl disrupted their normal daily lives, they shouldn’t complain either.

\-----------

It first started with an earthquake—a tremor whose epicenter was where the bazaar was held.

“A-an earthquake?”

“Why is there an earthquake here? We have never had any earthquakes before!”

“Everyone, get out! Don’t stay inside!”

And then, just a few seconds after that, a tree burst forth from the grounds, piercing through the stone pavement like it was nothing. It grew and grew and grew until it towered its surroundings. There weren’t many tall buildings in the city, so the tree stuck out even more like a sore thumb.

“W-what? What is that?”

“A-a tree? Why is a tree there?”

“Did the earthquake bring it out or something?”

“I-it’s a spell! That mage girl raised her staff to the air and then the earthquake and the tree appeared!”

It didn’t take long until Marina’s surroundings realized what she just did. She didn’t try to hide it in the slightest. She now had her wand changed into its staff form, and she was looking at the tree with a determined expression on her face.

“A-a spell? Is there a fight going on?”

“Gwahahahaha! The young lady has lost it! She’s now going to— hrrmmmmmgggpppphhtt!”

A vine shot out from the ground underneath the old man, wrapping itself around his mouth. It was Marina’s work of course. It seemed she had enough of his speech.

The elf, seeing what was transpired, wisely decided to flee. Unlike the others there, who barely knew anything about magic, she knew that Marina was at least a Master-level Earth mage, just from the giant tree she had brought forth into being. Any ordinary guards or soldiers wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

And speaking of them, the town guards immediately converged to the location, including the trio from before.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The female guard drew her sword. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Don’t get in my way,” Marina replied with an emotionless voice. “I’m going to find Erika, even if I have to turn this whole city upside down in the process.”

She raised her staff once again, and three creatures appeared out of thin air—a fairy, a dryad, and an owlbear.

“M-monsters! She’s summoning monsters!”

“Everyone! Attack n—gwaaahhh!”

Roots burst forth from the ground beneath the soldiers, immobilizing them in an instant as they wrapped themselves tightly around them. The female guard managed to cut one of them, but she wasn’t fast enough to prevent the others from throwing her sword away while yanking her hair backwards.

“Stand still,” Marina spoke again. “This shouldn’t take long.”

She turned back to face the tree, raised her staff, and yelled, “Yggdrasil! Ent form!”

In quite the bizarre and horrifying sight, one by one humanlike figures started to peel off and fall from the wood of the tree. They were ents, humanoid tree monsters that could walk and attack adventurers who dared to get near them, thinking they were just ordinary trees. They were a smaller version of them however, with only being the size of a normal human. After around a hundred of them came out of the big tree, they scattered to all directions, leaving the great tree itself quite smaller and thinner than before, 

Cue the screams as the crowd finally got the idea that their life might be in danger. They all ran away. Even the stall owners all abandoned their shops.

“Ents! Scour the city and look for Erika! And you, owlbear, you remember her scent, right?”

“Roarrrr!” It replied.

“Good. Track her down. And if you find her captors, you can attack them. But the priority must be Erika’s safety.”

It roared once again before charging away, running at a surprisingly high speed using its four legs.

“Y-you’re doing this just because of your sister?” The lady guard yelled. “Are you mad? You’ve just basically earned yourself a one way ticket to the gallows! The royal soldiers would be here soon and it would be the end of you!”

Marina didn’t humor her with a response. Instead, she simply moved on to her next method of searching. 

“Lady Dryad. I’m going to aid with the search with Yggdrasil as well. I’ll need your help to extend the range. Flower Fairy, you're the only one capable of flight. Search for my sister from the skies."

"Of course, my lady," The dryad replied, doing a curtsy in the process.

"Leave it to me!" The fairy answered.

The dryad had transformed quite severely after her evolution. She was no longer naked for starters. She wore a fancy-looking dress, signifying her status as a lady. Her personality had changed as well, being quite a bit more polite now.

The fairy flew away, while the mage activated her transformation spell, turning herself into a dryad. She then let herself be absorbed by the great tree, with her dryad summon doing the same as well.

Of course, all this made her even more terrifying to the captured guards, who started to think she wasn’t just a mage but a tree demon as well. Even more guards started to stream in, only for Ygdrassil’s roots to capture them effortlessly one by one.

 _Just who is this girl?_ The guard lady wandered.

\---------------

**Marina**

_All the pieces are now in place. Now I just have to focus on my search. And I have to do it quickly, as doing this would no doubt urge her kidnappers to leave town immediately. Not to mention the adventurers and the soldiers from the castle all coming after me. I have no faith in being able to handle all of them at once._

I focused my mind to my dryad senses. In this state, I could “communicate” with the great tree itself, accepting all the information it experienced at a rate far higher than what a human would be used to do. That’s also why I need my dryad to help as I can’t handle the information all by my own. Imagine having hundreds of eyes all sending images into your brain at once. It is similar to that.

Using this ability of manipulation and sense-sharing, I spread the roots of Yggdrasil as wide as I could, popping out from every floor and crevice like tendrils who searched for the presence of Erika. Or, to be more exact, her life force. In this form, I am more attuned to the life force of all living things, and each creature that walks on this world has their own unique life force. And I know very well how Erika’s life force feels.

Of course, in the process, I would no doubt cause quite the serious property damages, with the roots ruining people’s floors and what not. But I vowed not to harm anyone.

It doesn’t matter though. They are all screaming in terror every time one of my roots popped up. I guess it really is terrifying to their perspective…

…

…

…

_...No, where is she?! Why is she nowhere near here?! I can’t go on much further! My Ygdrassil’s range cannot reach the entire city! My ents can’t travel far as well before losing its magic connection to their mother tree, turning them back into ordinary trees! And the owlbear can’t follow Erika’s scent. It’s as if she had been swallowed by the earth itself!_

I thought I could avoid this. I didn’t hesitate to unleash all I had on Erika’s search, just so I could catch the culprit before they ran away far enough that I would lose her forever. I could certainly make less of a commotion by only using the flower fairy or my owlbear, but I chose to go all out like this, _precisely_ to prevent a scenario like this coming to fruition.

_I… I was too late! Erika… ooh, Erika… I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t have—_

**_Miss…_ **

_I’m going to… I’m going to lose her too… Father… Mother… Hugo… and now, Erika as well…_

**_Miss, listen to me!_ **

I gasped. I felt a pair of hands hugging me from behind. Or rather, I felt the sensation of someone hugging me from behind. I wasn’t actually being hugged physically, as I was currently inside the tree after all.

It was my Lady Dryad. She had come to my rescue to calm me down.

**There’s still a way! My name… you must say my true name and call upon my real self, Miss!**

_You… you agree with my proposition?_

**_Yes, Miss! I want to become your strength, Miss! You have gone through so much and I am ashamed of myself for not being able to help more! You called upon me when that ice witch attacked you but I could not even slow her down one bit for your escape. And now you’re in another crisis like this and I refuse to let you fall down into despair once again! So please! Form a familiar contract with me! Say my true name!_ **

**…**

“Nysa Eucalyphis! Heed my call!”

A bright green light shone from the giant tree, blinding anyone nearby.

**Yes, this is it! This surge of power! I can now extend the range of the tree even further!**

The dryad immediately overrode my control of the tree, extending the roots even further, beyond the radius thought to be the limit. More people screamed in terror, fleeing their houses as small roots popped out in their houses and on the streets.

**I found her! There! Carried on the back of some man! They’re running away!**

\-------------

**???**

_What in the world is going on? After the earthquake, a giant tree suddenly appears in the middle of the bazaar and now people are running away, saying how a horde of ents appear from it? Is this city under attack by some powerful mage or something?_

For once, the leader of the band of kidnappers was sweating. He might be skilled at using shadow magic to kidnap people, but at direct fights, he’s pretty bad at it.

“Oi, ‘guv, what should we do?” The man named Gaspard spoke.

“Isn’t it obvious? Just run away as fast as we could. If the duke gets murdered because of this, then we can still sell her to another buyer later on. We just have to run away and survive for now,” he replied.

He certainly could move faster by using his shadow magic, but he’s not the type to abandon his comrades, especially in a dire situation like this. They’ve been through many perilous situations before, back when they were still common bandits. Like hell he’s going to abandon them just because of some crazy Earth mage going on a rampage.

“If we have to split up, then we’ll split up. We’ll meet up again at our hideout outside near the—”

CRASH

One second, a series of giant roots popped out of the ground, surrounding them from all four directions. The next second, they wrapped themselves around their legs and arms, forcing them to drop their weapons and to fall down to the dirt as they lost their balance.

No one was fast enough to dodge. Even their leader, the shadow mage, was captured by the roots.

However, only he had the means to escape. If he could chant his Shadow Merge spell, he could sink down to the ground, escaping from the roots’ grip entirely.

Only for the roots to take out his wand from his pocket and snap it into two, shattering his dreams of escape into pieces.

Another rumble came from the ground—his ear who touched the dirt being more sensitive to it than the other. And then, two other large things appeared from it. This time however, it wasn’t just tree roots.

It was a pair of dryads.

“So, you are the people that kidnapped Erika.” One of them spoke, her pitch black eyes showing what could only be described as cold anger. “Now what should I do with you?”

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here's how Lady Dryad looks. Or rather, Nysa Eucalyphis.**

****


	86. Marina’s Side — The General of Tolany

**Marina**

The moment Nysa told me where they were, we immediately utilized another ability the great tree had. As we were dryads in this form, we were able to move through its roots all the way to where the kidnappers were. Or, to be more exact, we could transfer our consciousness to the end of the roots, shaping our new wooden bodies there while letting the old ones be completely absorbed by the tree. Naturally, sending our consciousness took basically nothing, and the forming of our new, identical bodies were done really quickly as well, leading to a prompt response like this.

Screams of terrors echoed around me as bystanders were no doubt horrified that two dryads just popped out of the ground like that. They were right to immediately assume that we were responsible for the roots that were attacking their town. And they were also right to keep their distance away from us as far as they could. I wouldn’t want them to be hurt after all.

“M-monsters! W-why are monsters here?”

“R-run! Run for your lives! This city is done for!”

So they shouted. However, my attention was completely towards the group of people immobilized in front of me. Or rather, the girl one of them was carrying on his shoulder. Of course, the roots had left her alone, turning extremely gently as they handed her over to me.

...Whatever mercy I might have in mind disappeared once I saw the state she was in.

“Nysa, take care of her.” I handed her over to the dryad, who received her with the utmost care with her wooden hands.

I turned my attention back to these… _filth_.

“A-a mage? Y-you’re her older sister?”

The one who spoke was the youngest of them all, and the only one with a wand. He was a mage, and immediately I knew how Erika could disappear like that without me noticing. I could think a couple of methods one could do so on top of my head.

“L-look, we’re sorry, alright? We’re just grunts here, w-we’re only doing what we’re told! So if you have someone to blame, you should blame our boss! And his boss after that! This whole country is on it! You might think you’re playing the hero destroying half the city like this just to save your little sister but the truth is that you’re—

CRACK

He never finished his sentence. His neck was snapped like a twig by the roots.

I had enough of his drivel.

“G-guv! You witch! Demon! Monster!”

The one who yelled was the big burly man named Gaspard. Seeing his comrade murdered in front of his eyes seemed to have elicited anger that surpassed even his fear against this dryad in front of him.

"Do you hate me? For taking his life?" I smiled.

"Of course I do, you goddamn psychopath! I don't care what kind of a mage or a demon you are, but your days are numbered. You'll be hunted down by this entire kingdom! A price would be placed for your head, and droves of bounty hunters would come after you! Your life, and your little sister's life, are over!"

My smile vanished, replaced only by a cold, merciless glare. "Then perhaps you two should've reconsidered being a kidnapper in the first place."

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

I snapped the necks of all the remaining kidnappers.

If they had begged for forgiveness with tears in their eyes, it might invite mercy back in my heart.

Oh, who am I kidding? After seeing Erika in that state, I no longer see them as human beings, only monsters to be dispatched.

I thought of ending their lives in a more excruciating manner, but I decided against it. I had enough, seeing their disgusting faces and being in their general presence. So I opted to finish them off quickly.

_Thinking about it, this is the first time I’ve killed another human like this, huh? And in cold blood, too._

_I know I should feel horrified, but the only feeling I have is satisfaction. And relief, as I manage to rescue Erika from them._

“Nysa." I turned around to face the dryad. "Now that I know your true name, you can stay around permanently, right?"

"Yes, if Master wants to," she replied with a smile.

"Then, I'll be counting on you even more then." I returned her smile. "For the journey from now on would be even more difficult."

With those words, we two promptly prepared for our immediate departure, out of the city, running away from the soldiers and adventurers that should be sent after us. I dispelled Ygdrassil, turning the ents back into normal, unmoving trees along with the roots and the main tree itself. I could expend Mana withdrawing them back into the ground, but why bother, when they can buy time for us to escape? I also banished owlbear and flower fairy, promising to double their payment the next time I utilized their service. I then rushed back to the inn to fetch our carriage in human form. Sooner or later my human looks would spread around, but for now, they should be looking mainly for my dryad form. Nysa on the other hand was to leave the city immediately, and to wait for us there.

Somehow or someway, I managed to escape without a hitch. The guards were panicking as well, so there wasn't a blockade put in order to prevent people from skipping town. Not that they could, since so many of the civilians had the same idea.

I rendezvoused with Nysa on the outside, and then, we were on our way.

\--------

**A few hours later...**

“What is the meaning of this?! You let the culprit leave? What have you and your guards been doing?”

“I-I’m terribly sorry, Your Majesty! We were so overwhelmed by it all that we had our hands full repelling the ents and the roots, and escorting the citizens to safety. We had no opportunity to establish checkpoints, especially since everyone wants to leave the city once they learned an attack was happening.”

After the chaos was over, the king of Tolany held an impromptu meeting inside the Mosa Castle. It was attended by pretty much every single member of his staff, including the commander knight in charge of the town guards. He was kneeling in his full uniform, sweating as he apologized profusely to his Lord. He was an older man with a slightly whitening black hair and mustache, while the king was a slightly pudgy man with a thin ginger beard that matched his hair.

“B-but not to worry, Your Majesty! We have information that she had escaped from the northwestern gate. Most likely, she was going north, towards Aja. W-we can send our forces after her and catch up with her in no time!”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Sir Kreig. My men and I will handle it by ourselves.”

An entirely new person entered the throne room. He was a man in his early thirties, wearing a full plate steel armor and a cape behind him. Only his face was not armoured, revealing his confident—and dare I say it—slightly smug expression. Clanks of metal echoed across the room every step he took.

“General Targoff. I’ve been expecting you."

"Well met, Your Majesty."

He gave a bow towards the king, choosing not to kneel like the commander. His status could afford him such a luxury. After all, not only that he was a Duke, but he was also a Champion of the Order of Lancelot. His skill with the sword is unmatched in the entire kingdom, all thanks to his talent and hard work all those years ago training with them.

"You know what to do, yes?" The king stroked his beard.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. Arrest the culprit, and if she resists, kill her on the spot."

“If I might interrupt for a moment, Your Majesty.”

The man standing beside him suddenly decided to speak. He was Duke Fassad, the Chancellor to the king. He was even older than the commander knight, to the point of having a full white beard and hair.

“There’s a chance she might actually be associated with the Magocracy. If we were to harm her, it might incur their wrath, and I don’t believe it’s a wise course of action to take.”

“Hmph, those mages again.” The king grumbled. “They think they could just destroy my city without any consequences? Just because they’re so powerful?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am sure I do not need to remind you what happened to the last kingdom that tried to defy them.”

“But there is no proof that she indeed is one of their agents.” This time, it was the general that interrupted them. “And they always preferred to work in the shadows, never making a public uproar like this.”

“A-apologies, Your Majesty, but I too have to interrupt.” The commander knight deigned to speak as well. “We have gathered information about her and we have been able to ascertain the motive of her actions today. It was simply because her little sister was kidnapped, and she used her magic to find said kidnappers and murder them.”

“Her little sister—”

“—is kidnapped?!”

“What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself better, Sir Kreig!” The king’s voice boomed through the room. The general and the chancellor were as baffled as he was as well.

“I-it is as I said, Your Majesty. She came into town riding a simple carriage. She then visited the bazaar with her little sister, in which she was taken away by the kidnappers, most likely to be turned into a slave. As Your Majesty is already aware, we have quite the problem with them recently, with many girls and boys, particularly young ones, disappearing in the crowds, never to be seen again. She became yet another victim of them, or would have become one of them, if not for the fact that her big sister was a powerful Earth-mage that could track down her kidnappers and rescue her. If I have to presume, then she would be at least a Master-level one. Even though she looks young, she is not an opponent to be underestimated.”

“Ha! A Master-level mage, eh? Fascinating!” The general spoke with a glint in his eye. “I haven’t had a good opponent to fight in years!”

“A-anyway, back to my point.” The knight commander coughed in order to wrestle back the attention of the room to him. “If she is truly an agent of the Magocracy, then she wouldn’t be walking around in the bazaar with her extremely vulnerable little sister. Thus, I have to assume that she’s not associated with them in the slightest. She was simply a rogue powerful mage, and nothing more.”

“Hold on,” the chancellor interrupted. “A rogue mage, you say? I have heard some whispers of a certain rumor, that one of the Magocracy’s Council has been murdered by a rogue mage.”

“What?!” The king snapped. “Why haven’t you informed me of this, Fassad?”

“Because it’s an unconfirmed rumor, Milord. I can’t let every strange and unbelievable rumors reach your ears, now can I?”

“It is not for you to decide which rumors are unbelievable and which ones are not.”

“Oh, but this one certainly is. Many have attempted to assassinate the Council over the years yet none have succeeded. But this rogue mage managed to do it. Though I also heard that it was an entire family who did it, but she was only with her little sister, which meant she might not be one of the assassins after all.”

“Enough!” The general interrupted once again. “Let me handle her. What she showed today with her plants were certainly impressive but it was nothing that I could not handle. If this was the full extent of her power, then she would fall by my hands without a doubt. As a Champion-rank swordsman of the Order of Lancelot, I would end her life before she could cast any of her fancy spells.”

“Do not be hasty, Lord Targoff.” The chancellor warned with furrowed brows. “And certainly do not underestimate her. Mages can be quite the tricky opponent. And if you can capture her alive, then please do so.”

“Please, give me the order, milord.” This time, he actually knelt down and bowed to the king.

“...Hmph. Very well. You may go. There’s a slim chance she might be an agent of the Magocracy while there’s a high chance she might be involved in this supposed ‘assasination’. If we can offer her head to those stuck-up mages, we’ll be able to have a better trading relationship with them. I’d say it’s worth the risk. And besides, I have a face to keep. If we don’t execute anyone for the destruction caused by today, the citizens wouldn’t be happy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

He gave one last bow before rising up and departing—once again with that glint in his eyes.

Once he exited the room, the chancellor gave a big sigh.

“Ever since he was humiliated by that wandering mage, he has itched to prove to the kingdom that he’s better than them, I suppose.”

“I wouldn’t blame him. I would feel the same if I was made a plaything by someone in a fight. Can’t even land a single fight on her. Right in front of his subordinates too. It didn’t help that she looked like a young girl.”

“Elves are a youthful race. It wouldn’t be odd to have one that looks like a young girl but is actually a hundred years old,” the chancellor returned.

“True. But his subordinates certainly didn’t care when they mock him behind his back.” The king chuckled.

\----------

**Marina**

“U-uwaaah!"

The moment Erika woke up, she exploded into tears, hugging me as tightly as she could.

We were currently inside our carriage, galloping at full speed towards the northern border. Thankfully, Nysa was fully capable of replacing me as the driver. Using her ability as a dryad, she grew a tree branch from her hand that had succulent, juicy leaves on it that the horse wanted. So it would continuously run forward, hoping to get a bite on the hanging leaves.

"I was so scared, Sis! I thought I'll never see you again!"

"Shh, it's alright now. The bad guys are gone. They won't hurt you anymore." I hugged her tightly back.

To think that they could do such a thing to her, it still made my blood boil.

I had to be the one to heal Erika's wounds—all the bruises and bumps she received from their filthy hands. It was a slow process, as I was not as expedient in healing magic as I wanted to be. I was lucky she didn't seem to suffer from any internal injuries.

I changed her out of her slave garment and carefully removed the collar from her neck with Nysa's help. I also cleaned her up and dressed her back into a normal, proper dress.

She didn't stop crying for a good while, and when she did, she fell asleep once again, burying her face in my bosom as she did.

_Erika…_ I smiled as I patted her shoulder. _You are my precious little sister. I'll protect you, even if it means making an enemy of the world itself._

That determination of mine was soon tested just two days later, when a platoon of cavalry chased after us from the south.

_It could only be one thing. This kingdom’s army._

“Erika, stay inside."

"Sis, a-are you going to fight?"

"It seems that way. But don't worry. I will win. Your Big Sis is an amazing mage after all."

After reassuring Erika, I opened the door and climbed out of the carriage, aided by Nysa who was already standing on top of the roof. The horse was moving by itself, still going after those juicy leaves like carrot on a stick. Since we were in flat plains, the carriage could move forward relatively safely.

The wind blew harshly, flipping up my dress with reckless abandon. _Ah, my panties might be showing right now. What pair did I wear today again? Right, the black one._

_Wait, it's no time to be thinking about such a thing right now. I have to take care of these people first._

"Hey, witch! Stop that carriage at once!" The man leading the charge yelled. 

I didn't respond. I instead said to my familiar, "Nysa, don't stop the carriage. And just slow them down. I don't want any unnecessary deaths."

"Alright, Miss!"

She began by conjuring a long and durable tripvine, Thanks to the tall grass, they were quite well-hidden. As a result, quite a number of the cavalry were taken out instantaneously, as they and their horses fell. Some of them might actually become paralyzed or even die from that, as hitting your head while falling, while wearing heavy armor, while on a horseback, is absolutely a recipe for disaster.

_I just hope they got some cleric with them._

The remaining horsemen ran their horses even faster, with the ones wielding bows firing their weapons against me. Of course, wood weapons were widely ineffective against Nysa, who stopped the arrows in mid-air by making heavy roots grow on them.

But then, the real attack began, as the knight leading the charge raised his greatsword up to the air and sliced it down, sending a huge wave of energy towards me and the carriage.

"Nysa! Erect a wooden shield right now!"

The dryad didn't wait. Using all her power, she instantly grew a tree between us and the attack.

_That’s not going to be enough!_

Without even thinking, I turned around and raised a small bush of fire at the path we were taking, just enough so the horse would turn to the left a little.

And my prediction was correct. The tree Nysa conjured was sliced into two by the energy wave. It considerably weakened it, but it wasn’t enough to dissipate it completely. If I hadn’t changed the direction of the carriage, we, Erika, and the carriage itself would’ve been split into two as well.

The man grinned. And he raised his greatsword once again for the next slash.

_That fighting style… he’s just like Father!_

_Tch! I underestimated them! This is going to be harder than I thought!_


	87. Marina’s Side — Colossal Dryad

Quickly, I turned around my brain, formulating a plan on how I should fight this man that chased after me. _First of all, I have to find a way to protect myself from his slashes. Their power is extraordinary, and the range is long, so even though I should have the advantage from our distance, I really do not. If he was the same level as Sherry, then I could just block his slashes via Nysa’s fortified wood, but clearly, that wasn’t enough._

_How about this? If I can’t block his attacks, then maybe I can prevent him from attacking in the first place. That, or to somehow grant the ability to our carriage to dodge his blows._

“Nysa! Can you manipulate the wood of the carriage? Make it grow legs that can make it jump around!”

“Jump around?” The dryad looked at me as if I had gone mad. “R-right! I’ll try my best!”

“And wrap Erika inside with your vines so she won’t get thrown around as well! My legs as well, so I won’t fall off!”

“Alright, Miss!”

Another vertical slash went flying towards us. “Left!” I yelled. The carriage immediately grew spider-like legs that pushed it just in time out of the way of the attack.

“Neiiighhhh!”

_The horse! Can it handle the burden of the jumping carriage on its own!”_

“Owlbear, come out! Pull the carriage forward together with the horse! Nysa! Link the carriage with the owlbear using your vines!”

“Roaarrrr!”

_To think I would ever be using my owlbear as a beast of burden like this…_

Our poor horse, completely shocked by the sudden appearance of the owlbear in front of him, tried to stop, only to end up being dragged forward as my owlbear forced both it and the carriage forward.

"Nysa! Cut the harness to the horse!" I ordered.

The moment she did, the horse hurriedly freed itself from the formation, running off to a different direction entirely. I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as I saw it going further and further away. We had been together for quite some time after all.

_This is better. It would just be a dead weight in this combat._

Another slash came flying towards us. This time however, to my horror, it was a horizontal slice.

"Nysa! Up!"

The carriage jolted as I felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness, before crashing back down once gravity took in.

"Well well well, you're pretty good, aren't you, witch?" The swordsman shouted, still with a grin on his face.

“Leave us alone! We don’t have any desire to fight with your kingdom!” I shouted in response.

“Then why did you make a mess out of our capital city? That is a crime punishable by death. If we let you go, how would we answer to our angry citizens, huh?”

“It’s your fault for letting child kidnappers roam free on your streets,” I fired back. “I would do anything to protect my little sister. Even destroying half a city.”

“You’re a feisty one! I like you, witch! So how about you stop running and fight me one by one like a man!”

“I’m not a man!”

“Ha! I can certainly see that! Really though, you remind me of the missus back home! Same taste in undergarments too!"

"What!"

I instinctively pressed my dress down, blushing as I did. What is this man saying, comparing me and my panties to his wife all of a sudden?

"Well, if you're not gonna stop, then I'll just have to make you stop."

He began twirling his greatsword above his head. He didn't even need to keep his hands on his reins, showing how much of an expert he was at riding his horse.

_That is—!_

"Thunder Strike!"

Conjuring a thunder cloud above him, I sent off a powerful blast of lightning right at him. I need to stop that attack, even if I end up killing him in the process.

"Greatsword Style—Tempest Strike!"

The spell struck, but the technique went off nonetheless. Just as I predicted, he sent a whirlwind made out his blade slashes right towards us. Due to the much larger radius, there was no dodging out of it.

Me, Erika, and the entire carriage would be shredded into pieces.

_I have no choice! I have to use that spell now! My trump card! Now that Nysa has become my familiar, it should work!_

_Nysa Eucalyphis! By the power of our contract, I beseech you! Call upon my power and evolve to a higher level!_

**_Rank up magic!_ **

A blindingly bright green light enveloped the area, emitting out of Nysa’s body. And then, what manifested out of it was…

“You will not harm Master!”

The voice echoed across the battlefield. It belonged no longer to a human-sized dryad, but a gigantic one, easily dwarfing the carriage she had been protecting and even her own master. And she wasn’t even standing, kneeling on all fours, leering towards the cavalry. Her dress disappeared, replaced by the combination of her long green hair that reached all the way down to her feet and the leaves and moss stuck onto her wooden body. A giant flower grew on top of her head. She was beautiful, but in a terrifying, monstrous sort of way.

Colossal Dryad. This was the next stage of her evolution.

“Aaaaargghhhh!”

With a monstrous roar, she covered her head with her arms, blocking the Tempest Strike completely. But not without any damage, as bits and pieces of her skin fell off in the process.

“W-what the hell is that?”

“A-a giant! I-it’s a she-giant!”

"She blocked the General's special technique, just like that?"

The normally well-disciplined soldiers were starting to take a blow to their morale, as they questioned whether or not they could even win against such a creature. The general, having struck by my lightning spell, was still recovering. His horse on the other hand had fallen dead, the poor thing.

And what he saw terrified him to his core.

"M-men! Do not falter! Fire your flame arrows and spells! This monster shall never best us!"

At this point, the chase had stopped. I had ordered the owlbear to stop. As for myself, Nysa carried me to the top of her shoulder using her vines.

"T-the witch! The witch is up there!"

"So this is the extent of her true power?"

"Aargh, we're all going to die!"

My hair billowed in the wind as I stood there with my staff in her right hand. Perhaps I looked impressive to them down there, but honestly, I was still concerned with the fact that my panties remained visible, thanks to the very same wind. I don't believe you can look heroic or terrifying if you're showing your undergarments at the same time. It reminded me of a certain statue of Mira back at the Magocracy. The statue wore such a short skirt that you could actually look up underneath it. Of course, there wasn't anything up there, only darkness, but it didn't stop curious, slightly perverted people from doing it.

_I wonder if Mira actually wore that short of a skirt when she was still alive._

_Ah, look at my mind wandering. Let's finish off this battle, shall we?"_

"It's over! Go home! I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to!" I yelled. I truly wished they would just turn back and leave, especially since I couldn't keep Nysa's ranked-up form for long. Even now, my Mana is being drained rapidly to feed her. If I take too long, I will fall unconscious and that will be the end of it.

"M-men! What are you doing? Fire everything at her pet giant! Or even better, fire at the witch herself!" The general yelled, his desperate tone being all too obvious.

"R-right! Everyone! Fire at will!" His aide yelled.

Well, I've asked nicely.

"Insolent humans! Your presence dirties the soil my mistress walks on!"

With that uncharacteristically angry yell, Nysa slammed both of her palms to the ground.

And then, what could only be described as a miniature forest popped up, swallowing the entire cavalry before they could run or do anything. Whatever fire arrows or spells that might hit her, they didn't have any effects on her. They and their horses were lifted off the ground, wrapped by the tree branches. Their heavy armors only served to hinder them, instead of aiding them in the fight.

"You! I thought we would be able to have an honorable battle. But now that you've brought out a monster like this, you are no better than that cheating elven scum who humiliated me all those years ago!"

_Cheating elven scum? What is he talking about? Has he gone mad?_

"I had enough of you mage scums! I'll bring your head back to the capital and regain the honor I had lost!"

And then, he did something unthinkable. He jumped up onto Nysa's hand and began climbing upwards. Thanks to how rough and jagged Nysa's body was in this form, he was able to do consecutive jumps using the bumps on her skin. _To think that he could do it while wearing heavy armor as well…_

“Nysa! Shake him off!”

Her hair immediately went after him for a grab. Now that I got a better look at it, her long green hair was actually vines so that’s another body part she could freely manipulate. The swordsman didn’t surrender however, as he protected himself by swinging his greatsword in an arc, cutting the vines before it could get to him.

I wasn’t idle while Nysa did her assault though.

"O spirits of ice! Grant me your strength!”

I didn’t need to tell her anything. She already knew that she had to buy me time for my chant to finish.

“Envelop my enemies with your cold embrace!” 

He was now already on her upper arm. He too made his offense, as he used his greatsword to cut through Nysa’s skin, earning even more groans of pain from her. However, she didn’t break that easily. She retaliated by firing off wood splinters the size of stakes towards him from her skin. Some managed to hit, but his heavy armor did a pretty good job protecting him. 

“Wrap them in ice and snow and deliver to them a freezing grave!”

With one final jump, he was now on top of Nysa’s shoulder. Grinning, he could see me in the middle of my chanting on the other shoulder.

_So he’s going to attack me from there. With his range, there’s no doubt he would be able to do it._

Nysa, sensing my thoughts, reacted by turning her head to face him with an almost sickening crack. Opening her mouth, she fired off what could only be described as a beam of growth, as when the general blocked it with his greatsword, small plants started to grow out of it. I imagine if the beam actually hit his skin, plants would grow on it as well. I heard there are certain types of molds that could grow on human skin. Perhaps this is based on that. Hmm, I wonder if I could make it so that the plants would grow inside as well. That would be a sneaky and devastating way to defeat your enemies.

“Shatter them and break them like the foolish beings they are! Cold Nova!"

The fool had chosen not to retreat, and this was the price he had to pay.

My Master-level Ice spell enveloped his entire body, freezing him to the bone. Combined with the nature beam, even he couldn’t withstand the onslaught. His greatsword shattered, weakened by the plants growing on it.

And then, he fell.

_...No, I can’t let you die. Not when you have a family waiting for you back home. You are simply doing your job. I will not take your life and bring misery to your wife and children just because of that._

And so I ordered Nysa to grab him before he hit the ground, softening his landing by growing a bed of mushrooms on her hands.

_It doesn’t necessarily mean he would stay alive though. It is up to Fate, I suppose. If his subordinates can thaw him out of my spell in a good way, then his life would be saved._

_But I certainly wouldn’t stick around to find out._

\---------

When the general woke up, the battle was already over.

It was a total and complete defeat.

He could only stare into the dusk sky as he let his cleric subordinates heal him, wondering what went wrong with his life.

He left the Order in his youth as a Champion-rank swordsman. Only a little ever reached that level. Returning home, he quickly found out that he was completely indomitable. Undefeated. No other swordsman or mage ever hoped to match his strength. He quickly became the nation’s hero, married the love of his life, and even had a pair of twins of that. He was on the top of the world.

But then, that fateful day, he met her.

He was in the middle of a monster subjugation campaign, going after a dragon that had descended from Gordillis Peaks. He and his battalion received a hero’s send off, almost as if he was the Legendary Hero himself. He already dreamed of returning with the dragon’s carcass, parading it all around the capital.

Only to find out that an elf, a single elven mage had killed it when they arrived.

That was already enough of a blow to his ego, but when the elf boldly said that she would be taking the spoils, carcass and all, it hit him even more badly.

_This knife-eared little shit! She’s underestimating me!_

With a confident grin, he challenged her to a duel, intentionally setting it up so the distance between them would be short, giving a swordsman like him a massive advantage. As a disciple of the Lancelot Order, he was taught over and over that to defeat a mage, a swordsman simply had to strike first and fast. And he fully intended to do that.

Only for him to end up humbled and humiliated—all in front of his men.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t land even a single blow. He didn’t even know how she managed to be so agile. She’s a mage, goddamnit! It shouldn’t be like this!

The battle ended with her standing on the tip of his sword, before hitting his face with her staff. And just like that, he was knocked out cold.

And now it happened all over again. Some no-name, random mage came out of nowhere and bested him in combat.

He chuckled. At the very least, it ended in a dramatic fashion. So it wasn’t as humiliating as his first defeat.

He suddenly remembered the words of his old master. “Never become satisfied. Never grow complacent. Once you do, you will truly become weak.”

He grinned bitterly. He had indeed become just that. He remembered when he left the Order, how some of his peers were still yearning for more power—to reach even further to the skies. He used to think of them as fools who were drunk and greedy with power, but now, they must have surpassed him a long time.

_I apologize, Master. I really am not cut out to be a real swordsman like you. I am a failure as your disciple._

“...Ah, to think she gave me mercy as well. Just who was that girl anyway?”

\-----------

**Marina**

We escaped the battlefield using the owlbear as a replacement for our horse. He couldn’t be pulling our carriage forever of course, but for now, we just had to leave behind this place and lose those people. Though after what I just showed them, if they had any common sense, they should decide to turn back and stop chasing after us.

Once the owlbear couldn’t go any further, I dismissed him, and gave him a healthy treat of meat. Thankfully, I had restocked in the bazaar before the incident happened.

For the rest of the way, we decided to walk. Nysa could probably use her power to move the carriage, but it would be a waste of her mana. Both she and I were extremely tired from what I just did, to the point that I nearly collapsed once the fight was over.

Erika was crying terribly when we reunited, first from fright but then from relief that I was safe. “I told you, didn’t I?” I smiled at her, hugging her at the same time. “Your Big Sis is a really strong mage. No matter who the enemy is, she’ll be able to fight them and win!”

We walked onward, constantly looking behind our back for any signs of the cavalry from before. Fortunately, it seemed they had learned their lesson indeed.

Our next destination was the Kingdom of Aja, which would be located just beyond this forest we were about to enter. Hopefully, once we were on the other side, we would be able to find a village where we could buy a new horse.

The carriage? With Nysa on our side, we didn’t need to buy one. She could create it herself. Or so she said. I worry that she won’t be able to get how human engineering works, resulting in a carriage that would fall apart easily or even not move at all. We’ll see.

I took a deep sigh. We’re still nowhere near Ferus and yet we’re already involved in an incident like this. There’s no doubt the Magocracy would soon catch wind of it, and they would know where I decided to flee.

_Another reason why I should train myself to become even stronger. So if we meet their agents, and I have a hunch that sooner or later, it will occur, I will be ready for them._

_Hmm, so many things I could work on though. Which one should I focus on first?_


	88. Legato

**Hugo**

“Staccato!”

SCHIIING

CRASH

“I-I did it! I did it!!!”

I let out a jump of joy as I witnessed the now split-into-two boulder in front of me.

Finally! After many days of training, and chipping my poor sword, I can finally pull it off! Staccato, the technique to sharpen the blade to supernatural level. I can finally do it at last!

“Well, congratulations, Hugo. See, you can do it if you try hard enough.”

I heard a sound of clapping from behind. It was Fiora, standing there with a small smirk on her face.

She wasn’t wearing her usual white dress however. She was instead wearing what could only be described as a pair of black sports bra and bike shorts. It was such an outrageous outfit, especially to be worn by a princess, that I was completely taken aback when she first wore it in our training.

She said it was her training outfit, as if she wore her usual dress, she would just ruin it with her sweat.

And yes, it gave me quite the pleasant eye-candy to look at as we trained.

For starters, it exposed her stomach and belly button. Not a single fat was there, only slim and well-toned muscle. On the chest department, it showed just how big her breasts were. And they were indeed quite sizable, to the point that I could notice their slight bounce whenever Fiora performed a move. As for her shorts, it nicely showed off her firm buttocks and cameltoe. Nice pantyline as well.

_To think that she's only 13 and she's already this good-looking. Just how much of a beauty she will grow to become in the future?_

Noticing the perverted leering I often sent as we trained, she naturally teased me for it, even squeezing my hardening member that one time.

_Goddamn, she's really trying to seduce me, isn't she?_

Ever since our little talk back at the temple, she had been nicer to me, or so I felt. She started calling me by my name as well, instead of just “boy” all the time. I guess that means she really has thought of me as her friend. Or rather, a potential future husband/knight.

I'm flattered really. I might just take her up on her offer, if not for a fact that I already have Sherry waiting for me. I'm not a scumbag who would leave his old girlfriend just because a new, hotter girl takes an interest in me.

...Oops, did I just say Fiora is more attractive than Sherry? That isn't quite right. Fiora is like that seductive girlfriend who just knows how to excite a man, while Sherry is the cute and loyal type that you just want to coddle and get pampered by.

Ah, if only I'm a harem protagonist. I can have both of them, sleeping with me side by side at night. Fiora might be willing, but Sherry certainly wouldn't.

But this is just my perverted, greedy mind talking, isn't it? A real life harem would just end up in cutthroat competition between the wives. That sounds like hell to me, not the peaceful, loving family that I want.

“Now that you've been able to perform one of the special techniques,” Fiora continued. “You are now officially an Adept-rank swordsman in Galahad-style. Or so my teacher said to me when I first successfully performed the technique all those years ago.”

“Adept-rank?" Ah, that's right. I've read it in the book Fiora had given me. There are seven ranks of mastery in the sword schools of Lancelot and Galahad.

  1. Maestro, the strongest one.
  2. Virtuoso
  3. Champion
  4. Expert
  5. Adept
  6. Apprentice
  7. Initiate, the weakest one.



"You're not a member of either Order, are you? So you can't really say I'm an Adept-rank."

"Psshaw, formalities, who cares about them? If I say you're Adept-rank, then you're Adept-rank, got it?"

The Orders I was talking about were of course, the Order of Lancelot and the Order of Galahad. Their founders, their first generation Maestros, were disciples of the Legendary Hero himself, so suffice to say that they’re an organization with a long history behind them. It's kinda hard to explain what they are, since they're like a mixture of sword school and a monastic order. They each hold their own small territory in the Holy Continent, ruling them independently from any other countries, even the Holy Empire. They don’t really dabble in politics, preferring to spend their time honing their art of the blade, so the common folks who live there usually just rule themselves. Or so Fiora told me anyway.

There are other, similar organizations in the world, like the Order of The Righteous Fist, which, by the way, was the school those monk assassins most likely belonged to. Instead of the sword, they would use their own fists to fight.

Technically, to be called a swordsman of rank such and such of a certain style, you have to pass their qualifications first.

“Just one more rank and you’ll be able to open your own sword school,” Fiora continued, still with the same smile on her face. “I doubt you’d be interested in such a thing though.”

...Yeah, not going to spend my second life as a sword teacher, thank you very much.

We left Sigil and the Grand Priestess a while ago. We were currently on route to our next destination, the Kingdom of Fenesia, where we would visit the next Grand Priest. Fenesia was one of the vassal kingdoms of the Empire, located to its east, or to put it in a larger perspective, it was located on the southeastern end of the Holy Continent itself. We weren’t rushing to get there however, as Fiora demanded we devote more time on training, which now couldn’t be done on a carriage.

The reason? Because of the cat assassin from before.

Helen told us about him. Apparently, he was **the** top assassin of the underground world. No one knew his real name, but his alias was the Hunter of Death (wow, quite the chuuni name there). If he had settled on a target, then that target would be already considered dead, as no one ever escaped from his blade. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the kind of assassin that would accept a contract merely for money. He **lived** for the thrill of the hunt, yearned for it. That’s why he would only accept targets that personally interested him.

He wasn’t alone either, as he had a number of companions with them. For particularly tough jobs, he would call upon their help. Their last “hunt” was a business tycoon that had S-ranked adventurers as his bodyguard. Yet he perished anyways.

In short, he was a terrifying foe, and since he had declared he would come after us with his whole merry band, Fiora decided it would be wiser for us to train to be stronger.

Yes, us. As in, her as well.

That’s why she put on her training outfit. Because she would also do her own training, instead of just watching me doing it.

_After she lost to the Grand Priestess, she probably realized the limits of her strength. Not to mention how she couldn’t gain a clear advantage against the assassin as well._

Personally, I would be fine slowing down to train like this… if I don’t have Sherry in my mind. It’s still so far away until I can even get to the Demon Continent, and I kept wondering if Sherry’s doing alright there. If only there’s some magic item or something that I can use to communicate with her, or at the very least, send a message. Only now I realize just how convenient having a global network of communication is.

And I’m afraid the more I spend time with Fiora and being teased by her, she’ll eventually weaken my willpower enough and make me break my promise with Sherry.

“What’s with the glum face? You’re not happy you just mastered a technique you worked so hard on?” Fiora asked with her hands folded under her chest, making those two mounds even more noticeable.

"Just thinking that I want to send a letter to Sherry. And my sister as well." I sighed. "But I don't know where the latter currently is, while Sherry's village at the Demon Continent is completely isolated from the outside world."

"Hmm." She tilted her head slightly away. "I think I know a magic tool you can use for that purpose."

"Wait, really?" My eyes shone.

"Don't get too excited though. It's a really rare item. No magic craftsman ever managed to replicate it. You can only find it inside World Dungeons, at their depths. Well, at your level, you'd probably be able to go that far."

I started to consider whether I should pay a visit to the nearest World Dungeon. I should check my map.

And besides, if you're reborn in a fantasy world yet you never try to conquer a dungeon, what are you doing with your life?

"I know what you're thinking." Fiora smirked. "You're seriously considering going dungeon crawling, don't you? Well, do it after you finish escorting me then."

_Making sure where my priorities are, eh?_

Yeah, I don’t mind. I’m in no rush. Our promise said that she would return once Marina finished her education, which meant around one year and a couple months from now, since I was already eleven right now. Yep, happy birthday me. And I already started going through the process of puberty as well. Hopefully, that means I’ll be able to grow taller soon.

“The next technique I will teach you is Legato, a parrying technique you can use to repel projectiles heading towards your direction. And yes, that includes magic as well.”

_Well, that sounds useful. Finally, a defensive technique. I don’t really need offensive techniques like Staccato since I have my magic. But defensive? That’s definitely important._

“To introduce it to you, why don’t you try it yourself? Come. Fire at me with your spells.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Hmm, is that a look that says ‘I don’t want to hurt you Fiora!’? Who do you think I am? My master says I’m already an Expert-rank at Galahad-style. You, who is only an Adept, shouldn’t talk back to me. Instead, worry whether or not you’d be able to even land a hit.”

_Ah, there it is. Her smug grin has returned._

“Alright. Fine. I’ll take on your challenge.” I returned with my own smug grin. “Just so you know I’ll be going easy from you early on. Just to see the extent of your ability.”

“Hmph, suit yourself.”

She readied her sword, while I took out my staff. I sheathed back my sword on the other hand. This would be a test of pure magic, nothing more.

"Fireball!"

I started from my Beginner-lever spell. Of course, I wasn't just casting one or two of them, but a whole barrage, while using my Wind Step to circle around her swiftly. As expected, not a single one of them landed, no matter what element it was. She either deftly dodged it or parried it back at me.

"Come on now! This is too easy!" She taunted.

_Fine! Time to rev it up to Intermediate-level spells!_

With a smile, I continued barraging her from all directions. She still remained unschated, but I did notice how she now had to put more effort in deflecting my attacks.

"Not enough! Too slow and too weak!"

"Alright! Advanced-level it is!"

I began by creating a Flame Wall around her to limit her movement. And then, I cast Water Spout as it's a spell she won't be able to deflect, seeing how it conjures water to pop out from the earth.

However...

"Legato! Half Moon!"

Moving her sword in a 180 degrees slashing motion, she dispelled part og my Flame Wall, allowing her to run from the follow-up Water spell.

"Earthen Break!"

The ground beneath her shattered, but she parried all the rocks that flew towards her.

"Rock Cannon!"

She cut the rock into two like it was nothing.

"Thunder Strike!"

Lightning struck from above, but she blocked it with her sword.

"Cold Blast!"

"Legato! Full Moon!"

She twirled her sword in a circle, forbidding even a single ice or snow to reach her.

"Air Sunder!"

"Legato! New Moon!"

Using a single thrust, she pierced through the cyclone, dispersing it immediately.

I was speechless. _So this is the true extent of her power._

"That was good." She smirked, while panting. "I like that. But I'm still not satisfied. Come. You still got more, don't you? Show it all! Give it all you got!"

I gulped. The way she looked right now, I had to say, it was quite erotic. The sweat made her skin glisten and the fabric of her clothes clung even tighter to her shape.

I shook my head. Now's not the time to think such thoughts.

"Well, I certainly could use my strongest spell, but I really don't think you'd be able to handle it." I put my hands on my waist, puffing my chest.

"Try me."

She readied her stance once more. I could only sigh.

"Alright." I put on my serious face. "This is a Wind spell. It will come to you really, really fast. Faster than sound fast. And if it hits you full force, there would be nothing left of that part of the body."

"Shut your yapping and just do it."

"Look, I don't want to accidentally blow your head off. You still haven't paid me yet after all." I chuckled, trying to make a joke.

"If you kill me, then I'll absolve you of any responsibilities."

"How about my conscience?"

"I already saw you using it against that assassin. It's nothing impressive."

_Nothing impressive? Is this girl serious? Or is she just bluffing?_

"Helen will murder me if I end up killing you."

"She's weaker than me. You'd have no problem with her."

I took a long, deep breath. "Very well. One Boom Cannon, coming up."

I gathered my mana, aimed my wand at her, and waited to fire it until she gave the signal.

"Go!"

"Boom Cannon!"

The spell launched, and immediately it crashed into Fiora's blade.

"T-this is… so powerful… I-I can't—"

 _Oh shit!_ "Fiora!" I yelled. _Shit shit shit I can't dispel the spell I've already fired!_

"Hyaaahh!" She yelled as she brought down her sword.

She cut the spell into two, creating two small craters behind her. However, she was also sent flying, landing a few meters away from where she once stood.

_She did it! She overcame my spell! Barely but still…_

I ran to her at once. Only to find her with her back on the ground, panting heavily from the exertion she just performed.

And then…

RIIIPPPPPP

Her training clothes shattered into pieces, leaving her only in her panties.

_W-whoa! Is this seriously one of those cliched wardrobe failure situations? Like when the heroine gets her clothes ripped apart due to an attack? I guess my Boom Cannon did this to her, huh?_

My perverted eyes immediately went towards her naked boobs. I had my suspicions but only now it was proven true. She wasn't wearing anything under her sports bra-like shirt!

My eyes then moved down to her panties. Ha, frilly, lacy white! Just like I guessed! Pretty low cut and skimpy too.

"Enjoying the view, Hugo?" She said with a smirk, covering her breasts with one of her arms. "Haah, that really was more powerful than I had expected."

She stood up like nothing had happened. I expected her to go all red, demanding me not to look. But I suppose to a girl who had intentionally been teasing me all this time, this was nothing to her.

_Tch, no fun._

"Well, I gotta say, you don't look half-bad without clothes on." I grinned, eyeing her all over. "Nice perky breasts and cute frilly panties. Love the little bow at the front as well."

"Hmm hmm. I see." Her smirk grew wider. "I can certainly see that, judging by this thing."

SQUEEZE

"A-ah!"

"Hmm, nice moan. Pretty cute."

And just like that, she returned back to our carriage, with Helen rushing to her, no doubt asking what happened to her clothes. 

Afterwards, the maid gave me constant glares and huffs for a good week or so. I even sensed Nicole somewhat avoiding me as well.

This didn’t make Fiora give up however. Instead, she demanded me to use my Boom Cannon on her over and over. It was obvious what her goal was—to surpass her own limits and to get stronger.

And yes, that led to even more clothing accidents. However, each time, she would be able to defend herself against the spell more and more. Honestly, it was almost terrifying, seeing how a spell I worked for so long and hard on my own slowly being overtaken by her talent in the sword. I started to wonder if she was actually more talented in swordsmanship than me in magic.

Oh, Nicole was also training as well by the way, in her holy magic. Or rather, as she told me, she had some pointers given to her by the High and Grand Priestess on how to use holy magic in a more efficient manner. Something about her barriers. Helen was the one helping her train. She was a warrior/ninja/battle maid after all.

When I asked why she did it, she simply replied with a smile, “If I would become a high priestess, then it would be prudent for me to learn how to fight better. A priestess of Milicis’ duty isn’t just limited to healing the sick. If she can exterminate the monsters that terrorize the land, then it would be even better. After all, our Great Saint herself was like that when she was still alive.”

_Huh, I guess she got inspired by how Lunayra is revered as this really strong cleric. She wasn’t around because she was exterminating dangerous monsters in her territory after all._

After a month traveling this way, to the north and east using the main road (no swampy detours this time around), we finally reached the border city between the Holy Empire and Fenesia.


	89. A Date with Fiora

Lumen Mountain Passage. Just like the Ronia Mountain Passage before it, it was another trek between two mountains that allowed travelers to leave the Empire and migrated towards the Kingdom of Fenesia. Unlike Ronia, which cut through the Blooming Rose Mountain Range, Lumen’s passage cut through the Eastern Dragon Mountain Range.

Of course, we wouldn’t go through the passage straight away. Having to restock and resupply and everything, not to mention resting, we decided to stay a single day in the border town before the passage, also named Lumen.

We arrived at nighttime, so we immediately made a beeline to an inn. We had our humble dinner there as well, as we were tired enough as it was.

However, when I had just entered my room, preparing to retire for the night, I heard a knock from the door.

"May I come in, Lord Hugo?"

_Huh. What does she want?_

It was Helen's voice. Ever since Fiora started calling me with my name, she started addressing me as if I was her mistress's equal, thus the Lord honorific. And I have to say, it feels pretty good being addressed that way. Reminds me of Mary back home. Hmm, wonder how she’s doing. Last I heard of her, she was getting married. I sure hope she had a happy family back at the village. 

"Yeah, come on in!"

The door creaked open and the maid slipped in. As usual, she had that hostile look on her face. Even after all this time, she was still suspicious of me, I guess.

"I would like to speak about Fiora," she started.

"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Your Royal Highness is fond of you. I can clearly see that, and she herself has admitted it when I asked her."

_Well, that came out of nowhere._

"So I came here to ask you, Master Hugo. Are you truly going to reciprocate her feelings? Or are you just leading her along with no intention of actually committing to her? If it’s the latter...”

_Sheesh, that glare. Send me chills every single time._

_And straight to the point, huh? Just like her usual, fine-combed self._

I sighed. “Look. I’ve told her this and I’m going to tell you as well. I have no interest in becoming her lover or her knight or whatever. I already got a girl waiting for me, I have no intention of cheating on her. I might lend her a hand later, when she made her move for the throne, but as a friend, and nothing more.”

She didn’t respond immediately. Instead, her gaze only worsened, as she seemingly tried to drill to get a look on what’s inside my head.

“And yet, you continue to partake in lascivious, perverse glare at her.”

“Well, I do that to every attractive girl and woman I see,” I casually admitted. There’s no point in pretending that I’m not a pervert to her. She no doubt would already know, either by her own observation or from Fiora or Nicole.

“Really? But you never gaze lecherously towards Lady Nicole.”

"Hmm, I guess because her charm doesn't lie in her body. It's in her heart and mannerism," I replied, still maintaining my casual smile. "Don't worry though. I do keep some of my perverted sight towards you," I said as I smirked, staring right at her twin mountains that always threatened to pop out of her button-up maid outfit. I decided to tease her a little, just to see how she would react.

"Y-you, you really are one perverted little kid, aren't you?"

She quickly covered her large chest with her arms, blushing adorably at the same time.

_Well, that's cuter than I had expected._

"H-how did you get so perverted when you're still so young? How did your parents raise you anyways?"

"Well, Father is even more perverted than me, especially towards big-boobed ladies." I made sure to look right at her as I spoke. "And Mother? Hmm, I still remember her moans every night as she—"

"That's… that's quite enough!"

Unable to take it anymore, she quickly left the room, heading straight towards Fiora's. She didn't even bother closing the door behind her.

_Heh, so she has that side too, huh?_

"Hugo, what did you do to her?"

_Oh shit!_

To my surprise, Nicole was outside as well. Since she was already in her nightdress, she probably had just returned from the privy or something before she went to sleep, and just so happened to walk near my room when Helen bolted out of the room. She had a displeased frown on her face, with her hands folded near her stomach. Yep, she obviously didn't appreciate my teasing.

"N-nothing. Just a little joke, that's all," I put up a nervous grin.

"A joke isn't a joke if the recipient doesn't laugh with you," she replied.

_Goddamn, she really is the honor student type, isn't it?_

She entered my room and closed the door behind her.

"You two were talking about Fiora, weren't you?" She began.

I sighed again. "Yeah, we were."

"So you're already know that she might have some feelings for you." She averted her gaze.

"I am already aware of that as well. I'm not dense, you know." He smiled.

"And your answer?"

"You already know what my answer is. I'm not going to leave Sherry, so don't you worry, alright?" I patted her shoulder. She was currently sitting beside me on my bed.

She smiled back, but it was not a fully happy smile. It was a melancholic, regretful one.

"What's the matter?" I couldn't help but ask.

"It's just… well, I feel bad for Fiora. I do believe she likes you truly. But since you already have Sherry, that means she won't be able to have you as well." She smiled bitterly.

"Well, it can't be helped, can it? I can't very well marry them both." I chuckled.

"...Yes, I suppose you couldn't."

She then sat up and apologized for intruding on me, before leaving the room.

_Huh, what was that all about?_

\------

"Hugo, why don't you take this opportunity to dress up?" Fiora spoke after we had our breakfast the next morning.

"Dress… up?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You're pretending to be some young noble, right? Then you should dress better. Your current clothes might fool a commoner, but you won't gain the respect of an aristocrat."

"You do know I don't have much money with me, right? Especially since you haven't paid me even a copper for my service yet."

"...Fine. I'll come with you then. I'll pick out your clothes and pay for them as well." She smiled. "That's alright with you, right?"

_Wait, did she just turn me into her personal dress-up doll?_

\----

We headed towards the affluent section of the town, where all the wealthy merchants and nobles would have their homes. Nicole, as usual, was on her personal mission to give aid and healing in the poor part of the town. I wonder where she got her money from though. As for Helen, Fiora had made it clear that she wanted to go with me on our own, without her attendance. So she probably went to accompany Nicole.

“So, I guess this is a date now?” I said with a little smirk.

“Ha, I suppose it is,” she replied, with her own small smile.

We headed towards a boutique located in said part of the town, or rather, she led me to it. I wasn’t sure how she already knew the place beforehand. She probably ordered Helen last night to go look for it.

_Well, that’s peculiar._

The signboard above the shop spelled out “Ms. Valentine’s Adventurer Boutique. Only well-off adventurers are welcome”. _Wow, that’s pretty rude, isn’’t it?_

“What are you gawking at? Don’t just stand there.” Fiora looked back once she noticed me stopping.

“Sorry, just, admiring the sign,” I said with a chuckle.

“Hmm?” She looked up as well, reading the sign before looking back down and smirking. “What, you’re afraid you’re not a rich adventurer? You’re rich enough as long as you’re with me. Also…"

SWEEP

"You'll go inside as my fiance, got it?" She smirked even wider.

She had yanked my right arm, interlocking it with her left. Of course, this also made me brush with her softness as well, which, knowing her, I'm sure was intentional.

"You know, I still remember when you treated me like your servant all the time," I gave a small grin.

"Well, let's just say you have graduated from that," she replied with her own grin.

The moment we entered, we were greeted by a middle-aged man wearing a formal suit. He gave us a bow and asked what he could possibly be a service for.

"Charles here is my fiance, you see, and I want him to be as well-dressed as possible. Dress him up like a mage, if you would," Fiora explained with her usual smug smile.

"Very well, Miss." He bowed again. "Then please, follow me, Sir Charles."

What ensued afterwards was probably one of the most awkward shopping experiences I had to suffer through. There were no other customers around, so the servant's attention was only towards me and me alone.

"Sir, I believe this shirt would look the best on you."

"U-uh, right, sure…"

"And these pairs of shorts are the most durable and comfortable trousers we have here. Are you fond on how they look, Sir?"

"T-that's fine."

"Ah, here's a good coat for you, Sir. It looks stylish and it gives good protection from the elements."

"Y-yeah, that could work."

In the end, I let him make all the choices. Fiora approved as well, and I suppose the clothes he picked look decent enough that I didn’t bother making any complaints.

After he picked out all the clothes, he told us that I could wear it right away in the changing room available. Well, let’s see how they would look on me, shall we?

…

_Oh wow, this actually looks great!_

From the top, I wore a dark green jacket over a white shirt, accompanied by a red cravat (to think that I would actually ever wear a cravat in real life!). Downwards, I wore a pair of brown shorts that reached down to my upper knee, and then a pair of red socks and brown boots. As for the coat itself, it was mostly white with green trimmings, reaching down to my lower legs. It also had a tall collar, adding to the aristocratic look, I guess.

My old self could never have pulled this look. But with how I look right now, well, let's just say I do have that noble prince look on me, if only just a little.

When I came back out, Fiora eyed me from top to bottom with a satisfied look on her face. 

"Alright. We'll go with that." She turned to the shopkeeper with a smirk. "Here. This should be enough, right?" She placed two gold coind on the cashier counter.

"Ah, yes, of course, milady."

_Two gold coins for all of this. Yeah, pretty expensive alright._

When we were back outside, I remarked, "Two gold coins? Are these clothes really worth that much? It's not like we're buying a full plate mail. None of them are magically enchanted either."

"Perhaps not," she replied. "But this is how the world of aristocracy is. We can spend lavishly, in a way commoners never could."

Makes sense. It's like those rich celebrities who would buy famous, brand-name clothes and bags whose prices would make your eyes pop.

"Do you know who Ms. Valentine is, Hugo? You probably don't, seeing how you're just some kid from the boonies across the sea." She smirked.

"Hmm, back at it again with the insults, I see," I smirked back. "I almost missed that part of you."

"Oh? Never knew you're a masochist, Hugo. Are you insinuating I should insult you more?"

"Nah, I'm good, thank you very much."

Our banters had gotten more pleasant as well, or so I felt. Perhaps it was because of her seeing me as her equal, so she had stopped being as annoying and bratty towards me.

"Anyway, back to my point," Fiora continued. "Ms. Valentine is the most famous clothing designer in the entire EmpireEmpire. She has boutiques everywhere, catered to rich adventurers, mostly those that came from noble backgrounds. There’s a tradition in the Holy Empire for nobles to be taught either swordplay or magic as a kid, and sometimes, that led to the child wanting to become an adventurer when they grow up. Or rather, they try the life of an adventurer for a while, and then return back home, get married to their arranged partners, and then become a proper noble.”

“I thought adventurers are usually looked down upon by the upper class,” I replied.

“Oh, they are indeed.” Her smirk appeared again. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t try their hands on some adventuring on their own. Not the kind of wild and dangerous adventuring, mind you, but the safe and secure kind, usually with bodyguards acting as their party members. So if you ever find a snotty and smug adventurer one day, he might just be a noble.” She chuckled.

“I see…” _I suppose it’s a form of romanticizing adventurers, without actually wanting to face the harsh reality of becoming one. So they would think they’re living the life of a storybook hero._

_Heh, I had that phase once when I was still so naive. Now I know perfectly well just how dangerous being an adventurer can be, after meeting with those three…_

“Now come. We’ll head to the next place.”

_Welp, guess our date isn’t over yet._

\--------

We moved on to our next destination, still in the rich part of town. It looked to be a patisserie or some sort, judging by the giant drawing of a cake on its signboard.

Without hesitation, Fiora entered, with me following behind her with a slightly confused look.

A delicious scent of freshly baked cake entered my nostrils as I entered, making me salivate in an instant. Unlike the boutique from before, it had other customers inside it. Naturally, they were all of the wealthy folk. To my chagrin, they were all couples as well.

_Oh wow, this is an actual date spot she's taking me to._

We took our seats in the corner of the room, away from the rest of the establishment. It was a well-furnished table, with a flowerpot in the middle, containing roses. The seats were cushy as well, with hand and back rests that was extremely comfy.

A waitress dressed like a maid came over to us, curtsied in quite the elegant manner, and asked for our order, after handing the menu, made out of scented and decorated parchment.

"I would like your chocolate fondue and mint chocolate cake," Fiora spoke first, just a mere 30 seconds after she received her menu. “Oh, and the strawberry parfait as well.”

"Heh, never knew you're a sweet tooth, Guinny," I grinned. Guinny, or Guinevere, was the fake name she had chosen for herself. It was a common name, so it wouldn't draw suspicion, even if it was her actual middle name.

"You're not a real girl if you don't like sweet things, you know," she replied with her own cheeky grin.

"Not afraid of getting fat, are we?"

"How rude! That's what exercising is for!"

The waitress smiled as she watched our interaction. Oh great, she probably thought we are a real couple.

"I'll take the orange cake instead," I declared.

"And the drinks, Sir? Miss?"

"We'll take the grape wine, if you would," Fiora answered.

The waitress curtsied once before she left. In a medieval-ish world like this, you had to memorize everything. No taking notes.

"Hugo," Fiora started once the waitress left. "I'd like to talk to you about Helen." _Oh shit, suddenly her expression turns serious._ "I would appreciate it if you would not tease her, especially in sexual matters like that."

I sighed. "It's about last night, isn't it? Yeah, I might have gotten too carried away to be honest… Wait, how do you know about it anyways?"

"Because she suddenly insisted for me to dump you as you're a 'unrepentant lecher that would pose a threat to my purity', or something like that." She smirked.

"Unrepentant lecher, huh? You know, she might have a point." I chuckled.

But then, I paused, as Fiora’s expression switched gears entirely, turning into an entirely serious, melancholic one.

“That Helen… she was a good friend of my mother.”

_Whoa, seriously?_

“They were both slaves, in case you didn’t know.” She smiled bitterly. “And Helen… she only followed in Mother’s footsteps out of concern for her wellbeing. She didn’t really want to become an imperial maid herself.”

_...I see. So Helen… does Fiora view her as a replacement for her mother?_

“She was always the logical, rational one. Unlike my mother, who was blinded by that thing they call love, she knew just how dangerous it could be for a mere slave and maid to be so favored by the emperor himself. She warned her many times—that she should distance herself—and yet she never listened.”

Fiora sighed before continuing.

"That is also why she doesn't appreciate people giving lecherous looks towards her. Do you know how many fellow perverts like yourself that work and live in the palace? She had men leering over that bouncing breasts of hers all the time."

_...Dammit, now I feel bad._

"I understand," I replied with a determined look. "I apologize to her right away once I have the chance."

"Good." Her smirk returned. "Though personally, I wouldn't mind perverts that much if they're all like you."

"Heh, was that a praise I just heard?" I returned with my own smirk. "I suppose you can indeed call me a gentleman pervert."

"Here we are, Sir. Miss."

Our chat was interrupted by the return of the waitress, bringing us our cakes and drinks.

"Thank you." I gave her a smile.

"You're welcome, Sir," she replied, curtsying again with a slight blush.

before leaving once again.

"Well, look at that. You're quite the womanizer, aren't you?" Fiora commented.

"What?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she started cutting her cake with her knife before bringing a piece into her mouth.

And in one single bite, she swallowed the entire thing.


	90. Fiora’s Goal

**Helen**

“Mass Heal!”

A pleasant light enveloped the area, expanding in a circle with Lady Nicole as the center. The faces of the people surrounding her immediately brightened, as they no doubt felt the effect of her healing spell. Even my body felt a little lighter as well.

Mass Heal. It was a Master-level healing spell that Lady Nicole had just managed to cast recently, allowing a cleric to heal everyone present in a certain radius around the caster. She told me that it was all thanks to the pointers given by Lady Michaela that she was able to perform the spell. Perhaps all those hours with her were on how to learn this spell?

With this spell, her task of giving free healing to the poor could be done at a much faster rate.

After healing them, she would also give them some copper coins as well. They weren’t much, but it was part of her vow as a priestess not to live lavishly. She was given a generous sum of gold at the start of our journey by Lady Miriam, but instead of using it to buy fancy clothes or equipment, she instead rationed it to give to the poor. That’s why she always wore that black, plain dress of hers.

Of course, Her Highness offered to pay her money for her services towards her, but she refused, saying that she helped her as a friend, not as her servant.

Really, this child is too good for this world.

I just hope she wouldn’t lose that goodness once she climbed up in the ranks of priesthood.

“Haaahh…”

I sighed, as my mind wandered towards Her Highness. Is she really safe on her own with that boy? And I’m not just talking about assassins going after her life. Really, for a 11-year old boy, he’s too lecherous. It reminds me of those brats that were already taught to treat their woman servants like they are slaves, so they would gleefully grab their butt or lift their skirts without a care in the world.

But I suppose he’s not like them. He never actually acts on his perversion. Even stripping Her Highness naked was just an accident occurring thanks to their training.

_But still, to think that he likes to leer at my breasts as well…_

I looked down to the two mounds attached to my chest. I never asked for them. In fact, they were a nuisance, hindering my mobility in combat.

I gave them a quick squeeze. _Why do men love them so much, really?_

\-------

After Lady Nicole finished her healing duty, we decided to go look for Her Highness and Lord Hugo at once. I was starting to worry about them. And not just because of possible assassins.

"Lady Nicole." I spoke as we walked. "What do you think about Lord Hugo?"

"Hmm?" She raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, Helen?"

"It's just that… I'm not sure what to make of him. On one hand, he's a well-mannered and intelligent boy, and a good influence for Her Highness. But on the other hand…"

"He's a pervert. That's what you want to say, isn't it, Helen?" Lady Nicole smiled as she said those words. As usual, she could read people very well.

"I fear he's only pretending to be a gentleman, while secretly hiding the fact that he's a monstrous lecher until the girl he targets falls for him."

"Do you truly believe that? Of Hugo?"

_Her smile. She already knows my answer, doesn’t she?_

“...No. I suppose I don’t. I know that he’s different from all those perverted nobles I had the misfortune of encountering over the years. And their perverted kids as well.”

“Then, you shouldn’t think like that, Helen,” Nicole continued. “I believe in him myself. I know he’s an earnest boy. His perversion is simply his vice, and we all have our own vices, don’t we? The important part is that despite said vice, he’s still able to be a good person. And I do believe he is indeed good, from the bottom of his heart.”

As I stole a glance towards her, I couldn’t help but smile. _And just like that, she already made my useless worry disappear._ Oh _Lady Nicole. You truly are suited to become a high priestess with her own flock to guide._

“You’re right. I was worrying about nothing. His perverted comment towards me last night was simply him making a joke, that’s all.”

“Hmm? Perverted comments?” Nicole tilted her head.

“He said to me that he had always been staring at my chest.”

“...Ah. Yes, certainly. I can imagine him doing that.” Lady Nicole’s smile became slightly more bitter. “He was truthful enough to admit his vice, even to the person herself. I have to commend him for that. Not for the staring, but for telling the truth.”

“...Is my chest really that attractive, Lady Nicole?”

“...Well, some men do indeed like them larger.” She sighed. “I do wish more men would be able to look more beyond a woman’s physical appearance. Even Hugo was charmed by Sherry’s cuteness.”

_...Oh, right. Lady Nicole always believes herself to be a plain young woman. And knowing all the romantic tales and books she loves to read, she may be yearning for some romance of her own as well._

_I suppose that is her vice._

_I myself have given up on romance completely. Men aren’t to be trusted. I shall devote my life only to Her Highness until the day I die._

\---------

**Hugo**

_Welp, I feel I've witnessed an entirely new side of the princess._

We left the cafe/patisserie quite some time after, once Fiora finished stuffing her stomach with her desserts. I never thought she would be able to eat that much, but I suppose I was wrong.

_Well, she should be fine. She trains hard every day with the sword after all. She won’t get chubby anytime soon. Or ever, if she keeps up her training._

When we returned back to our meeting point, which was our inn, Nicole and Helen were already there, ready to continue our journey right away, as Helen had purchased all the necessary supplies we needed to continue onward. In the end, we didn’t need to stay in the border city for a full day after all. We departed on our carriage after lunch, near the afternoon.

“Our next destination would be the capital of Fenesia, Valmo,” Fiora explained once we were inside.

“Fenesia is one of the Empire’s vassal kingdoms, right?” I spoke up. “So would you be speaking with the Fenesian King there? You know, to persuade him to your cause?” I figured it would make sense for her to try gaining the support of the vassal kings as well, not just the Church.

“...No, not yet. I have nothing that I could use to convince him. If he wasn’t a fool, which he shouldn’t be, he wouldn’t want to ally with me, the most disadvantaged candidate to the throne.”

“So, how would you convince him then? And the other vassal kingdoms for that matter?”

Fiora paused, averting her gaze away from me, looking at the window to her right instead.

“...Hugo, do you know how Fenesia became a vassal kingdom of the Empire? And the other vassal kingdoms for that matter?”

This time, it was my turn to pause. I haven’t really read any history books regarding the Empire, but if I have to guess, judging by the Empire moniker itself…

“...Through conquest, isn’t it? The Empire made them become their vassals through their military might,” I answered.

“Correct,” Fiora smiled, turning back to face me. “It was a story from a long time ago, where this continent was less peaceful and more chaotic. Back then, our reigning monarch, the Hero-Emperor Galdin Matreya Pendagron, decided that it was his destiny, and the Empire’s destiny as well, to rule over the entire Holy Continent.”

“Hero-Emperor?” I raised my eyebrow. “Where did he get the Hero part? I thought that’s only reserved for Arthur.”

“Because before he started conquering the continent, he already conquered a number of Demon Lords—the most infamous one being Tiamat, the Draconic Demon Lord. The nickname for her was the Black Wings of Death, as anyone who saw her spreading her wings would never live to tell the tale,” Fiora replied with an expression that could only be described as adoration. "Using that power, he nearly united the whole continent,” she continued. "One by one the kingdoms fell as no one was able to challenge his strength. Even the various beast races and the Westernese Barbarians all bent to his strength.”

To the northwest of the Holy Empire, as the name suggested, beyond the Kingdom of Sumia and Aubibaria, was a region they named the Great Plains. Miles and miles of endless plains, populated by nomadic warrior tribes dubbed the Westernese. There was a period in history where they would raid and pillage and even conquer their neighbors, but today, that golden age of their history had pretty much disappeared.

The beast races on the other hand were located to the immediate north of the Holy Empire. Each of the races had their own rulers, but after constant mingling between them, not to mention the necessity to protect themselves from their neighbours, they had formed the so-called Beast Confederacy. 

"However, that ambition ended in the far north, where he declared war against the High Elves." Nicole spoke again. "With their terrifying magic, they crushed his forces, and he had to run with his tail between his legs. He knew that even he was no match for their affinity for magic."

The High Elves on the other hand dwelled in the Forbidden Land, at the utmost north of the continent. It gained that name because simply, other races that weren’t high elves were forbidden by them to enter. It was an isolationist nation, without any trades or even contact with the outside world.

Oh, by the way, the term “high elf” itself didn’t imply a wholly separate race from ordinary elves. High elves are simply put—elves with untainted blood. If a non-elf marries an elf, and has a child with them, the child will be elves. However, their ears would shorten, as well as their lifespan. Thus, high elves are elves with the longest ears and the longest lifespan. They are even believed to be pretty much immortal, unable to die from old age.

So, the high elves of the Forbidden Land even forbid other, “impure” elves to enter.

_Yep, sounds like the typical arrogant elves to me._

_But learning this history though. That means they must possess really powerful mages with them. Well, when you get to live that long, you’ll accumulate so much skill and knowledge that it would be weird for you not to be that strong._

“Okay, let me process this information one by one, alright?” I finally decided to talk once again. “First of all, weren't all the Demon Lords slain by the Legendary Hero a millenia ago?" I still remember my books saying how he triumphed over every single Demon Lord before fighting against the Demon God.

"The majority of them were indeed slain by him and his companions," the cleric answered. "However, a millenia was enough time for new Demon Lords to appear. Thankfully, the Demon God is a unique existence. Another being such as he wouldn't just appear out of nowhere. Or at least, I hope so.”

_Well, that ain’t too reassuring, isn’t it? Then again, if another Demon God appears, then another Hero should appear as well, knowing how the trope usually goes. So we’d be fine. Probably. If we can just run away from the demons, that is, until he took care of the problem._

“Oh yeah, Nicole.” I spoke again. “If you were to compare the current Demon Lords to the Council members of the Magocracy, who do you think is stronger?”

“The Demon Lords.” It was Fiora who answered. “There’s no doubt about it. If they were to band together in one single force, well, the entire human world would have to band together as well."

I gulped. _So they really are strong._

"So, this Galdin guy must be really strong to be able to beat the strongest of them in combat." I replied.

"He was," Fiora answered. "And that's the level I have to reach, if I want to inherit the throne."

"Fiora! You're still thinking of defeating a Demon Lord?!"

Nicole suddenly spoke in a tone I never heard her speak in before. There was a combination of disbelief drawn on her face.

I was surprised as well. What is this about her defeating a Demon Lord?

“Heh, thanks to you, Hugo, I now realize just how important it is for a ruler to be adored by her subjects,” she replied, but towards me instead of Nicole. “And so, to gain the heart of the masses, I shall take down a Demon Lord or two.”

“That’s too reckless!” Nicole interrupted her, now half-yelling. “Do you know how powerful even the weakest of them are?! And if you do that, you’d also risk provoking them to attack the human world!”

“Ah, that’s right. You belong to the coexistence faction of the Church, don’t you, Nicole?” She was now full on smirking towards the priestess. “You and your Lady Miriam.”

“It’s not just about that!” Nicole fired back. “ I worry about you, Fiora!”

_The coexistence faction? I guess it’s the faction that wants to get along with the demons? I suppose it makes sense that Nicole would belong to them, knowing how she reacted when she learned how Sherry was actually a demon._

_So I guess the opposing faction would be the guys who just want to kill them._

"Then don't. You already know I don't intend to do my heroic quest right away. After fighting against that Grand Priestess, I very well know how weak I still am." Suddenly, she looked back at me. "And that's why I have decided. I would go all the way to the east, to where the Order of Galahad is. I will take refuge there and polish myself in the way of the sword. I will be untouchable by any assassin, as I would be surrounded by people far stronger than I am, and I will become much stronger than I currently am. Killing two birds with one stone, no?" She smiled.

"So you're suspending your visit to the other Grand Priests?” I asked.

“Yes. Speaking with that Grand Priestess also makes me realize I won’t be able to persuade them that easily. So there would be no point in me going straight to them right away either, just like with the kings of the vassal states.”

"But the Order… they're supposed to be neutral, no? Would they just take you in like that?”

“Of course they would.” Her smile became wider. “Because they only care about one’s sword prowess and nothing more. You can be a no-name commoner straight from the slums or an imperial princess. They would accept you if you show promise, talent, and dedication in the way of the sword.”

“But they would know you’re just using them to gain power for your selfish reasons,” I continued pointing out the flaws I see in her plan.

“That is fine with them. They know most of the trainees from abroad don’t really come for pure, unselfish reasons.”

I paused. I no longer could see any more flaws in her reasoning.

Well, other than the “killing the Demon Lord” part. I still believe it’s a risky, foolhardy plan. How strong do you have to be to take on one of them anyways?

“So, how long are you going to stay there?” I asked.

“Oh? What’s this? Are you saying you’re going to wait until I finished my training?” She smirked. “I thought you didn’t care, Hugo.”

“Heh, just making sure I won’t be caught off-guard if you suddenly appear in my footsteps years later,” I returned.

“...I don’t know. It all depends on how fast I could reach the rank I want. Yes, I believe my goal shall be Virtuoso-rank, just one step under the Meister herself.”

_Virtuoso, huh? That’s certainly one lofty goal. So very few ever reached that rank, at least according to the book she gave me. She’s already strong enough as she is. How much stronger she will be if she reaches that rank? I can’t help but be excited to anticipate her growth._

_Sherry is training in the sword as well, though she won’t have any ranks attached to her name, seeing how she would be only trained by her people. I wonder how strong she is compared to her as well. I have a feeling she might already be a sword monster by the now._

“So, once we reach Valmo, it would be goodbye, as you need to go to the north while I would go to the south. You have your darling Sherry to meet right? So you shouldn’t waste your time accompanying me.”

“Hmph, try not to miss me too much, alright?” I chuckled, teasing her a little. Inside however, I’m not sure whether I should really abandon her like that. What if the assassins came after her when I was already gone? Can she make it to the Order before they get to her?

“Hey, Fiora, how long does it take from Valmo to the Order anyways?” I decided to ask.

“What, you want to accompany me all the way there? Are you sure you’re not the one who’s going to miss me?” She sneered, as she held up her index and middle finger. “One month. So you would waste two months of not being with your dear Sherry. Oh, and Nicole is coming with me. There’s a Grand Priest in the region. So you don’t have to worry.”

I turned silent. I really don’t know what to say. Should I insist on accompanying them? Or should I just leave and be on my way?

Well, I still have some time before I have to decide. No need to rush thinking about it right now.


	91. Fortissimo and Boom Rifle

“Holy Bolt!”

_Here it is! It’s coming right towards me!_

“Legato!”

With a firm swing of my sword, I parried the spell away to the skies.

“Congratulations, Hugo! You finally did it!” Nicole smiled, clasping her hands together.

I let out a sigh of relief. _That’s one more special technique down._

We were currently on route to Valmo, the capital of the Fenesia Kingdom. Just like how he had been traveling so far, we made time for training, even though it would slow the pace of our travels down. As a result, I managed to successfully master the basic form of Legato, while Fiora finally managed to learn how to parry my Boom Cannon. Well, barely anyway, still with both hands on her sword and a staggered pose afterwards. She was, of course, not satisfied.

It wasn’t the only thing that we trained together though. She asked both me and Nicole to bombard her with spells from all directions. It was a test of her senses and endurance, as even one split up would lead to a dangerous blow. She didn’t care though. Even if she suffered injuries from our training, Nicole was there to fix her up right away.

No fixing her ruined clothes though.

“Ha, took you long enough,” Fiora exclaimed. She had been watching on the sidelines all this time. “Now, we can move on to the next special technique.”

She held up her hand. It was holding what looked like a branch she just picked up from a tree nearby.

“Attack me with your sword, Hugo,” she exclaimed, holding the branch in a horizontal blocking position.

I raised my eyebrows. _She’s going to block my sword with a thin piece of wood like that?_

_..Ah, nevermind. I think I know where this is going._

I walked up to her, drew my sword, and swung in a downward manner.

“Fortissimo!” She yelled.

CLACK

_W-whoa!_

I was still taken aback, even though I already saw it coming. The branch completely absorbed my blow, without a single scratch on its wooden surface.

“This is a pure defensive ability, hardening your equipment to absorb the blows of your opponent better,” she explained with a smirk. “Not just limited to physical attacks either. A more difficult version of Fortissimo would allow you to block magic as well.”

_Yep, it’s a defense-enhancing ability alright._

She then parried my sword to the side before throwing the branch to the ground.

“I wouldn’t rely on it much however. You and I—we are both used to dodging attacks instead of receiving them. We are not like those full-armored knights who would benefit the most with this technique.”

_Yeah, I don’t think I can stand wearing full plate armor all the time. It’s probably really hot inside it. Not to mention heavy._

“However, we can still use Fortissimo to block an opponent’s blow with our sword. Imagine a giant, swinging his gigantic club towards you. With Fortissimo, you can block the blow with a single hand without even flinching.”

I can just imagine how cool one would look doing that.

“Of course, you can also use it with ordinary clothes. And even your own skin. But naturally, it would be less effective than steel armor. Or a durable skin of a demon. We’ve talked about the Demon Lords before, right? Some of them have the ability to coat themselves with aura to such an extent that they could walk through a rain of arrows and spells without even receiving a single scratch.”

_So I guess it’s like when you’re suddenly forced to fight a boss with extremely high defense values. Urgh, it’s always a pain in the ass, fighting guys like that._

“To overcome that, you just have to surpass it with a stronger Staccato. Or, if you’re a mage, a spell powerful enough to break through their defenses.”

I suddenly remember how my Boom Cannon couldn’t injure Vera’s snake. A Demon Lord would be even more durable than that.

Yeah, I really need to figure out how to improve that spell. Its power, penetration ability, and even speed could still be improved. Fiora had said that her teacher considered her to be on par with an Expert-rank Galahad swordswoman. So there are even stronger swordsmen than her out there. And I would be stupid if I don't prepare for them.

_Aaah, all I want is just to have fun and easy adventures with cute girls by my side._

And so, I started developing a new version of Boom Cannon. I wouldn't say it's necessarily stronger, but it would be faster with more piercing power to it. I need to miniaturize the mana image and flow though, and that is easier said than done. It requires me to have an even more precise Mana control after all.

But once I'm done, heh, I can't wait to show Fiora how I've surpassed her once again.

\----

*stare*

_Aah, I'm curious._

*staaaaareee*

_Aaarghh, I really am curious!_

After our training, we were currently back onboard our carriage, resuming our journey. We were all tired and tuckered out, understandably enough, and as a result, both Fiora and Nicole were sleeping on their seats. I too felt pretty sleepy, but not enough to fall asleep right away.

What was I curious about, you might ask? Well, it was the book Nicole's hands were currently holding. She had always been reading throughout our journey, and when I asked what she was reading, she would either answer that it was her religious text or she would evade the question, blushing as she put the book away.

Normally, I wouldn't care about other people's hobbies, but after sitting so close to her all this time, I really want to know what she's reading. It can't all be religious texts, can it?

And this is **exactly** the time to do it.

"Slowly and gently…"

I reached my hand forward, as she was sitting across me. I grabbed the book and pulled it as methodically as I could from her hands.

_Urgh. Her grip is surprisingly strong._

Only after I increased my pull that the book was freed from her clutch.

With a grin on my face, I immediately opened the leather-bound book.

_"Ahn, n-no, Sir Stanford! You can't be doing this! What if everyone finds out?"_

_"I don't care, Villene. I love you. And I want you and you only as my wife. Abandon your priestess duties and become the Duchess of Stanford."_

_...What in the world?_

_This is… this is a trashy romance novel!_

It was indeed exactly that. Even the title was already provocative. "The Clumsy Priestess Is Punished By The Grand Duke." Skimming through the book, it was a story about the titular clumsy priestess slowly falling for a young bachelor Duke. Problem is, the Duke was openly forward his affections towards her. Too forward. He would grope her from behind, caress her butt, kiss her neck, and doing all sorts of perverted stuff to the inexperienced, virgin priestess. Of course, like any other heroine of a lurid romance book, she was only against it at the start, before realizing that she enjoyed being touched like him in that manner.

_Tsk tsk tsk, to think that a supposed holy woman is reading a lewd book like this._

_Though I guess no matter what world, the taste of some girls remained the same. They want rich, powerful, and domineering men to sweep them off their feet and treat them like princesses. Hah, you can even be a pervert as long as you meet that criteria._

_Kinda disappointed that she likes those kinds of men to be honest. Or maybe this is just her kink. Knowing how level-headed she is, she won't be so stupid to not realize you can't really find a guy like him in real life, without attracting actual creeps and perverts._

_Yeah, as you can guess, I never liked those handsome and rich womanizer types. Probably mostly out of jealousy, I admit, though I like to think it’s because of my morals as well. Never agreed with the whole “conquering women” concept. Not that I would be able to pull it off anyways._

I put the book on her lap. Thankfully, she still remained in her slumber, sparing us from the awkwardness that might ensue if she realized that I knew she had been reading lascivious books.

Soon after, I fell asleep as well.

\----

_Finally. Took us long enough._

Valmo, the capital of the Ferensia Kingdom. There really wasn’t anything particularly special about it, unfortunately. It was just another walled city, like the many others I had visited in my journey. I guess in a fantasy world where monsters roam about, it’s common sense to only build cities inside tall walls. Not to mention how useful it would be in a state of war as well. Probably. If the opponent just doesn’t blast through it with magic. I’m pretty sure I can already break through stone walls easily with Boom Cannon, though it depends on its thickness. At least the Magocracy had the sense to build Mira’s walls out of obsidian. Combined with the magic runes inscribed on them, I have a hunch that even my Boom Cannon wouldn’t leave a dent on it.

It was located right on the crossroad between the path to the north and the path to the southeast though, where the Order of Galahad was located.

It took us another month to get from the border to here, giving me ample time to decide whether or not I want to accompany Fiora to the south or to go onward to the north towards my destination, the Demon Continent.

Although, knowing the existence of an orb that can allow me to speak with Sherry, I’m considering making a beeline to the nearest World Dungeon instead and try my hands on getting the extremely rare item in it.

_Urgh, rare drops. Never like hunting for those in my games._

“So, we’re finally here at last. Our separation point,” Fiora spoke with a smirk on her face. We were still sitting inside our carriage currently, as Helen drove us inside the city. “Well, you still haven’t mastered Fortissimo fully, but it would have to do, I guess.”

"You know, I've been thinking,” I spoke up. “Since I haven’t really finished my training with you, you still haven’t held up the end of your bargain. So why don’t I come along with you to the south as well?”

For a split second, I noticed Fiora’s expression brightening up considerably. _Heh, so she really is happy with me being around._ She quickly returned back to her usual smug look however.

“Oh? That’s a surprise. I thought you’re really itching to meet up with that Sherry girl. Or don’t tell me that you’ve fallen for me instead?”

"Hmph, I still got my new spell to show you as well. The new and improved Boom Cannon! You won't be able to block or parry it for sure!"

"So that's what you've been working on all those nights you stayed awake on your own. Very well. I'll show you that my sword skills have improved as well," she returned in full confidence.

And so I ended up sticking with her for just a while longer.

\-----

“Fortissimo!” I yelled.

CLACK

Fiora’s blade swung down towards my wooden branch. However, it was not cut into two. Instead, it perfectly received the sword’s sharp edge, as if it was made out of steel as well.

"And there you have it. The third technique you've mastered," Fiora said with a grin. "But of course—"

SLASH

The branch split into two.

"If I actually use Staccato, my blade will go through nonetheless."

I sat down on the grass, tired from the training we had been doing, stretching my hands upwards. I sighed in relief. As usual, I trained with her for a couple of hours everyday and she wouldn’t go easy at me at the slightest.

“Nicole, patch him up. We’ll depart soon after.” She ordered the cleric.

_Oh right, I wanted to show her that!_

“Wait, Fiora, I still got something I want to show you.” I held out my hand in a stopping motion.

‘Hmm? And what might that be?”

“It’s my new iteration of the Boom Cannon, of course.” I smiled. “Just finished it last night and I thought I’d show it to you right away.”

“Hoo… about time. Come then. Show me this fancy new magic of yours.”

After Nicole healed me, I stood up, fresh as new. Fiora readied her stance while I drew my wand.

“I’ll aim at your right shoulder. Try to block it if you can.” I smirked, aiming my wand towards said direction.

“How brave of you, telling your enemy where you’re going to hit,” she replied. “Fine. It’ll just make it easier for me to block it.”

Taking a deep breath, I concentrated. _Conjure the image of the mana circuit of the Boom Cannon, then compress it into a miniscule size, while making sure to maintain the integrity of the flow. Any leaks would severely compromise the spell. Shaping it this and that way, forming it in the exact shape without any additions or subtractions… There! The miniature cannon is finished! Now to increase the difference of air pressure between the inside and the outside, and steadily aiming it towards her right shoulder…_

“Boom Rifle!”

A tiny air cannon the size of a finger, more accurate to be described as a bullet, fired from the tip of my wand.

And it connected, earning a yelp of pain from the imperial princess as a hole formed in her right shoulder, a chunk of flesh and blood being pushed out near instantaneously as the bullet flew ever onward behind her.

She looked in a mixture of horror and surprise. It was too fast. She couldn’t react to it at all.

“Fiora!”

Nicole quickly rushed into her aid, closing the wound I just made.

“That’s… what was that? I… I didn’t even notice it until it landed.” Her voice shook. “Ha… ahahahahahaha!” She suddenly burst into a laugh. “You really are one genius mage, Hugo! Once again, you surpassed me!”

I grinned. “See! Told ya!”

Boom Rifle. Sacrificing surface area of the impact. I turned my Wind Spell into a precise shot, increasing its speed and penetration power by a lot. It’s like exchanging a cannon with a sniper rifle. I wouldn’t be able to make holes in walls or squish people’s heads with this spell, but I could penetrate their thick hide or armor. And if I just aim at their brain, well, this spell would be the perfect, one-hit-kill spell.

Its weakness however is quite obvious. The aiming. If the opponent moves a lot, and at a faraway enough distance, I will never be able to hit them. I am no marksman. Even gripping the wand to stabilize the firing line is already a difficult task for me. So this spell is designed more for large monsters or those who, in their overconfidence, stupidly think they can parry/block every single long range attack that comes at them.

Thank God it doesn’t have the recoil that comes with an actual sniper rifle.

Naturally, Fiora quickly insisted that I fired the spell at her again. And again. And again. Until she would be able to keep up with the speed.

_This girl’s competitive spirit really is something else. Kinda reminds me of Sherry’s actually._

As a result, our travel time that day decreased severely.

\--------

Severing Mountains. It was where our destination laid hidden. Tucked in the southeasternmost corner of the continent, away from the hustle and bustle of the world, it was the perfect place for aspiring swordsmen and women to train themselves.

Beyond the mountains were the small land ruled by the Order of Galahad. However, to get there, we need to cross what was known as the Great Chasm, a long stretch of nothingness between two tall cliffs. We had to cross it using what was known by the locals as the Bridge of Faith. Because it wasn’t some solidly built stone bridge. Oh no. That would make too much sense. Instead, it’s a giant rope bridge, swaying around in the most threatening manner as one suffered to cross it.

We reached the village at Windburgh at the foot of the mountains after 19 days of travel. And on the way, after I mastered Fortissimo, I moved on to the final technique Fiora would teach me.

“Chasse, or Graceful Steps if you use the literal meaning. It is a technique that allows sudden and sharp movements with inhuman speed. I leave this for the last as you already have your Wind Step, which is similar in nature," she explained.

I learned it anyways, knowing that if I can use it instead of Wind Step, it would allow me to cast a spell while still moving around fast.

She also explained the move that assassin used to "kick air" was an advanced form of it, named Chasse Pluma, or Feather Step. Or at the very least, something similar to it.

We arrived at the village when the sun was already going down, so we decided to stay there for the night.

"Hugo, you're sure you really want to go with us all the way?" Fiora spoke as we were having dinner. "We already got this far without any other assassins chasing after us. They probably don't expect us to go here to be honest."

"We cannot let our guard now, Miss." Helen interrupted. "We still haven't entered the territory of the Order itself. And even then, we would only be safe if we can reach their head dojo where Lady Solis resides."

The Galahad Sword Meister Esther Solis, and the current Head of the Galahad Order. She was called the Blind Sword Goddess, a straightforward title born out of her prowess in the sword and her lack of eyesight. A character straight from the fantasy books.

"Helen's right." I said with a grim expression. "The bridge we're going to cross tomorrow—that would be the perfect place to ambush somebody."

“I see,” Fiora placed down the cup of tea she just took a sip from. “So you believe there would be assassins waiting for us there.”

“There’s a good chance for that to occur,” I returned. “And I have a feeling it would be that beastkin assassin again. And the rest of his crew.”

“Well, we should be fine,” Fiora smirked. “You and I and even Nicole—we all have grown stronger these past two months. I believe we can take them on with confidence now.”

I sighed. “Well, let’s just hope so.” 

“Hugo, you’ve killed people before, right? So just aim your Boom Rifle right at their heads. If I still can’t react to it, then they wouldn’t be able to, not even that catboy.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. Let’s just hope I can aim the spell properly,” I responded with a bitter smile.

I’ve wholly accepted the fact that I would have to kill other people to survive in this world. If they actually pose a threat, and if they really aren’t any chances to talk them down, then I would take them down, hopefully with no hesitation.

If I go easy on enemies I can’t afford to go easy against, I would just court death—to me and those that I care about.

With those thoughts in my mind, I retreated back to my room after dinner and immediately fell asleep on the soft bed. Just in case, we would take turns staying watch for the night, with my turn being the last. After all, if there would be assassins nearby, they might just decide to end us while we slept instead of waiting to ambush us up there on the mountains.

Nothing happened though. The night went by and dawn came without any incident.

It was time for us to head up to the mountains.


	92. A Fight In Mid-Air

The climb up the mountains was harsh. The path was steep and not well-paved in the slightest. Only a few actually went all the way out here, as the Order was mostly self-sufficient.

_Haah, I wonder if there really is going to be any assassins to ambush._

I was currently sitting on the top of the carriage, along with Fiora. We were keeping a close eye on our surroundings for any possible ambushes, but so far, nothing had occurred. Well, other than a couple of mountain lions who decided it was a good idea to attack us. Needless to say, we dispatched them with ease. She told me not to use my Boom Rifle in the process however. "Just in case there are any assassins watching. It's your new trump card after all," so she said.

"Oh, by the way, I've been wondering… you've met with a dwarf before, Hugo?"

"Huh?"

"The name of your new spell. Boom Rifle. A rifle is one of those exotic weapons they just recently invented, right?"

_Wait, really? This world already has guns? Probably nowhere near as advanced as the ones back home though. Not that I would know anything about guns._

_"Dwarves have guns." Duly noted. Hmm, maybe I'll visit their land someday._

"N-not really. I just heard the name, that's all," I replied. _Can't tell her about my old world after all._

"Hmph, I see. What a shame. I never met a dwarf before myself."

Fiora's mood decreased slightly. It seemed she really had some curiosity towards the race.

At noon, we finally reached it, the so-called Great Chasm.

We stopped on the front of the large bridge. We weren't stupid enough to cross that thing without surveying our surroundings first.

_Hmm, nothing seems to be out of place._

Currently, I was floating on the air, utilizing my Wind Step. My magic made me the best person for lookout duty, so I volunteered to do it.

I squinted my eyes, making sure that I didn’t overlook anything. It would be really bad if we actually got ambushed while in the middle of the bridge. Why, they could just cut it and we would be screwed.

_...Yep. I don’t think anybody else other than us is around. Not even a single monster or animal either. It’s kinda eerie actually._

I floated downward, jumping down once I was close enough to the ground.

“All clear. I don’t see anything out of place,” I told Fiora and the others.

And thus, we decided to cross. Just like before, Fiora and I would stand on top of the carriage, still keeping watch of our surroundings. And just in case, we had Nicole cast a barrier over our carriage.

The bridge was approximately half a kilometer long, give or take. As for the width, it was around seven to eight meters, ample enough for our carriage to pass. Naturally, we wouldn’t take the risk of the horses being frightened and just dragging our carriage into the void down below (seriously, I can’t see the bottom), so Helen and Nicole had to walk beside the horses. The bridge’s condition itself was fairly decent, although it had bits and pieces missing here and there. Probably because of the fairy windy weather around here, since I don’t think there are a lot of travelers going all the way out here.

A cold breeze flew by right after we began, swaying the bridge to the left and right lightly. _Damn, this bridge really is scary if you think about it. The best way to cross something like this would be just to run and not look back, but we can’t afford that since we have to lead the carriage as well._

“Hey, Hugo.” Fiora suddenly spoke up with a smirk. "Do you think that you'll be able to fly us all with your wind magic if this bridge suddenly snaps?"

"Hey, don't jinx it!" I replied.

"Oh, I'm not jinxing anything. Just wondering, that's all. You're a great Wind mage after all. Surely you can conjure a cyclone that will just send up upwards and across."

I didn't respond. I just gave her a glare before looking away.

_...You know, if she's going to be this carefree, maybe I shouldn't come—_

BOOM

My heart stopped. I looked behind me in a split second and saw how one end of the bridge had snapped.

_B-but, I've checked and there's no one around! And there weren't any explosives or any other shady objects placed on the bridge either!_

Immediately the part of the bridge we were standing on fell off as well. I promptly reacted by activating Wind Step, securing my footing. And then I grabbed the nearest person to me, which was Nicole. She yelped in terror and quickly clung towards me, inadvertently pressing her breasts into my chest. My hand who grabbed her also landed on her butt, giving it a nice squeeze in the process.

_Wait, this is no time to think perverted thoughts!_

I saw Fiora below us, using what could only be Feather Step. She grabbed Helen, securing her from falling down into the abyss as well. Only the carriage remained unsalvaged. Those poor horses.

“Hugo, look up!” Fiora yelled.

I did and what I saw nearly made me have a heart attack.

A gigantic, massively-sized boulder was rapidly descending down towards us. I had no idea where it came from, because it certainly wasn’t there before. However, it was _definitely_ here now, and it would hit us in just a few seconds. And there was no dodging out of it either, due to the sheer size of the thing.

_This is Earth magic, isn’t it? This has to be at least a Master-level spell for sure! So we are definitely under attack!_

“Nicole! Use your barrier to protect us from the rock! I’ll make sure we remain afloat using my Wind magic!”

I dispelled my Wind Step, causing us both to fall down. Fiora and Helen followed, as they knew we had to buy time away from the boulder for now. Using more Feather Step, Fiora steered their trajectory to be closer with us.

“Air Sunder!”

“Barrier! Ceiling Mode!”

I conjured a cyclone underneath all of us, forming it to focus all its strength to blow us upwards. It worked, perfectly in sync when Nicole finished her barrier spell. Like the name said, it only formed above us, no doubt allowing her to fortify it better than if she were to conjure it as a full sphere.

CRASH

The cleric flinched in pain the moment the boulder hit the barrier. Cracks formed but the integrity of the barrier remained intact.

_Wooaahh!_

The moment temporary respite came, my perverted mind acted up again, as I took in the lovely sights surrounding me.

_White! Pink! Black!_

The skirts of Nicole, Fiora, and Helen all flew upwards due to my spell, revealing just what kind of underwear they were wearing for the day. Fiora's was lacy white, the same pair I had seen many times when she had her clothing accidents from trying to parry my Boom Cannon. Nicole on the other hand wore a lovely soft pink. They were plain, sure, but they were still tight enough to display a nice figure of her cameltoe.

And Helen's. Oh wow, Helen's. She wore a skimpy black lace along with a garterbelt. A full adult woman's charm. Her butt was easily the biggest, followed by Nicole's which was slightly bigger than Fiora's.

“Staccato: Storm!"

Fiora leaped upwards and performed a series of rapid slashing motions that cut the big boulder into chunks of smaller rocks, sending them flying away to the sides.

With the rocks gone, we could finally see just where our attackers laid hidden.

Or rather, the fact that they weren't hidden in the slightest.

_Up there! That giant eagle! There are people riding on top of it! I can't see them clearly from this distance but they're definitely there! There wasn’t any giant eagle before when I scouted the area so why is there one now? It doesn’t make sense!_

As I tried to figure out what the hell was going on, Nicole reformed her barrier into a half-sphere, allowing us to finally have a firm footing. Of course, it also freed me from having to maintain my cyclone spell, allowing me to perform my counterattack right away.

“Boom Cannon!”

It flew straight upwards towards the giant eagle at great speed. However…

_Tch, a barrier! So they got a cleric with them as well!_

My suspicions were now confirmed. They must have a whole party with them up there. The mage conjured the giant rock, and another mage probably turned into that giant eagle. A cleric protected them with a barrier, all pre-casted since they must have waited for us to perform their ambush.

_Fine! You can protect yourself from my Boom Cannon! But how about my Boom Rifle, huh?_

First, I would aim at the giant eagle’s head. If I can hit its brain, it should fall over right away, probably taking out the transformed mage as well.

Or so I would, if they hadn’t decided to continue their assault once more.

_Arrows! A rain of arrows is heading down towards us!_

It turned out that they also had an archer with them, and somehow, the one arrow they fired split apart into dozens of arrows mid-air.

_Is it a magic bow or something? Or is it the arrow that’s magical? Oh, who the hell cares?_

_It should be fine though, right? Nicole’s barrier will not be pierced by mere arrows, right?_

“Hugo! Aim for that eagle! Helen and I would help Nicole protect us from the arrows!” Fiora yelled.

“R-right!”

I returned to my aim, trying to ignore the arrows. Fiora leaped upwards, using her sword to cut the arrows in mid-air with great speed. Helen on the other hand used her throwing knives against the arrows, which returned to her hands after they pierced their target. Enchanted knives. I had seen her use it many times before, against the monsters we encountered.

Some of them still managed to strike the barrier however, and immediately I knew I shouldn’t have underestimated those arrows. None of them actually went through the barrier, but it was obvious that they were damaging it every time they landed. So they must be no ordinary arrows to be sure. _Hmm, maybe they’re augmented by the archer’s aura? Can you do that?_

…

_Dammit, I can't aim properly! The giant eagle keeps moving around! If I don't hurry, their mage will finish their chant and another troublesome spell will activate!_

I decided to just bombard them with Boom Cannon instead. I didn't want to reveal my Boom Rifle this early into the fight, when I wasn't sure I could get a clean kill from it. Even if it's blocked by their barrier, if I just kept firing and hitting, it would weaken overtime and eventually shatter.

"Boom Cannon!"

"Boom Cannon!"

"Boom Cannon!"

After the fourth hit, I noticed a change in their behavior. Instead of circling above us, they instead made a beeline away from us. _They're fleeing! My spell must have damaged their barrier!_

Of course, I had no intention to let them get away.

"Wind Step!"

I flew upwards, chasing after them. I intended to bring out Great Fairy to keep me afloat once I got close, since I couldn't fly while casting my offensive spells as well. Her flight was slower than mine, so I didn't use her right away.

And then, I saw her—the archer responsible for the arrows.

_Whoa, that’s a dark elf, isn’t it? First time I ever see one!_

Dark elves. Technically they counted as elves but after 1000 years ago, where they betrayed their kin to join forces with the Demon God, they had been living separately with each other ever since. Supposedly they were given the power of darkness by the Demon God himself, thus turning their skin dark.

She aimed her bow right at me without hesitation, while her long silver hair fluttered in the wind. Oh, and her skirt was also fluttering as well, giving me a nice view of her black panties. _Aah, if only I wasn’t so far away..._

I called upon my Great Fairy, ordering her to hug me from behind and carry me with her wings.

_Munyu~♥_

_Mmm, this familiar softness… Her breasts had gone bigger since she evolved into a Great Fairy, now that I think about it._

She let her arrow loose, but it was too late. My Boom Cannon launched first, and it obliterated her single arrow before it could split, before slamming right into the barrier.

_CRACK_

_Yep. It’s pretty badly damaged alright. Just one more hit and it should—_

Bzzzzzzzzzz- **BAM!!!**

My heart jumped as I barely missed a lightning strike from above.

_This is—!_

Bzzzzz- **BAM!BAM!BAM!**

A rapid succession of thunder rained from the skies, as I realized that their mage had activated their next Master-level spell. _This is Thunderstorm! No doubt about it!_

Unfortunately, There were two staff wielders in the group—one was a purple-haired bunny girl and the other was a green-scaled lizardman. Both of their staves lit up, so I couldn’t know which one was casting which spell. And of course, there was that familiar face. The catkin assassin from two months back. When he noticed me staring at him, he grinned, seemingly taunting me to catch him.

“Master, this is too dangerous! We can’t fly in the middle of a thunderstorm like this!” My fairy protested.

_She raised a good point. However, like hell I’m going to retreat now._

_And besides, there’s a way to protect myself from the thunder using a simple fact of physics._

“Great Fairy, create a puddle of water above us. Then make said puddle connect with the ground with a constant stream of water going downwards, like a waterfall.” I told her.

_Electricity always travels on the easiest route. And air is more of an isolator than water. If we can just make a route from the air to the ground where the Earth would absorb all the electric charge, then we should be perfectly safe._

“M-Master! I don’t think that would work!”

“Just do it! Trust me! I know it will work! I’m your cool master after all!” I said with a grin.

“R-right. I trust you, Master,” she replied.

She did as she was told, conjuring what was basically a lightning rod made out of water.

**BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!**

“Master, it works! The lightning can’t reach us at all!” The fairy chirped.

On the other hand, assassin catboy was visibly taken aback, along with his comrades who thought I wouldn’t be able to chase them through this storm.

Well, there’s only one thing to do left.

“Boom Cannon!”

My spell flew and it shattered their barrier completely. The lizardman fell. Guess he was the cleric after all.

The dark elf drew her bow for another round, and the bunny girl mage turned off the Thunderstorm spell, accepting that I had rendered it completely ineffective, opting to start chanting a whole different spell entirely.

The arrow flew and unlike before, because I just cast my Boom Cannon, the single arrow managed to split into multiple arrows before I could stop it. However…

“Hyaaah!”

Great Fairy conjured her own water arrows, completely nullifying her attack as they crashed into one another.

And then…

“Boom Cannon!”

My spell launched and it hit the giant eagle right on its abdomen.

It let out a screech as it fell from the skies. Its defensive capabilities were clearly not designed to handle such a powerful attack. _There you go! No more flying for you!_ I told the fairy to release me, before I descended after them using Wind Step. Thankfully for them, they were flying over landmass, and not the great chasm we nearly fell into.

The giant eagle changed back into its true form, revealing that it was a mousekin who had transformed into it. A huge bleeding hole was visible on his stomach and the lizard-priest frantically tried to heal him.

Catboy readied his sword, while miss bunny mage fired a boulder right towards me.

“Boom Cannon!”

The boulder was obliterated by my spell. Catboy moved in, blocking it from reaching his comrade. He was soon sent flying as he couldn’t withstand the sheer impact of the attack. Of course, the bunny mage behind him was sent flying along with him as well.

_Ha! Take that! Fiora is stronger than you now!_

The dark elf fired another shot. _Ha, this close, I can just cut it mid-air with my sword!_

I drew my sword with my left hand, swing it upwards in a sweeping motion, and—

KABOOM

The arrow exploded. Right in front of my face.

“Gwaaahhhh!”

I was sent flying backwards from the force, right over the cliff overlooking the great chasm.

I fell.

_My body… it refuses to move…_

_It hurts... Every inch of my body hurts… I can feel it… blood pouring out of my wounds…_

_Heh, she got me good. I underestimated her. I didn’t know how she made her arrow explode like a bomb like that. And thanks to that, it caught me completely by surprise. She was just like me, holding off on using her trump card until the very last second._

_Aah, speaking of that, I didn’t even get to use my Boom Rifle. And I trained so hard on it too..._

“...asteeeerrrrr!”

I heard the yell of my fairy from a distance. _She must be flying right towards me at this moment. Too bad she can’t fly fast enough._

...Oh, right, I can just recall her and resummon her near me. Luckily, I wasn’t so wounded that I lost my consciousness, or else it would have been the end of me for sure.

I did just that, and I immediately felt her warm hug, as she simultaneously healed me while carrying me upwards.


	93. The Second Imperial Princess Fiora Guinevere Pendragon

_Ha… ahahahahahaha!_

_So strong! To think he can take on all of us like this on his own!_

_Escaping our trap was already impressive enough. We certainly thought it would be enough to take them out. It was basically a perfect plan. Fralton would transform into his giant chameleon form, covering us from any prying eyes as we waited in ambush. And then, once they were in the middle of the bridge, Olva would fire her explosive arrow, severing the bridge immediately. And then, Fralton would turn into his giant eagle and Mrutu would begin chanting her Mountain Drop spell to finish them off._

_But of course, they were skilled enough to survive even after all that._

_And to think he was brave enough to chase after us like that. Not to mention his spell being able to tax Graton’s barrier. Never saw a spell like that before. So powerful yet he casts it so fast._

_Heh, Hugo Greenwood. So you really are one of the kids responsible for the assasination of the Magocracy’s Ice Witch._

_I wonder where your big sister is though. Is she even stronger than you? I would love to meet her too~_

The catkin youth only stopped flying once he hit a cliff. But once he did, he quickly recovered, as if nothing had happened, before running forward, back into action straight away. He didn’t even care of the rabbit mage that he had used as a cushion between him and the cliff wall, which, by the way, had turned unconscious from the impact.

_Ha, he might be powerful, but he still fell for Olva’s trick. How many people she had killed the same way, I wonder?_

_And there’s the princess, charging right at us. I gotta be the one to fight her, of course._

Fiora, lagging behind compared to Hugo as she had to dodge the thunder strikes in a normal way, landed on firm ground with a shudder of pain. She had used too much of her Feather Step, and now, her feet had to pay the price. It’s an ability that supercharged your leg muscles, so even her being able to use it consecutively like that without going into cramps right away was a display of her skillfulness. She was never good at Fortissimo like her master, so she had to compensate by dodging attacks that she couldn’t block or parry instead.

The dark elf named Olva fired another one of her arrows. Fiora already knew however not to attempt to slash it like Hugo did. _That idiot. He got overconfident. Thank the Saint he got that fairy of his._

She dodged to the side immediately with another Feather Step, feeling another sharp pain assaulting her lower legs.

_!!!_

CLANG

From behind, a slash of a scimitar nearly bisected her, if not for her blocking it with her sword.

The arrow indeed exploded, but it wasn’t her main concern now, as the catkin assassin was right beside her.

“Hello, Your Imperial Highness. Long time no see.”

“Hmph, the Hunter of Death himself. I see my siblings don’t pull any punches on trying to take my life,” Fiora responded with a smirk.

Using Graceful Step, she dashed backwards, putting a distance between her and the assassin.

Or so she feinted. In fact, it was an offensive move, as she intended to attack the elf behind her.

SWOOSH

The sharp noise of a blade cutting air resounded through her ears, as she barely dodged in time with an inch of her life. The catfolk decided to use the opportunity to send a barrage of slashes towards her, but she deftly parried every single one of them, even sending some back to him, drawing first wound in their combat.

"Too slow! Too slow!" She mocked. "Hugo's spell is so much faster! And stronger!"

For the first time in his life, the assassin realized that he might just have picked a target that was too much for him.

_Still can't win even with my full crew, huh? Heh, always knew one day I'd take the wrong job._

"Hey, catboy.” Fiora spoke, still with her smirk. “If you tell me who sent you and your gang, I might just let you all live. You know very well that your little assassin party isn’t strong enough to take me down, right? Your plan has failed. Quite the ingenious plan, I have to admit, but not ingenious enough.”

“Heh, who knows? They never tell us anything. We’re just mere grunts in the guild. A bounty appears for someone and we take it, no questions asked,” he replied, still grinning.

“Then tell me where the headquarters of your so-called ‘Guild’ is,” Fiora continued. “I’d like to pay them a visit myself.”

“Wanna put a hit on your siblings, eh?”

“Hmph. I’ll kill them myself if they get in my way. However, I can certainly use your bunch to clean up the other corrupt nobles. It would be too much of a bother for me to kill them personally one by one.”

Another arrow flew towards her. Or rather, three arrows, as the elf had opted to fire three at once from her bow. They were moving all separately from each other. It was clear that she intended to blow up a wider area so Fiora couldn’t escape.

Fiora didn’t even need to look behind her to notice or even dodge them though. She moved forward and launched herself towards the catkin, knowing very well his underling would never shoot towards him.

And then, she began her relentless assault.

“Staccato: Storm!”

With a speed impossible to decipher by the naked eye, she barraged the beastkin with slashes and thrusts. He managed to keep up at first, but he soon found out that even with double the sword amount, he was outmatched by her ever increasing speed.

And thus, with a sickening meat-slashing sound, and a sound of metal hitting the dirt, Fiora took his left hand.

Blood spurted out of the stump as the catkin slowly backed away—his other hand dropping the sword as he needed it to press the wound.

“See?” Fiora continued, completely unfazed by the sight of blood. “You can’t fight me anymore. I’ve grown these past two months, all thanks to Hugo and Nicole. They have trained me well, and made me grow even further as a swordswoman. You might be a match for me back at the temple, but now, you’re nothing but trash. So fess up. Tell me everything. From the assassin guild to which of my siblings sent the order.” She pointed at him.

“Nevan! You bitch!”

The dark elf fired even more arrows towards Fiora, but once again, she dodged it all with ease without even needing to look. The speed of an arrow is so much slower than the speed of Hugo’s Boom Cannon. Not to mention the speed of his Boom Rifle, which is even faster. And there was no serenity in the elf’s attacks. It was all so obvious.

The elf tried to jump back away from her, but Fiora’s speed was simply unmatched. She zigzagged through her arrows, dodging all the explosions flawlessly.

And then, when she was close enough…

SLASH

She sliced her bow into two.

The elf fell to the ground on her bottom—fear and anger filling her face. Her hand grabbed the dagger on her belt, but before she could even unsheathe it, Fiora already placed the tip of her sword on her throat.

"Hey, Nevan!" She yelled towards the catkin. "You care about her, don't you? Then spill it. Tell me everything."

Olva didn't dare to move even an inch. She knew that making any sort of movement would be the end of her.

The catfolk named Nevan still continued to grin, even as he had to bear the incredibly painful experience of having your hand being cut off.

But then, he did something completely unexpected. He knelt down and placed his temple on the ground, prostrating completely towards Fiora.

"You win, Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. I, Nevan Renado, admit my complete and utter defeat."

Fiora raised her eyebrows, a skeptical look drawn across her face. No way he was suddenly going to surrender this easily, right?

She walked forward, sheathing back her sword though still keeping her right hand on the handle. The elf was no longer a threat. Even if she would run at her with her dagger, she would be able to counter her attack with extreme ease.

“Hoo… are you speaking the truth? Or are you just lying to catch me off guard?”

She stood in front of him, looking down towards the groveling man.

"You are no prey, Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. You are a predator. I acknowledge you as my superior." He spoke again.

"Nevan!" A growly voice shouted.

It was the lizardman priest, along with the mousekin, who was leaning at him. The hole on his stomach was gone, but he clearly was still too weak to fight.

There was a bright light at the tip of his steel staff however. He was clearly readying a spell to attack her.

However, he hadn’t launched it yet. Most likely because he saw his leader kneeling in front of their opponent like that.

“Is this a beastman thing? I know you folks are big on honor and all that. Settling fights through one-on-one duels. Even your courtship ritual includes a fight against your rivals,” Fiora continued. “You are a bunch of assassins though. You have no honor. The moment you decide to be lapdogs of corrupt humans, you have lost your right to call yourself true beastmen. Well, except the dark elf and the lizardman. They aren’t really beastmen after all.”

Lizardmen were usually considered of the Demon Race instead, as their homeland was on the Demon Continent.

The lizardman, hearing what his leader had said, decided to kneel down and prostrate as well, followed by the mousekin beside him. His spell was, of course, dispelled.

“Y-you can’t just bow to her, can you?” The elf yelled. “She’s exactly the kind of scum we all aspire to exterminate! Don’t you remember our oath back then? That we would kill every one of those noble filth that put us in that hell?”

She was now in tears, which made Fiora raise her eyebrows.

“I pledge my allegiance to you, Your imperial Highness. For I too share your dream. To free every single one of my brethren in captivity and bondage.”

At this point, Nicole and Helen had arrived at the location Fiora was currently in. Even Hugo had returned as well, carried by his fairy.

And what they saw naturally took them by surprise.

\-------

**Hugo**

_What the hell has just happened?_

_I was only gone for a bit and when I come back, the assassins are bowing to Fiora?_

_Except for dark elf-oneesan though. She's yelling something with tears in her eyes._

"Hoo? Did you just say you wish to support me in my goal to forbid slavery? And how do you know about that exactly?"

"I've researched you after our first meeting." _Well, that's a nice way to say "attempt to assassinate"._ "And I learned of your noble goal and how you were isolated from the royal court because of it. Your older sister, Rinea Rhea Pendragon, is against it because her company profits greatly from it. And your older brother, Alphonse Rhea Pendragon—he's against it because he's with the nobles that desire to keep the status quo. I've heard how they talk of you at the capital. "The Barbarian Princess. The Accursed Sibling. The Delusional Little Girl. And many others."

"So you've picked up on the rumors. So what? You think you can help me achieve my goal? You're a skilled assassin. You can just kill all those slave traders and the nobles that support them without my help."

"If I do that, I know they would send one of the Imperial Knights after me. And then it would be all over. I am not so naive to think that I can win against any of them. And seeing how badly I dare against you know, I know my assessment was correct."

_The catboy… he's… swearing fealty at Fiora?_

Fiora paused for a moment, walking around him one full circle before replying, "So, how did you learn I was going here?"

"It was an info given to me from the higher-ups of the Guild. They didn't say where it came from."

"And who is the head of the Guild?"

"An old man we only call by the title 'Guildmaster'. No one knows his real name. But I do know the biggest backer of the Guild is the current Earl of Holden, Lord Julius Holden. I’m sure you already know where to find your dear Earl, but you can find the Guildmaster in the Capital. Our headquarters, like you ask, is there, inside the Catacombs.”

“Hmph, so my suspicion was correct after all.”

_Fiora’s interrogating him. And he’s spilling everything. This is exactly what she wants._

_And the Capital? He must mean the capital city of the Holy Empire, Arthurstaad. No idea about the Catacombs though. Is it like the Paris Catacombs?_

I stood on the sidelines, watching in silence, making sure that none of the assassins would try to ambush Fiora. I knew I shouldn’t interrupt the proceedings, as Fiora was now showing just how capable she was as a leader. She was ordering him around without hesitation, while still having her right hand on the handle of her sword, ready to strike at a moment’s notice if he made any sudden movements.

Helen was doing the same, while Nicole was biting her lip and gripping her staff tightly, looking terribly nervous.

I put one hand on her shoulder, whispering, “It’s fine. She’s got this.”

“Don’t trust her lie!” The elf suddenly shouted. “You and I know that human nobles cannot be trusted! I don’t care if she’s an exiled princess or whatever but you know very well how humans treat us demons and nonhumans! She’ll just use you as a tool for her political game!”

Fiora turned to face the elf with a neutral, almost bored-looking expression on her face.

“Who are you, dark elf? What’s your name?”

“As if I would ever tell my name to you!”

“Very well. I’ll just call you ‘Miss Dark Elf’ instead.” She smirked. “Hear me, Miss Dark Elf.” At this point, she started to slowly walk towards her. “You might think that all of us humans are bad or evil or whatever. Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I’m just doing this out of my selfish greed to obtain the throne over my siblings. You certainly don’t have any reason to trust me at this point, especially after I sliced off your lover’s hand.”

“L-lover?” The dark elf immediately reddened. “W-we and I.. we’re not like—”

“Oh please. I’m only thirteen and it’s all too obvious that you care greatly about him. That’s why you are both filled with anger while crying at the same time. You hate me yet you’re worried about him. And that hate actually overcomes your fear. Thankfully, for your own sake, you didn’t try attacking me with that dagger of yours, or else I would have sliced off your hand as well.”

_Well, she’s surprisingly cute in that state. Heh, I guess all girls or women would turn cute once they’re all blushing like that._

_But to think that Mr. Cat over there has such a pretty elf girlfriend. Damn it, now I’m jealous! I want an elf girlfriend too! Normal elves or dark elves—both are fine!_

_Though I don’t think they’re official yet though. I don’t think that guy is the romantic type in the slightest._

Now, Fiora was standing right in front of her. The dark elf was taller yet Fiora’s presence still managed to be much more intimidating than hers.

“How old are you, dark elf? From the way you spoke, you must be a mere youngling, compared to your brethren. The length of your ears tells me that you have a lot of non-elf blood inside you, so you’re far different from those pureblooded ones who were present one thousand years ago when you betrayed us for the Demon God."

"W-what does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm saying that you have nothing to do with the betrayal. So there's no reason for even me, a descendant of the legendary hero, to see you as an enemy." She smiled. "So you're the one who's close-minded, thinking I'm the same as those wretched nobles."

She drew her sword out, but not as an offensive more. Instead, she held it up so the thin blade perfectly lined up horizontally with the bridge of her nose.

"I am Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, descendant of the legendary hero Arthur Pendragon himself. I shall cut through the chains of injustice and tyranny, just like my ancestor did. I promise you this, in my name and the name of the Pendragon dynasty."

Her smile disappeared as she recited her oath. She was completely serious—with a dignified and dare I say it, regal countenance.

And for the very first time, I can finally see her as a real, honest-to-goodness royal princess.

The dark elf was made speechless. I can guess what’s most likely going through her head right now, just by looking at her expression. It was confusion. She was confused between her preconceptions of what nobles are and what Fiora was displaying to her.

Fiora said nothing more towards her. She returned back to the catkin and said, “Raise your head.” He did it promptly, almost as if he was her knight. “Perhaps you can prove useful to me. Fine. If you truly wish to fight alongside me, then leave this place with your little band. Gather all the information you can about the nobility, the merchants, and their connections with the royal family. And determine any factions that might support my cause. I wish to know everything, anything at all, even meaningless things like the favorite dessert of some no-name baron.”

He nodded.

“This doesn’t just include the Holy Empire and its vassals. I require information on the entire Holy Continent, as there’s a high chance my little competition for the throne will plunge this whole continent into chaos.”

He nodded again.

“And of course, you will work behind the shadows spreading good rumors of me while besmirching the names of my older brother and sister. Portray them as unworthy of the throne, with me being the only one who should reign as an empress.” 

He nodded once more.

“You shall do this work for a couple of years, as I stay here doing my training. Every year you will come to this place and give me your report.”

He nodded for the last time.

“And of course, dispose of any other assassins that might go after my life. Or not. They can’t be that bright if they think it’s a good idea to chase me all the way to the place where so many powerful swordmasters gather. Might make a good distraction from my training.”

There, he actually chuckled a little.

“Good. I trust you will do your task well. _If_ you’re truly at my side now. If you betray me and decide to run away, I will not mind. However, if you try another attempt at my life…” She slashed the very top of his head, causing a chunk of hair to disperse. “I shall show no mercy.”


	94. The Next Step

"You sure you're just going to let them go?"

"Of course. I don't go back on my word."

"That cat guy is shady as hell, you know. He's still grinning even with his hand chopped off like that. And I don't like how his bangs cover his eyes like that."

We watched as the assassin party left the way we came. They were walking on foot, since their ride, the transformation specialist mage, was still too weak to attempt any more transformation after I gravely wounded him.

Before they left, the elf decided to prostrate as well, signifying that she too surrendered to Fiora.

It was a complete victory.

Afterwards, Fiora told them that they could stand up. After they did, they introduced themselves one by one. The catkin, still grinning, mind you, was named Nevan. The dark elf was named Olva, the lizardman Graton, the mousekin Fralton, and the still unconscious rabbitkin Mrutu.

I just realized that there wasn’t a single human about them. Now I think I could reckon a guess on how this group came to be, why they would support Fiora’s goal, and why their leader was dressed like a slave with his rags.

They didn’t tell us their life story though. And Fiora certainly didn’t ask. They simply left after thanking FIora once more for her clemency, promising that they would return here one year from now to report their findings.

"I'm worried about you, you know. What if they return with an even bigger force?" I spoke to Fiora once they were out of sight.

"Then it would be a pleasant challenge. Also, you're in no position to lecture me on anything, after that pathetic display of yours."

"Oh… you're talking about the explosive arrow, aren't you?" I grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah, didn't see that coming in the slight—oow, what was that for?"

_She kicked me in the nuts!_

"You could've died there if not for your fairy, you buffoon." She glared, folding her hands under her chest. "And your face would have been gone if your body isn't already used on automatically putting a layer of aura to respond to an incoming attack. And that's thanks to me hitting you over and over while we trained. Why did you think it's a bright idea to charge in like that? You're a mage. You're not suited for close combat."

"J-just thought I could finish them off, that's all… Got too excited and thought 'there's no way I can lose!' and all that…"

I looked down, away from her gaze. She was right. That was really stupid of me.

"H-hey, don't scold Master like that!" My fairy suddenly spoke with a pout, making Fiora turn her attention towards her. She eyed her up and down.

"Uuu… why are you staring at me like that?" She complained. "Master, this girl is bullying me!" She pointed with tears in her eyes.

I sighed. "Alright, you can return now." I told her. "Good job, little fairy." I patted her in the head. She giggled in delight before disappearing soon after.

"A great fairy summon, huh?" Fiora commented. "Pretty decent. Have you learned her name yet?" She gave a glance at my direction.

"N-no…" I replied. "I'm not sure if I want to anchor her permanently with me to be honest."

"Oh, why not?" She smirked.

"I mean… it's a heavy thing, you know. That means I'll have to take care of her for the rest of my life. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that kind of a commitment. And knowing how childish and naive she is, I don't think she'll understand the meaning of becoming my familiar as well."

In short, I don't want to be a bastard that takes advantage of a young girl.

And besides, if she stays with me for the rest of my life, doesn't that sound like marriage? Sherry won't be happy for sure…

"I see," Fiora replied, still smirking. “You really are a nice guy, aren’t you?” She didn’t say anything else on the matter afterwards.

We then turned back our attention to the bridge, having barely any wounds to talk about. My own wounds had been completely healed by my fairy, while Fiora’s tired legs were quickly fixed up by Nicole. The bridge itself on the other hand was not as lucky. It was now hanging downwards on the other side, as it lost its tether on this side. _Now that I think of it, that explosion before we fell… that’s from the elf’s exploding arrow, isn’t it? I thought it’s just a fire spell._

Now that it’s out, I suppose we don’t have any other way to cross. Guess we’ll just have to turn back the way we come and have Fiora learn swordsmanship somewhere else.

...Oh, who am I kidding? Of course not.

“Not to worry.” Nicole declared with a confident smile. “I can conjure a bridge for us to go across.”

“Do you still have enough mana, Lady Nicole?” Helen asked with a concerned look.

“Don’t worry.” She nodded. “I can still keep going.”

And so it was decided. We were going to use her barrier spell as a floor for us to cross.

I sighed again. _Now that our carriage is gone, we have to actually walk and our progress will be severely delayed, until we can get a new one._

\-----------

As I had predicted, we didn't make it all the way down the mountain before the sun had set. And so, we had to set up camp.

Only that all the camping equipment was on the carriage, except for mine, which I stored inside my all too handy Bag of Holding. 

And so we had to share one tent. All four of us. Yeah, you can just imagine how overjoyed I was of the prospect. Me, surrounded by these lovely girls (and woman) in a cramped space like that… my perverted mind immediately went into overdrive.

Only for Fiora to ruin it by telling me to just make a makeshift on the nearby cliff wall.

And judging by her I-know-what-you're-thinking-you-perv smile, she clearly knew that she just ruined my perverted dream.

_Dammit, we're separating soon, right? At least give me a chance to get a squeeze on Helen's mounds._

We had a deer I sniped with my Boom Rifle for dinner, since we lost our food supplies as well. Helen cooked it and it was delicious. She simply knew how to cook the meat well, making it tender. Even without seasoning, it still had its own flavor.

I then fell asleep first. My watch turn would be just before morning.

\--------

_...ugo..._

_...Hugo.._

_...is Sherry… sending you… message… through dream… using orb..._

_... can't go… I can't go back home…_

_...Not strong enough… can't leave…_

_...Sorry… you and Marina… go without me…_

_…Don't worry… I'm fine… met my family here…_

_...Catch up… Find you… as soon as I’m stronger…_

\--------

I leaped out of my slumber. Almost literally, as I immediately sat up from my slouched-to-the-cavern-wall position.

I was sweating profusely and my pupils were wide open. It was as if I had just woken up from a nightmare.

_That’s… that was Sherry, wasn’t it?! There’s no doubt about it! That was Sherry, sending me a message through my dream!_

_She can’t leave?! Not strong enough? What does that mean? So she’s not going to leave her village anytime soon?_

_Argh, this isn’t just a dream, is it? No, the atmosphere was too different from one. She said it herself. It was a message. Somehow, she had sent me a message of her tardiness using my dream as a medium._

I stood up, legs still a bit wobbly. _I need some fresh air._

I walked outside the cave and saw Fiora, standing there on the open field, gazing upon the black sky. Or rather, she was looking at the full moon adorning it. It was so bright that it swallowed the light of the stars. In this world, without any electricity, you can always see stars clearly as long as the sky isn’t cloudy.

“Hmm?”

She quickly noticed my presence.

“Oh, it’s you, Hugo. Still a bit too early for your shift, I think.”

“...What’s with that grim look? Something happened, didn’t it? You got a nightmare perhaps?” She let out a small smirk.

“It’s… Sherry. I think she just sent me a message through my dream,” I answered, as ridiculous as that might sound.

Hearing this, her attention perked up. She raised her eyebrows and walked over closer to me.

“And what’s this message might be?” she asked.

“She can’t return as promised. She’s not strong enough so she can’t leave,” I replied.

Fiora didn’t respond right away. She turned around, walking away from me. The sound of her footsteps pressing onto the dead leaves and branches were swallowed by the cacophony of crickets that were all around us.

“You’re worried then?” she asked again.

“Of course I am,” I replied with a frown. “I don’t understand her message at all. If it’s even her message, that is, and not just some dream I imagined in myself.”

“...There’s a magic item in this world called the Dream Orb. With it, you can send messages to people through their dreams, no matter how far you are from them. It is an extremely rare item, only found in dangerous places like dungeons and such. It is something the dungeon itself creates. Not even the most skilled gnome can replicate its properties.”

“So you think Sherry used that to contact me like this?”

“Perhaps,” she replied, still looking away from me.

Another veil of silence fell between us. I already know what I am going to say next, and I know Fiora knows it as well. But somehow, I can’t bring myself to say it right away.

“You’re leaving, I take it?”

“...Yes.”

“I see.”

And then, before I could respond, she turned around, grabbed the back of my head, and forced me into a kiss.

It was not just a chaste kiss. It was a passionate one, as her tongue invaded my mouth voraciously like a hungry dog. Even if I wanted to escape, I wouldn’t be able to, as her hands firmly locked me in place.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally released me, with a trail of saliva still connecting our mouths. She grinned, and for the very first time, she was as red as a tomato. Not that I was one to talk. I was pretty sure I was just as red as her.

“You haven’t done that with Sherry, have you, Hugo? Well, tell her then. That if she doesn’t treat you right, I’ll snatch you right away from her grasp.”

She then patted on my shoulder as she walked past me like nothing had happened.

“Well, let’s wake up the others, shall we? Or would you prefer to leave after breakfast?”

\-------

We woke up Nicole and Helen early. After I resolved myself to leave, and how Fiora had just french kissed me like that, it would be too awkward for me to linger around for long. We didn’t tell them anything after we had our breakfast. Fiora seemingly was content to let me be the one to decide when I should drop the news. Thankfully, both Nicole and Helen decided not to bother changing out of their nightgowns. Maybe they knew from the expression of my face and Fiora’s that I got something important to tell them.

And then, once our breakfast was over, eating the remains of the deer meat from last night, I decided to not dally any further and just went with it.

“Everyone. I have an announcement to make.” I told them, after I took a big sigh.

I promptly explained to them about my dream and how I was worried about her.

Nicole and Helen both exchanged confused and bewildered looks with each other, before Nicole spoke, “Are you sure it’s really a message from her and not just a normal dream?”

“I’m pretty sure of it,” I replied. “It just doesn’t feel like a dream, you know. And she told it herself that it’s a message from her.”

_Still, now that I speak to them like this, I realize just how absurd this whole thing is._

“Oh, Sherry, I wonder if she’s alright…” Nicole said, looking away with a pained expression. She was still wearing her nightgown, along with Helen.

“Don’t worry. She also told me that she found her family there,” I replied with a calming smile. “So I’m sure she’s alright.” _Hopefully._

“I see.” Her lovely smile slowly crept into her face. “I am glad to hear that.”

“Lord Hugo, if you’re going to leave at once, then please allow me to express my gratitude for everything you have done for us and Her Imperial Highness.” She bowed. “And please, forgive any rudeness I have displayed to you through this journey. I was wrong to ever doubt you. We wouldn’t have made it this far with your help.”

As she bowed, her large breasts jiggled in the most impressive manner, and I could see her black bra peeking out of the loose neckline of her nightgown.

_Aah, I’ll miss the sight of those two mountains for sure._

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied with a smile. “When I first met up with you all, I was quite in the awful state of mind, remember? You guys helped me as much as I helped you.” I turned to face Nicole. “You comforted me when I needed it the most.” And then I looked towards Fiora. “And you pulled me out of my self-pity and trained me in the art of the sword. Quite harshly, I might add,” I chuckled. _And you, Helen, you gave so many nice views of your boobs. Not that I can say that to her face, of course._

“You’re the one who pulled yourself out of despair, Hugo,” Nicole replied. “I merely light a lantern to guide you out of it, that’s all.”

“Ha, that’s right! You owe me more than I owe you!” Fiora replied with a grin, putting one hand on her waist. “So you better not run away when I go after you after I finish my training, got it?”

“Oh, speaking of owing things, you haven’t paid me for my service yet,” I replied. “Alright. Cough it up. The thousand gold coins you promised.” I gave a mock frown as I folded my arms under my chest.

“Hmph, I see you haven’t forgot.”

What happened next was a complete surprise however. She began unbuckling her sword from her waist, before offering the whole thing to me.

“Here. This is your payment. My sword.”

I gave her a confused look.

“All of our gold are inside that carriage, so I cannot pay you any other way. This sword is made out of Mithril, in case you don’t know. It would easily fetch a thousand gold coins in the market. So sell it and get the gold you deserve.”

“W-what! I can’t just take your sword and sell it!”

“Then carry it with you then. Use it as a replacement for that brittle sword of yours.”

“But, if you don’t have a sword, then how would you—”

“What, you think I won’t be able to find a new sword? Are you an idiot? This is a land of swords. I’ll easily be able to meet a blacksmith that will sell me a new one.”

“But it won’t be Mithril, won’t it?”

“I don’t need Mithril. With my skill, a normal sword is good enough.”

She gave me her usual smug smile, but I know she was just trying to convince me to take the sword.

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll accept this as payment.”

I stored my current sword in my bag before attaching her sword onto my waist.

“Try to think about me every time you swing it, alright?”

"Nah. Since you don't seem to need it, I'll just sell it. I'm more of a mage than a swordsman after all." I said with a grin.

It was just me teasing her of course. Frankly, I don't know if I'm going to use this sword or not.

Helen then walked forward, before suddenly, she gave me a hug.

_Mmmmmphh, boobs! Boobs!_

"Stay well, Lord Hugo. And may the Saint be with you. And thank you once again, for all you’ve done for Her Imperial Highness."

Her womanly scent entered my nostrils, and immediately my little guy woke up. It was so soft and so warm, that it reminded me of Renee's own boobful embrace.

She released me with a smile. Huh? Is that a blush I see on her face?

The next one to hug me was Nicole. Slightly teary eyed, she said, "Promise me never to lose your way again, Hugo. It's okay if you blunder. What's important is for you to correct yourself and try to walk on that narrow straight path once again."

Of course, in the process, her boobs were pressing onto my chest, while my little guy was being pressed into her lower stomach. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice.

The last one to give me a goodbye hug was Fiora. And she didn't hesitate. She immediately went for the squeeze down there while hugging me with her other hand.

"Hey, never go back being your crybaby self, alright? You get punched, you punch back. You're a man, aren't you? One with a lover as well. If you really like that girl that much, then you'll train and fight and even die for her. And stop being too much of a perv. You'll easily get taken advantage by women that way. If you cross the line with some whore on the road while having resisted all my flirtations, then I'll be really quite insulted as a woman."

She whispered all those words while practically giving me a clothed handjob.

She released me with a grin. I noticed the little tears pooling at the edge of her eyes, but I said nothing. At this emotional moment, I would be a terrible person to tease her. Even her handjob might be just her way to remember me better.

_Heh, you really are gonna miss me that much, huh?_

_Haah, if only I'm a charming harem protag with a maxed charisma stat. I can make both Sherry and Fiora get along and I'll have a harem. But I'm just an introvert who's not good with women. They'll just fight against each other. Sherry might even decide to leave me right away. And she'd be right to do so. Imagine if I meet her and she's all lovey-dovey with another guy._

_...Yeah, I'll most likely spiral into depression once again._

With everyone having said their parting words, I wore my bag, gave one final bow of goodbye, and then took my first step on the next part of my journey.

And this time, I’m doing it with a smile.


	95. Interlude — The Growth of The Flame Witch

Durcesa, The City of Water.

It was one of the big cities of the Magocracy. Or rather, it was only second to Mira itself. Compared to it's neighbor to the west, the gloomy and cold city of Rau Uvarsa, it was positively brimming with life and warmth. Many of the Magocracy citizens from other regions would go there for their holiday. After all, it was the center of culture and art, promoted by none other than it's mistress, the Lady herself, Selendia Brine. She put so much funds into the many theaters and dancing halls of the city. She was a well-known lover of the arts and it showed right on her city itself. Not only that, but she also kept the canals flowing through the city completely clean, which harsh punishment for anyone who dared littering in it. Slums were not allowed to exist either. Every single building must exude beauty. As a result, there were no poor people living in the city. Or rather, if you're poor, you're not allowed to live or even step into its gates.

Such was the way of the Lady. She loved beautiful things and detested ugliness in all its forms.

To the north of the city was a massive lake, easily dwarfing the city itself. It was called by the locals with the title, "The Lady's Lake", for it was where the Tower of The Lady was built, right in the middle of it.

From land, you wouldn't be able to make out any of its features, for there was a constant cloud of mist surrounding it. It was said to be of the magical kind, only allowing those invited by the Lady while repelling others, making them lose their bearings while sailing there, thus never being able to reach the tower itself. And not only that. There were also rumors of sea monsters on patrol, dragging any Intruders to the cold depths below.

Indeed, the lake itself was a saltwater lake. It was as if a chunk of the ocean had been teleported into land. They said it was the work of the Brine Family, far back hundreds of years ago when they decided to construct the lake. After all, that family was nearly as old as the Salamander family—their illustrious line stretching all the way to the Founding Era itself.

And of course, the Lady was doing a perfect job holding up to that prestigious name. And her daughter, Elunmidis Brine, was already seen by her citizens as the perfect replacement for her once the Lady decided to retire. Both were indeed popular personages, from the lake city itself all the way to the most remote fishing villages of the region. They were beloved by their citizens, with many of the lesser noble houses of the region, and of other regions of the Magocracy, vouching for the daughter’s hand in marriage. The Lady however gave her daughter all the authority to choose her own partner. And so far, none of them had been chosen by her. The daughter was smart. Knowing perfectly well the value of herself in the court of marriage, she only opted for the best of the best. Lacking in magic talent? You’re out. Having a plain face? You’re out. Having an annoying personality? You’re out as well.

And thus, to this day, she remained without a single fiancee. Not that she cared. She was never really interested in romance in the first place.

Back to the Tower, currently, there were two certain guests of honor that the Lady entertained. They had arrived in style from the skies, one transformed into a giant phoenix that sent awe to the entire city and anyone else that saw them. And the other riding on a flying sword nimbly beside him, as if the height and wind didn’t bother her in the slightest.

The people knew who they were immediately. After all, there was only one phoenix mage in the entire Magocracy.

\---------

“Where is he?! Tell me at once, you old hag!”

A fiery voice yelled the moment she met face to face with the Lady in her throne room. She had barged into the place by blowing the door wide open with her fire magic, unable to be bothered to wait for the servants to open it for her. The Lady however was unperturbed. She simply sat lazily on her chair, with one hand holding her leaning head as she gave a smile towards the rude visitor.

“How dare you speak to Milady like that?! Kneel to her at once! Just because you’re the granddaughter of Lord Merlinus doesn’t mean you are equal to her in status!”

The maid standing beside her seemed to think otherwise however.

The throne room was beautiful, if one were to describe it in a simple word. It was mostly teal and white colored, made out of smooth white stones that had not a single gap between them. A gentle scent of the salt and the breeze of the ocean seemed to permeate every room, no doubt the work of magic as well. And the floor seemed to have a layer of water on them, even though your feet would never get wet in the slightest. The carpet of honor was not red as they usually were, but dark blue instead. 

Beside the Lady herself and the maid, there were also a number of guards standing to the left and right. They were part of the Aquus Corps, the personal army of the Lady herself. Most of them were of the local folk, sons and daughters of minor magic families that swore fealty to the House of Brine. Others however were former adventurers, paid extremely well and given their own lands. Essentially, they were promoted to being minor nobles themselves, if the Magocracy was a normal kingdom.

None of them showed any overt reaction to the girl's outbursts, although some of them exchanged looks with each other. They quickly returned to full attention however when the next person entered the room.

"Hahahahaha!" The laugh of an old man filled the room. "You don't need to rush, my dear Alincia. Selendia will not go back on her word."

He was the Phoenix Sage himself, Merlinus Salamander. Dressed in a dark red robe with a bright red beard that reached down to his waist, he was a personage that you immediately drew attention to himself. He was rarely seen without his grin, revealing his slightly yellowed teeth.

The Lady stirred, sitting upright on her throne at last. “The boy you want is currently in the waiting room,” she finally spoke. “He is unaware of your presence. So you do what you want with him.”

The young mage named Alincia didn’t hesitate. She bolted out of the room, not even giving a thank you towards the older mage.

“You’re not going to watch, Merlinus?” The Lady’s smile turned mischievous, as she turned her gaze towards the old man.

“Hmm, good idea. Her expression after she did it… it would be a wonderful thing to see.”

Still with a grin, he left the room, with the guards all bowing to him once again.

\-------

_Someone who wants to meet me? I wonder who it is..._

The hobbit had his legs swinging back and forth as he sat on the chair that was too tall for him.

His name was Thomas Marjoram, the sole grandson of Vera Marjoram.

After her assassination, he had been taken in by the Lady and hidden here, away from those that might wish him harm. After all, even after his grandmother fell, he was still an important personage to the Magocracy. Someone might just decide to kidnap and ransom him after all.

...Or so the thought. The truth was, he really was no one important. He was not a powerful mage, and his house had crumbled into ruin, thus he was a nobody. A commoner. The Council would not care about his well-being, even if he were to be kidnapped or even murdered.

However, thanks to Merlinus, who made a personal request to the Lady, he was now here, blissfully unaware of what his role was going to be.

He was, simply put, a bait, for Alincia to reach even greater heights in her magic.

Merlinus knew she would be after his blood after what he did to her friend. Thus he asked Selendia to hide him from her. And he told her he would only give his location if she could surpass the strongest mage under his employ.

And she did. After many months of harsh, non-stop training, she managed to do exactly that.

It gave him unimaginable joy, to see how the fruit he planted grew so beautifully. He used to believe that she was the failure, resting all his hopes to his older sister instead. However, after Merinda was killed by that accursed necromancer, he had to rest all his hope for a successor to her.

He had to thank her friend as well, for teaching her and being her motivation.

The door opened and he looked up with a smile.

Only to find out that it was _exactly_ someone he didn’t want to meet.

“A-A-Alincia?!” He quickly stood up and hid behind the sofa. “W-what are you doing here?”

“You know why I am here,” she spoke. For a fire mage, she sure could speak without any warmth. “Now choose. My flame or my sword?”

The sword she spoke of was not an actual sword, but rather, an autonomous Fire spell that shaped itself to a sword. It was another secret spell that her grandfather taught.

“W-wait, it wasn’t my fault that Marina was kidnapped! It’s all my Grandmother’s fault! She’s the one who insists I marry her!”

A burst of flame enveloped Alincia’s right hand.

At this point, the hobbit was naturally panicking. His head worked overtime, trying to think the words that could dissuade the mage from just roasting him in the most literal way right then and there.

_R-right! I can use that!_

“A-Alincia, listen to me! I didn’t violate Marina in any way! I honestly, genuinely loved her, you know! So I wanted to win her over the correct way! Grandmother said I should just take her virtue right away but I refused!”

The burst of flame disappeared.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Y-yes, that’s right! So I’m not that bad of a guy! I admit it! I’m a coward that doesn’t deserve her! I just obey everything Grandmother tells me to do, no matter how bad it is. I thought of her as this absolute power that would never be defeated, but she got defeated anyways. And by her little brother nonetheless, the guy she kept comparing me to. I know now just how worthless a person I am..”

He trailed off, looking down to the floor like a child who had just been scolded.

“So you know you’re worthless. Tell me then.” Another blaze appeared on her right hand. “Why shouldn’t I kill a worthless person like you?”

“N-no, please don’t!” He immediately prostrated in front of her. “ I-I still want to live! I-I haven’t even gotten married and have children yet!”

Alincia didn’t answer. She instead slowly walked forward. One by one, every step deliberate, as if she was waiting for his reaction.

And then, when she was close enough, the hobbit drew his wand and aimed a Water Blade spell right towards her throat.

“Guwaaahhhh!”

Or so he would, if she hadn’t decapitated his head with her Fire Cutter spell beforehand.

The body fell to the carpet separate from the head. However, not a single blood poured out. Her spell had cauterized the wound perfectly.

“If only you have accepted your death like a man, then I would have let you live. Even after all this time given to you to reflect on your sins, you still do not understand—why Marina disliked you so.”

She left the room soon afterwards, gritting her teeth immediately when she noticed her grandfather standing nearby.

“Did you do it, my dear granddaughter?” He spoke, with a joyed, almost crazed-looking grin.

“I did,” she answered coldly. “But I won’t thank you for it.”

As she walked away, she could hear his laugh.

It never stopped haunting her.

\-----------

Tottima Volcano. Located in the middle of the Tottima Mountains, it was where Alincia’s home was located. It was the very opposite of the place she just traveled to. There was nothing beautiful there, as the ground was blackened by soot and ash while the trees were all brittle and charcoal-like. The scent of sulfur filled the air while the dizzying heat would sap on your strength.

It was a place where only the strong could live. And that’s exactly how its ruler, Merlinus Salamander, wanted it.

“Welcome back, Lord Salamander! Lady Alincia!”

When they landed on the top of the fortress overlooking the volcano, they were greeted by an entire platoon of mages. Some of them wore mage-like clothes, while others wore maids and butlers’ uniforms. In the middle of them, distinguished by their own style of clothing, were two women. One wore what seemed to be a customized maid outfit. Unlike the others who wore dark red long dresses with white aprons, she instead wore a blue dress with a yellow apron. The skirt was knee-length, instead of the ankle-length it should be. And the top was opened from her neck, revealing a generous amount of cleavage from the well-endowed young woman. Her hair was crimson, cut short to her shoulder and adorned by a white maid headdress.

She was Freilen Genovious, the vice-commander of the Phoenix Force.

Beside her was another young woman, looking quite a bit more delicate than her. She had beautiful, long silver hair that extended down to her waist, though currently, it was hidden inside her long cloak. Said hair was braided gracefully down both of her ears, only adding to her delicateness. Her slightly angled eyes would reveal a hint of the girl's pride, though currently, she was bowing towards the grandfather-daughter pair with her eyes closed. She was also quite busty, with the shape of her breasts firmly outlined in the front of her robe. Not as much as the maid however.

She, on the other hand, was Freyja Luminous, the commander of the Phoenix Force.

The Phoenix Force, as the name suggested, was a group of soldier-mage working under the Phoenix Sage. Just like the Aquus Corps, they were also made of not just the "magic nobles" of the Magocracy, but also ex-adventurers and mercenaries that pledged their loyalty to the Sage.

Freilen was the first to lift her head. And she immediately flashed a smile. "Was the journey pleasant, Milord?"

"Gahahaha! It is wonderful! We bonded perfectly well, the two of us." The old man put one hand on Alincia's shoulder, making her visibly flinch. "She is now no longer a little girl! She's a young woman, just like the two of you!" The hand was large and hairy, contrasting somewhat disturbingly to Alincia’s small shoulder.

"That's pleasant news, Milord!" The maid clasped her hands, still smiling. "Miss Alincia truly is growing beautifully, like a fire rose who blooms in the desert!"

"I'm counting on you, Freilen, to continue raising and serving her, just like you have done all this time!” He then put his other hand on the maid’s head. She blushed, enjoying the headpast he was giving to her.

“Of course, Milord!”

Freilen wasn’t just the vice-commander of the Phoenix Force. She was also Alincia’s personal maid. She used to be her big sister’s maid instead, but after she passed away, she was handed over to her.

The old man then returned both of his hands before walking forward towards the entrance without waiting to check whether or not Alincia followed. As they had arrived through the air, they didn’t land on the front gate. Instead, they landed on the fortress’ designated landing area for aerial travelers. The same applied to the Tower they had visited.

Suddenly, Freyja blurted out, “Milord! Excuse my impudence, but about the matter I brought up to you the other day…”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he transformed into a fire bat, and flew into the entrance in that form.

Freyja gritted her teeth for a short moment, before returning back to her stoic self as she raised her head. Giving a glare towards Alincia, she said, “I still expect our rematch sometime soon, Lady Alincia. Your victory back then was just a fluke, nothing more.”

Indeed, she had lost to her in a magic duel. It was what earned Alincia the permission to visit Thomas. Unfortunately, she didn’t take her defeat as gracefully as she could’ve been, even though she had defeated her many times before that. And it was all due to her pride.

She belonged to the Luminous family, whose knowledge and prowess in fire magic was only second to the Salamander family. She was the only child of said family, as she possessed every bit of talent that she could inherit from it. When Merinda was still around, she was never able to eke out a win from her. The prideful girl was fortunate that Freyja’s parents opted to teach her magic at her home instead of sending her to the Academy, or Merinda might have not been the star student there.

They did that for one thing and one thing only—to guard the secret of their White Flame spell.

The Luminous family was well-known for their White Flame spell, in which they conjured a white-colored flame so much hotter than your normal garden variation of fire spells. They even claimed that there was nothing that it couldn’t melt.

She trained in her home secretly for years, mastering said spell. And now, thanks to that, she now held the esteemed position of being the first-in-command of the Phoenix Force, bowing only to the Great Phoenix Sage himself.

But then, Alincia suddenly came out of nowhere and challenged her to a duel.

She knew who the girl was. The Sage’s second granddaughter. Compared to her sister, she was much dimmer in the magical arts. If her sister could never beat her, then there should be nothing to fear.

Her assessment was correct. She triumphed over her again and again and again and again until she lost count entirely. Every time Alincia would receive terrible burn injuries from it, and she probably would’ve died for it if not for her grandfather healing her every time using his flames. She didn’t understand how one could use fire for healing, but it was what he did.

But then, on their very last fight, she actually lost to her.

Her flame was superior. There was no doubt about that. It consumed Alincia’s own flames. However, that sneaky mage decided not to fight fire to fire like a proper mage and instead danced around using that new sword spell of hers. If her flames couldn’t even touch her, then it couldn’t burn her. Using her superior mobility, she sneaked through her wall of flames, not caring in the slightest of any injuries she might get from it, and pressed her sword into her neck, signifying her victory.

It was completely humiliating. Many of the members of the Phoenix Force were present to watch the fight. Not to mention that her Lord, the Great Sage himself, was present there.

Of course, Alincia was horribly burned from her foolish maneuver, needing another healing from her grandfather. But instead of being scolded by him, he instead praised her! Why?! That was a completely stupid move from her part! She was holding back, you know! She didn’t want to end up accidentally killing her! Accidents like that happened all the time in magic duels, especially unsupervised ones.

And then, to add even more salt to her injury, he announced there and then that Alincia would be the commander of the Phoenix Force once she finished her school, meaning, she would be demoted from her position.

_I have to prove my worth to Lord Merlinus!_

And that’s why she desired a rematch with her. But the girl wasn’t even interested in her anymore. She only said that the only opponent she wanted to beat was her own grandfather! How more rude and foolish could one girl be?!

As she feared, she didn’t respond. Instead, she walked to the side of the tower and jumped down, relying on her sword for a safe descent.

_If she doesn’t want to accept my challenge anymore, then the only option I have is to hunt those two._

_Marina Greenwood. Hugo Greenwood. Those responsible for the death of Lady Vera._

_Either one would do. If I bring back any of their heads, then Lord Merlinus will surely acknowledge my superiority once more._

_But why? Why doesn’t he give me permission to do so?_

_That’s it. He must think I’m not strong enough to win over them. Sure, I know they’re strong. But they’re not the real force of the Greenwood Family who took down Vera. That would be their parents, who are former S-rank adventurers. I’ve investigated Marina and I know she’s a Master-level spellcaster specializing in Earth, especially tree-related spells. It would be oh-so-easy to burn mere trees with my White Flame. Hugo, on the other hand, I know nothing about. He’s apparently the youngest, so he should be the weakest, logically speaking._

_Both of them should stand no chance against my flames, for no shield or armor can protect you from it. Not even if they conjure a wall of water or earth to defend against it, as my flames would just boil and melt it like it’s nothing._

She gritted her teeth again—her fists clenched.

She was not going to let herself fall from grace!


	96. Marina’s Side — Grandfather

The Grandfort Region of Ferus Kingdom. If one were to describe it, it was a region past its prime. Located at the northern part of the kingdom, It used to be a more prosperous place, but after years of bad harvests and monster raids, it had fallen quite a way behind from its neighbours, turning into a poor and impoverished region. It used to prosper for the mines it once had, but they all had dried up, leaving only places for monsters to breed and flourish. It’s difficult to farm in such a cold region, and traders preferred not to use the region as part of their trading route thanks to said monsters raids and bandits being unfortunately common. Certainly, its current Lord had tried to turn things around, just like his father and his father before that did, but alas, every one of his efforts had failed terribly, simply due to the fact that he didn’t have enough resources to turn things around. Ferus was a cold country from the start, and his region was easily the coldest. He didn’t have enough funds to hire high-level adventurers to fend off the ferocious monsters constantly and he certainly didn’t have enough funds to hire mages capable of ensuring the crops in his territory would grow abundantly. In a cold region like his where you could barely see the sun, and where the winter was long and the summer was short, there really wasn’t much that he could do to make the place more prosperous. All the funds in his coffers went to soldiers employed to repel said bandits and general highwaymen, which, in an impoverished region such as this, were many. Not to mention that it was a border region, which meant it was required for him as part of his duties to the king to spend a set amount of money to fund the soldiers guarding said border. 

A certain traveler was leading her humble passenger carriage through this barren land. It was summer so the snow wasn't falling, but the terrain remained dreary and the air remained cold nonetheless. She was currently wearing a green furcoat, worn with her normal dress underneath. She had purchased it and two others with the last of her money. Since she didn't stop to take quests or do odd jobs, she didn't have any additional income to replenish her once abundant coffer. It didn't help that she had to replace her carriage and horse with it after a certain incident she was involved in.

No matter. Her destination was already very near after all.

_So this is the region Grandfather lives in… It really is as cold and wretched as those people have described._

_To think that his territory would be so similar to that person’s territory..._

Marina Greenwood. The daughter of Alan and Renee Greenwood who hailed all the way from the south. Her journey had taken her months, and it wasn’t an easy one, especially when she had a little kid with her. When people saw her, they didn’t think much of her at first, believing her to be simply just a run-of-the-mill adventurer that they could find everywhere. However, once they took notice of the fact that she was traveling with a young girl, some would grow more sympathetic towards her, thinking that they had to be some family that had fallen on hard times. No one would take a young girl with her if she was really just an adventurer.

Little did they know that she was the very same person that the rumors had spoken of.

“The Witch of Verdant Death". That was what the adventurers who spread the rumors called her. She was a powerful Earth mage who had made a mess out of Mosa, conjuring a giant tree and an army of treants and woodland creatures to destroy the city. And not only that, she defeated their general as well, a powerful Champion-rank swordsman of the Lancelot Order in a decisive battle, summoning a monstrous dryad in the process. His army was entirely obliterated, and only he was left alive to set an example.

Of course, rumors were never completely accurate. People would just add and exaggerate things as they transmitted them to others, until eventually, the truth became lost in the void. They said that the witch had massacred the residents of the city and its soldiers, but that was far from the truth. The creatures that she had summoned didn’t harm anyone innocent. Even she spared the army that was chasing after her, immobilizing them instead of taking their lives.

It didn’t help that the official statement released by the kingdom itself exaggerated her supposedly evil deeds. After the defeat of their hero general, the kingdom was gravely humiliated, and so they put on a bounty for her head. 

And of course, no one said anything about the part where she begged the town guards to save her kidnapped little sister, which was the impetus for the whole incident to begin with. The masses wanted their big, scary villainous witch. And so they made up one. Thankfully, none of them suspected that it would be a young 16-year old girl travelling with a five-year old.

Even if they would know it was her and started to chase after her as if she was this awful criminal, she wouldn’t have any regrets. She would do it all over again, if it meant saving her little sister from her terrible fate.

_But this region… it’s quite in a bad state, isn’t it?_ Marina thought so as she looked over their surroundings. She was currently riding on her carriage, taking the driver seat. So she had the perfect place to notice just how barren the land surrounding her was.

_If the soil is like this, I don't think they would be able to grow anything… Maybe this region's income comes from something else? Mining or logging perhaps?_

_Well, I'll just have to ask Grandfather when we arrive._

\---------

The town of Lochestat was pretty much the center of the Grandfort Region. It wasn't that big of a town, and it was built in better times where the region was more prosperous, back when the mines were still up and running. Sadly, those times vanished the moment the mines dried up. Now, those mines only became abandoned monster nests, just another place for the local adventurers to earn their keep.

Or so Marina learned from the receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild in the city.

_This is worse than I thought… I never knew just how much a warmer climate could mean for the prosperity of a region, like back at Marchen._

She made a stop on the Guild as she had her lunch, just so she could gain more information on the region. From the receptionist, she also learned where the mansion of her grandfather, the Earl, was located.

With both hope and apprehension in her heart, she led her carriage there, to where the one and only Earl of Grandfort lived.

Before that though, she and her Entourage would need a costume change first.

\---------

**Marina**

"Halt! What business do you have with the Earl?!"

As expected, I would be greeted by his guards like this.

Using the tip given to me by Glinda, I pretended to be of noble heritage as much as I could. That meant I would let Nysa take the reign as my carriage driver, dressed in a cheap maid outfit I had bought for her, which she seemed to be quite fond of by the way. I suppose there is a certain charm in them. Even I have some interest in wearing them myself, though I don't believe I will look good in it in the slightest.

The dryad also had taken her human form, so that the guards and any other humans who saw her wouldn't be alarmed. As a familiar, she had gained said ability as well.

"I brought with me the granddaughter of Lord Archimonde himself. Let us pass," she spoke. I had instructed her to act as a proud servant, one who wouldn't be pushed around by mere gate guards.

"Ha! Do you think you're the first to try that? Go away or we'll make you leave!" One of the guards spoke.

"Or would you rather warm our bed for the night?" Another guard spoke with a lecherous expression. "The Earl doesn't care in the slightest of impostors like you and your 'granddaughter'. They'll put you two in jail and then we'll get to have our way with you."

"Is something the matter, Nysa?"

"Miss Greenwood! These obstinate guards… they're being awfully rude! They even dare making lewd comments about you!"

It was time for me to make my appearance.

I stepped out of the carriage, putting on my most pleasant and elegant smile.

"Greetings. I am Marina Greenwood, the daughter of the Earl's runaway son, Alan Greenwood. Or to be more accurate, Alancourt Archimond."

That was Father's real name. When I first heard it from Mother, I laughed. It really didn't suit him in the slightest.

"And here is Erika Greenwood, my little sister."

I told her to come out with me as well, even though she didn't want to. It wouldn't do if we made them suspicious by hiding a person inside the carriage.

She shyly hid behind me. She too wore a fur coat, though hers was colored white.

"And of course, I have a letter of introduction that would prove my identity."

I took out said letter from my pocket, written and signed by Glinda and stamped by the Royal Seal. Of course, it was possible that I simply forged it, but would they take the risk, offending the granddaughter of an Earl?

I gave the letter to Nysa, and Nysa gave it to them. A noble wouldn't want to be in contact with commoners after all.

The moment they saw the royal seal, they gulped. They looked back at me and then the letter and then back at me again.

"P-please forgive us for our rudeness, Lady Marina!" They promptly bowed at me.

"No problem," I replied, still keeping my elegant smile. "You are simply doing your job, that's all."

And with that simple trick, I got in the building with no problem whatsoever.

\---------

"Please, wait here. The Earl will be seeing you shortly."

We were brought into the drawing room inside the mansion and told to wait there as one of our receiving maids fetched Grandfather. Oh, by the way, we were greeted by a group of maids and butlers when we first entered the building, saying in a harmonious unison, “Welcome back, Miss Archimond!”, which naturally made me feel uncomfortable. How could they say “Welcome back” when I was never here in the first place? Not to mention the fact that I still thought of myself as a Greenwood, and not the Granddaughter of an Earl.

One of the guards had no doubt panickedly ran inside, spreading the word to the servants there that the Earl’s granddaughter had arrived. I don’t believe it is such a wise thing to do though. It’s not like they have confirmed my identity. But I suppose the sight of the royal seal was enough for them to accept the truth of my words.

If I had to say my first impression of the place, then it would be that the place had certainly seen better days. It was clear that it was not as well-kept as the mansions I had been in, from the Baron’s place to Glinda’s place. Just like how the region used to prosper, I could tell that this house used to have its better times as well.

I sat down on one of the couches along with Erika, who looked around nervously around the room while taking a hold of my right hand. Nysa on the other hand remained standing behind the couch. I felt bad for telling her to do so, but it was how a maid was supposed to act, thus she had to play the role, at least for now.

Then again, she’s a dryad. She should be used to standing all the time, as a tree spirit. Hopefully.

Another maid stood near the door. I suppose she was to attend to us as we waited. Remembering what Glinda said, a noble was supposed to always have a servant to attend to her at all times, except from when she was asleep.

I tried not to pay attention to her, as I sensed she was eyeing me from top to bottom.

We waited like that for what felt like an eternity, until suddenly, the maid standing beside the door announced that the Earl had arrived.

A man wearing a crimson robe entered the room, moving with the help of his walking stick. The hair on his head was white, as well as his beard. He stood with a slump, seemingly unable to stand perfectly straight. The maid tried to help him but he shooed her off. He then sat at the couch opposite of mine, and immediately I took note of his piercing gaze.

_This is… Grandfather?_

"So… you believe you are my granddaughter—the daughter of that fool of a boy who abandoned his duties to play adventurer."

"Yes," I firmly replied, locking my eyes with his. "I am his daughter, Marina. And she is Erika, my little sister. There's also my little brother, Hugo, but unfortunately he can't be here right now," I averted my gaze for a moment. "We came here to seek refuge, Grandfather, for he and Mother have been murdered by the Magocracy, and they might be after us as well."

At the word "murdered", his eyes widened terribly, to the point that it felt like they were going to pop out from their sockets at any minute. His entire body shook before a fit of coughing assaulted him.

"Milord!" The maid yelped as she came to his side.

"Silence!" He hit her with his stick, causing her to retreat. He then returned his glare right back at me. "You wretched girl! How dare you spew those vile lies right to my face?"

"I do not lie, Grandfather. It is the truth. They were murdered because they tried to save me from them."

His stick flew in a rage, straight towards my face. However, I caught it mid-air before it could make an impact.

It was terribly easy. It was simply an angry flail of an old man.

“Grandfather, if you must hit me, then please do so for my blunder. It was my weakness that led to me being kidnapped by one of their Council mages. But please, do not hit me for bringing you this truth. For I do not lie. I suffer from his death as much as you do.”

The room seemingly froze. I returned his glare with my own. Now that I saw his eyes closely like this, I could see how much he resembled Father in a certain way. And I hoped he would be able to see my resemblance to Father as well.

And then, his coughing fit returned, prompting the maid to once again come to his aid.

“Please, if you’re truly his granddaughter, then leave him be for now,” she said to me with a pleading look. “You may stay in one of the guest rooms. The other maids outside would show you to the place.”

I nodded, agreeing with her suggestion. Any parents would need some time on their own to grieve after hearing that their child was dead. Even if he himself might believe he hated Father, I knew for the fact that deep down, he still cared deeply for him.

_To think that I would have to bring such bad news to him while he was in such a state… Grandfather is sick. There’s no doubt about it._

For a second, I had a thought to come to him and comfort him, telling him that everything was going to be fine as I was now here. However, I refrained from the idea. He still hadn’t trusted me yet. And the way he refused help, he was clearly a very prideful man, which might be the reason why Father left him in the first place. Both men were too stubborn to surrender to the other.

“Come, Erika. Nysa.”

They didn’t voice any objections.

\---------

We were given a large room of our own. Or rather, it was a series of rooms, with a big one for me and Erika, and a small side room for Nysa as my personal maid. For now, she would assume that identity until I was accepted by Grandfather. Then, I could tell everyone that she was actually my familiar instead. It would be too much if I exposed the fact that she wasn’t actually human right away.

“Sis, that was Grandpa, wasn’t it?” Erika suddenly spoke up. We were currently sitting on our bed, which was a major improvement over all the not-so-fluffy beds we had to sleep with through our journey. “Why is he so scary? And angry?” she said as she hugged my arm, looking reluctantly away. “Does he hate us?”

“Don’t be silly, Erika.” I smiled, bringing her closer to my embrace. “He’s simply saddened by the news of Father’s death. He’ll come around.”

“He looks sick too. Is he going to be alright?”

“Oh, he’s fine. It’s just the cold, that’s all. It’s easy to catch that when the wind is so chilly after all.” I gave her a comforting smile.

Erika was no stranger to colds and fevers and the like. Several times in our journey she suffered those maladies—the first was after the whole kidnapping incident. She was shaken greatly by it, and that made her body weaker. Thankfully, I could produce the necessary medicinal herbs to assuage and cure her ailment, using my magic. I was never that good at alchemy, but creating basic remedies like that was certainly in my repertoire.

Of course, I was no fool. I knew that wasn’t just some normal cough. But she didn’t need to know that, did she?

When Erika fell asleep, as she often did in the afternoon hours, I decided to make my move.

_I have to comfort Grandfather after all._


	97. Marina’s Side — Alan’s Past

"Imbecile! How dare you hit your fiance like that? Apologize! Right now!"

"I'm not gonna! She's the one in the wrong! She bullied Myrna!"

"Myrna?! That scullery maid girl? I told you to stop playing with her already, didn't I? She's not fit to be your playmate, especially when you have Luna around!"

"Luna is a big meanie! I don't wanna play with her! I wanna play with Myrna!"

"For Milicis' sake, when will you start to grow up?! You're already ten years old! You should already know your duties as the heir of the House of Archimond! You can’t be fooling around with a girl not of your stature like that! If your marriage is going to go through, then you have to make Luna happy! I already told you how important it is for our house and hers to be united, especially after all the crop failures we suffered over the years.”

“I don’t want to marry Luna! I wanna marry Myrna instead!”

“You stupid child!”

With his large and strong hand, the earl slapped the boy on his left cheek, causing him to fall down to the floor.

“Philip! You can’t do that to him!”

A woman quickly rushed over to the boy, cradling him in her arms. She was the boy’s mother, and the wife of the man that had hit him.

Philip and Ariel Archimond. They were indeed the parents of this boy, Alancourt Archimond.

The father and the boy were quite alike in their features. Both had light brown hair and brown eyes. The father had a sharp, handsome look and it was expected for the son to have a similar attractive look once he grew older. However, for now, the boy was more cute than handsome. Some of his mother's beauty must have rubbed off on her.

Speaking of the mother, she was indeed a very gorgeous woman. Wearing a dark green dress, she had long, flowing golden hair that reached down her waist. Her eyes were crimson red, but instead of being a slight to her beauty, they only enhanced it.

"You're spoiling him, Ariel. That boy needs to learn his place."

"But you don't have to hit him that hard, do you?!"

"It's what he deserves for hitting a girl. No son of mine would be as unchivalrous to do such a thing."

The wife looked at the husband with an exasperated and angry look, but ultimately she decided to drop the issue, knowing just how stubborn he could be.

"Are you alright, dearie?" She asked her son.

"I-I'm fine, mother. A slap like that… I didn't even feel a thing."

It was all too obvious for the mother's eyes that he was merely bluffing. Tears were pooling in his eyes and his legs were shaking as he stood back up.

"I will protect Myrna! I don't care if it's from Luna or you!" He pointed his finger towards the father. "I will make her happy, no matter what!"

After saying those words, he stormed out of the room, ignoring the plea from his mother to stop.

This, and many similar incidents before and after, would lead to the tragedy that pretty much destroyed the noble family of Archimond.

\-------

"Hmm… hmm… hmm… wiping the floor… wiping the floor… make it clean and spotless so no dust or dirt is around…"

The girl who was currently singing to herself as she mopped the floor was none other than Myrna, the scullery maid Alan was so fascinated by. It would be fair to say that she was his first love.

Myrna was the type of girl that didn't hope or think much for the future, like many other commoners of her stature. She was happy enough to be able to feed herself and her family with her job here. The Lord was even generous enough to give her a week of holiday every year for her to return to her village and visit her family there.

And so, when she suddenly received the affection of the manor's noble son, she just thought it was a simple boyhood fancy. It wasn't that odd. His own little brother back at the village had his own girl he was obsessed with.

"Hey, Myrna! Stop working so hard and play with me!"

It was Alan. With a grin on his face, he ran up to her as if she was his friend and not his servant.

"Young Master Alan, apologies but I still am not finished with this corridor yet," she answered him as politely as possible.

"Aww, really?" He scratched the back of his head. "That's a bummer… Oh, I know! Why don't I help you, Myrna? That way, you'll finish up faster, right?"

"Young Master! I can't possibly—"

Before the maid could say anything, he snatched the mop from her hands and started moving it back and forth on the floor.

"Young Master! I'll get scolded by the head maid if she saw me giving my work to you!"

"That old hag again, huh? Don't worry. I'll go talk to her if that happens."

"Young Master! A future Earl like you can't be doing this kind of thing! It's our job as your servants to—"

"Sheesh, Myrna. You're kinda noisy today, aren't you? You started to talk like Father." He chuckled. "I don't think it's a bad thing though. I can bear a nagging woman if she's as cute as you."

"Y-Young Master!" The maid turned crimson.

Indeed. Alan was already a womanizer even at this age.

"Hey?! What's going on here?!"

Alan groaned. He perfectly knew that shrill, high-pitched voice.

"Tch, it's you, Luna." His grin disappeared instantly, replaced by a frown."

"Is that any way to talk with your fiance? Especially after she goes all the way out here just to see her darling~♥"

Luna Fentyr. The girl Alan was stuck in an arranged marriage in. She was pretty much the embodiment of a snobby, arrogant young noble, especially towards those of lower social status than her. Ironically, her father was only a Viscount, so Alan outranked her as the son of an Earl. She was married off to him so her family could gain more influence in court. On the other hand, the reason why Alan was forced into said marriage was because of her family's wealth, as the Earl needed the funds he would get if Luna became Alan's wife for his struggling region.

Unlike Myrna's dull maid outfit, she wore a glamorous crimson red fur coat that matched beautifully with her black curls and purple eyes. Just by one look you could tell that she was a noble's daughter.

"Why are you holding a mop? Don't tell me that maid made you do it!"

"Myrna doesn't make me do it! I chose to do it on my own! So go away! You still haven't apologized for all the things you did to her so I don't want to see your face around!" Alan yelled.

The noble girl had indeed done some terrible things to the maid. First, it was merely insults and threats. She told her not to go anywhere near her darling Alan or else she'll get her fired. Then, when she still saw her being around him, it quickly escalated. She would put frogs and bugs under her dress, kick her bucket as she cleaned, and even slap her as she pleased. The maid could only beg for forgiveness, saying over and over that she didn't want to steal her fiance, but she didn't listen. After all, Alan kept preferring the maid over her. So the maid must have been seducing him when she wasn't looking.

Yes. Even though she was still 10 years old, she was already madly in love with Alan. Ever since he saved her from those things that tried to kidnap her on their date, she was convinced he was her chosen one. Her soulmate. Her knight in shining armor.

So for this _whore_ to even attempt to seduce her darling (a word she learned from her mother), it was unacceptable to her.

Her last bullying was her actually casting a Fireball at her hair. She thought it would be funny to turn the maid bald. Only to end up receiving a slap from Alan for it.

It made her leave the mansion immediately, telling her maids that she didn't want to be here anymore. All the while crying non-stop.

The incident happened months ago. And now, she was back for another stay.

Only for Alan to yell at her like this, right after she caught him flirting with the maid yet again.

Her fists clenched. _Why?! Why does he only care about her?! Am I not pretty enough? Papa always says that I'm the prettiest girl in the whole world._

_... It's because of those two lascivious mounds, isn't it? I remember Mama yelling at Papa for staring at a maid's chest. Boys like them big, don't they?_

Indeed. The maid, even though she was just a few years older than the little lady, was already quite well-stacked in that department.

But then, to Alan’s surprise, the young lady’s angry frown suddenly turned into a smile.

“Very well. I’ll leave you two on your own then for now.”

And just like that, she left.

If Alan had been smarter, he might have realized that there was something off about her.

Alas, when he did, it was already too late. Too late indeed.

\------

The first time someone noticed that the necklace had gone missing was when Alan’s mother was about to wear it for a party she was going to attend.

At first, the maids that attended to her simply believed that they must have misplaced the jewelry. However, after searching high and low inside her room in a panic, they realized with pure dread that the necklace was indeed missing.

It wasn’t just any necklace. It was an outrageously expensive one, decorated by polished high-grade diamonds that sparkled in the most beautiful manner. It was an heirloom, handed over down the generations from her family. Not only it was precious, it also had a high sentimental value to her as a result.

It was all too obvious that if one were to steal it and sell it in the black market, they would be set for life.

And thus, the entire mansion went into an uproar.

A massive search was immediately ordered by the Earl. No men or women could enter or leave as every single servant and guard were dispatched to scour the estate for its whereabouts.

And then, it was discovered, hidden inside the wardrobe of a certain scullery maid.

Myrna’s wardrobe.

Without mercy, the guards dragged her to the Earl, all the while she was crying, begging to them that she didn’t know anything about the necklace, and that she would never steal from the family that had treated her so well ever since she worked as their servant. Alan of course vouched for her innocence, insisting to his father that she could never do such a heinous, filthy thing as being a thief. However, the proof was stacked against her. Especially since Luna gave her testimony that she had seen her walking near Ariel's room. As a low-class maid, that area of the floor was off-limits to her. There were other, more experienced maids who would clean the place there.

"Are you sure you saw her there, Luna?" Philip asked, his brows furrowing.

"Yes, I'm sure of it, Father." She already called him that as if she was already married to Alan. "I saw her wandering there just a few hours ago."

"No, I didn't! I swear I didn't go there!" The maid protested. "Y-you must be mistaken!"

“Father, please be lenient to her. She was just a child after all.”

She put up her puppy eyes and sweet voice as she tugged on the Earl’s sleeves.

Alan wasn’t fooled however. He saw the small, almost imperceptible smile on her face, and immediately he connected the dots.

She was the one who had stolen the necklace and put it in the maid’s wardrobe. This was yet again one of her harassment antics.

This time however, she had truly crossed the line. Alan immediately flew into a rage, grabbing her on the collar (he was taller than her by a good few inches). “You! You were the one who put the necklace into her wardrobe, didn’t you?”

“W-wha— I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, darling!”

“Don’t lie to me! You did it, didn’t you? You always tormented her every time you came to our house!”

“F-Father, please help! A-Alan is hurting me!”

“Alan! Put her down right now!” The earl yelled.

“But Father, she’s the one who—”

“I SAID PUT HER DOWN! RIGHT NOW!”

Still with righteous fury, he threw the noble girl to the floor.

“U-uwaaaaahhhh!”

Luna immediately broke into tears. But Alan’s heart didn’t budge. He knew it was just her faking it to gain sympathy from her surroundings. And it worked, as his mother promptly came to her and lifted her up to comfort her.

“Alan!” It was her turn to scold him. “How can you treat her like that? I am disappointed in you!”

Alan flinched. He was already used with the scolding of his father. But when it was his kind and angelic mother who did it, it really felt as if he had done something truly awful and horrible.

“B-but Mother, Mryna is being set up by—”

“Alan! Look at you! You’re being used by her! She knows you are fond of her so she decides to use that trust, thinking you’ll cover her for her! I always told you, didn’t I, to be always on-guard from any girls and women that show their interest in you? As the son of an earl, you are a powerful and wealthy person, and they might only get close to you just to gain that power and wealth for themselves.”

“That’s Luna! She’s the manipulative and scheming one! Myrna would never—”

“SILEEEENCE!”

The room immediately went as quiet as it could be. It was the Earl. And he had just shouted like he had never shouted before.

Alan flinched once more. He never saw his father being this angry before.

“Guards, take this little thieving maid away. As a display of mercy, I shall not hang her in the gallows. Instead, I shall banish her from this mansion and its city in its entirety. Never again shall she step foot here.”

“Father, you can’t—”

“And you, Alan. Get back to your room.”

Her father’s glare terrified him to his very core. It was no longer the anger of a parent who was disciplining his child. It was true anger, something he had never been exposed to before.

“It’s fine, Young Master.” Suddenly, the maid spoke. “I will leave.”

“Myrna, you can’t say that! I won’t allow it! You have done nothing wrong so you can’t just—”

“It’s alright.” Her eyes were brimming with tears at this point. “These past five years… it’s been fun.” She then turned to the Earl and said, “Thank you very much for everything you have done for me all this time, Milord. Please, forgive my ungrateful, thieving self.” She bowed as deeply as she could, before letting the guards take her away.

“Myrna! Myryna!”

Alan tried to chase after her, but the Earl, in a surprising display of strength, gripped the boy’s arm so tightly that he couldn’t release himself from it.

And that, was the tragedy that befell the Archimond house.

\----------

Alan later on confronted Luna on his own. And true enough, with a smug smile on her face, she admitted that it was indeed her who concocted the scheme to accuse the maid of being a thief. She did it all for the sake of her love, so that the whore would finally stop seducing him once and for all. She had come up with the plan for months, and she had executed it with the help of the servants that arrived with her.

Alan didn’t even hit her for it. However, the glare that he gave her—even her thick skull realized that she had crossed a line she should have never crossed. It made her decide to leave early, hoping that after a few more months down the line, he would have forgotten all about that maid.

She never confessed the truth, of course. She was too much of a spoiled brat for that.

Later on, it was discovered that Myrna, who was sent away right in the middle of winter night, had returned on foot towards her village. However, she was caught in a snowstorm who suddenly occurred (an all too common occurrence in the area) and was mauled to a pack of snow wolves who would appear en masse in such weather.

When Alan learned of the news, it broke him.

But not in a way that made him break down crying. He cried, of course, but he cried in private, away from anyone’s prying eyes and ears.

He then decided. He would no longer want anything to do with this life as a son of an earl.

_If this is what it means to be a noble, then screw it all to hell! I don’t need any of this! I can just live as an adventurer! I’m quite good with the sword after all!_

_Luna, Father, Mother, they’re all the same. They see Myrna as a mere servant. They didn’t mourn in the slightest when they heard of her death. And they still believed Luna’s lies as well._

He wrote down his parting letter, packed his things, and sneaked out of the estate in the middle of the night.

It was the end of Alancourt Archimond, and the start of Alan Greenwood. There was nothing special about his made-up last name. He simply thought it up on the spot.

When his parents realized his disappearance, and found his letter, he was already far away from the city. The Earl told every single one of his guards to search for him. He even paid a handsome sum to the Adventurers’ Guild to put up a missing person quest. But Alan was smart. He knew how to avoid capture from even all those adventurers. He quickly headed to the border, to leave the kingdom in its entirety.

When it dawned on his mother that Alan was never going to return, it broke her as well.

She would wail around crying, begging to every servant she met to search for her son. Slowly but surely, her beauty and intellect wasted away. Her figure turned thin and the bright glimmer in her eyes disappeared. Eventually, the servants and even the citizens outside started to call her the “Mad Beauty” or the “Wilting Rose”. And every time the Earl heard that mocking title, he would order a flogging for the perpetrator, not caring in the slightest that it would make him look like a tyrant in the eyes of his subjects.

He knew however that there was truly no saving her, without her son being present. There was no spell or potion that could cure madness in this world.

In her last days, she would hallucinate that her son was there. She would hug her servants at random, sobbing with joy that her son had finally returned to her. She would even start to have a dialogue with said imagination, giggling as she did.

When the Saint finally saw it fit to deliver her poor soul away from this mortal realm, the Earl, as much as he hated it, admitted that it was for the best.

Thus, without realizing it, Alan Greenwood had killed his very own mother with grief.

And he never knew of said truth even after he died, as he never once returned to his home after he left. He traveled the world as an adventurer, growing as a swordsman using his own raw talent. The only times he sent any letters back home was when he married Renee, and when she gave birth to Marina, Hugo, and Erika. And he always did it through an untraceable route, absolutely making sure that her father would never be able to find where he lived.

If only he had known that his mother had perished because of him leaving, perhaps he would go back immediately and beg for his father’s apology.

But that opportunity had vanished now. Just like how his first love perished in the cold, so did he.

He was born in the middle of a cold winter, and he died in the middle of one as well.

* * *

**A/N:**

Ariel Archimond:

Myrna:


	98. Marina’s Side — Grandfather’s Lament (End of the Bodyguard Arc)

**Marina**

When I told the maid standing outside my room that I wanted to meet Grandfather, she obliged, offering to lead the way to the third floor where his room was located. We were greeted by another maid standing in the front of his door. My maid asked her how he had fared, and she replied that he had calmed down and that he should be ready to receive visitors. The two exchanged glances before looking towards me. They didn’t need to say anything for me to know that they wanted me to comfort him.

“Please, Miss, if you would.” The one attending to Grandfather spoke with a pleading smile. “I saw him reading the letter you had brought, and I never saw him that happy for years. You’re the only one that could cheer him up.”

“Are you alright with just leaving me alone with him?” I asked. I was about to enter when I realized neither of them was going to follow. “Do you really believe I am truly his granddaughter, and not just a stranger that’s after his life?”

“I believe you, Miss.” The one attending to me smiled. “You don’t seem to be a bad person. And the concerned look you have in your face when he had his coughing fit—I believe that was genuine.”

Ah, that’s right. She was present back downstairs at the drawing room.

“And besides,” the other maid spoke with a smile also. “I’ve read your letter, Miss. And I don’t sense any forgery from it. To think that you would be able to have the royal mage of Marchen to write you a letter like that, you must be an amazing person, don’t you, Miss? Master would be glad to hear all about your accomplishments, I’m sure, so please, tell him everything.”

“You’re mistaken,” I replied. “I merely gave her a visit, that’s all. I didn’t work under her or anything like that.”

“But that’s odd. The letter says you’re a highly accomplished mage. A young genius even!” The maid returned with sparkling eyes.

_Oh dear. I seem to remember her saying that she will write the letter as a work recommendation letter as well. But to think she will praise me this much…_

I smiled, trying to hide the redness that crept onto my cheeks. “Thank you for the kind words.”

After that small chit-chat, I entered the room at last.

I walked as gently as I could inside, taking care not to make a noise on the carpet. The room was dim, with the largest source of light behind the fireplace located near the large bed. In a cold kingdom like this, it wasn’t odd to constantly have the fireplace running, even in summer.

I took a seat on the chair near it, facing towards Grandfather who seemed to be asleep, as his eyes were closed. Slowly, I placed my hands on his.

“Grandfather, it’s me, your granddaughter. If it’s alright, I would like to speak to you,” I half-whispered.

He promptly stirred, opening his eyes but not looking at my direction, opting to gaze at the ceiling instead.

“You are truly… Alan’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“The first?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, he didn’t even bother saying your name in his letter. Only said that she was the most beautiful baby he ever held in his arms. And now, seeing you in person like this, I can see that he wasn't exaggerating."

I blushed a little at his remark, and I blushed even more as his left hand slowly caressed my cheek.

"I can see both Alan and Ariel in you, my dear. That fierce look of yours… that belongs to Alan for sure. But the tenderness… that comes from Ariel. Or perhaps it's from your mother? Renee, was it? Alan kept bragging how beautiful she was in his letter." He smiled, pausing for a bit before continuing, his smile vanishing.

"To think that idiot would lose his life in such a manner. Those damn mages of the Magocracy! If only I have more pull in the court, I'll send the Sky Knights after them!”

The Sky Knights. They are the pride and strength of the Ferus Kingdom. Riding on monsters called Snow Griffins only found in the cold regions that the nation possesses in abundance, they are a formidable army to fight with. There aren’t that many of them, but they are essentially the kingdom’s elite force, only answering to the king and the king only, similar to how the Imperial Knights of the Holy Empire are.

I wouldn’t say that they can rival the military strength of the Magocracy, but perhaps, just perhaps, an entire flock of them can win against a single Council member.

“It’s alright, Grandfather,” I replied. “Even if you can help, it will be too late anyways. The Magocracy is so far down south from here.”

Suddenly, the old man turned as pale as a sheet. He sat up, looking at me with an extremely worried expression.

“D-did they do anything to you, my dear? When they took you away?”

I shook my head. “They didn’t get to. Father, Mother, and my little brother came to my rescue before they could do it to me. If they had been just a little slower, then I would have been…”

I didn’t need to finish my sentence. Grandfather already knew what I meant.

“Oh, praise the Saint!”

He gave me a surprisingly strong hug. I didn’t resist, even if it felt a little more than just a bit awkward.

I wouldn’t say it wasn’t nice however.

Releasing me, though keeping his hands on my shoulders, he then said, “That Alan… I know he would sacrifice himself if it means saving his daughter. So please, don’t feel that you have to blame yourself. If anyone needs to earn a spanking from my cane, then it would be that Vera person.” He chuckled, before his expression turned serious once again. “Has he ever told you? The reason why he left?”

I shook my head.

“Then,” He took a big sigh. “I suppose it falls for me to tell you everything. You’re old enough already to hear about that tragedy. The terrible mistake I made that made him leave."

And with that, he started his story.

\-----

When Grandfather finished his tale, I was speechless. To think that such a tragedy was what led him on becoming an adventurer in the first place. As his granddaughter, I didn't know how I should react.

"Luna… what happened to her?" I asked. "And with her noble house. Since the marriage was not going to happen, I assume they withdrew their financial aid for the region?"

He nodded.

"That girl…" He smiled wryly. "When she heard the news of Alan running away, she immediately came to us and begged for forgiveness, confessing to everything she had done, crying in the process. She truly was fond of Alan and she realized her actions had hurt him terribly." He then took a long sigh. "Of course, that didn't stop her family to cut ties with ours completely. She is now married off to some other noble. I just hope she doesn't still harbor some feelings towards him."

"...I was a fool. I didn't catch on to a 10-year old girl's plan before it was already too late. I let my anger and greed blind me from the truth. I broke Alan's heart by sending his love to her death. Thus he broke mine as well by leaving.'

"...And yet… why?! Why must he break Ariel's heart as well? She never deserved it! Not even in the slightest! It was all me, Alan, it was all me! Spare her from your vengeance!"

As he flew into a passion, his coughs returned. “Grandfather, please! Don’t overexert yourself!” I begged. Quickly, I took out my wand from my pocket and created a flower on its tip. The flower then showered him with a pollen that immediately calmed his cough down.

It was a simple Serenity Flower. Like its name suggested, its pollen had the effect of inducing calmness and tranquility to a person if inhaled.

He immediately fell asleep afterwards. I folded his hands on his abdomen, before covering his body with his blanket. 

_...Hugo, with your grandfather like this… Perhaps I cannot chase you after all. I can't possibly leave him like this, can I?_

\------

A week has passed since then. We were received well by the servants in the mansion, who seemed to be overjoyed that they had new people to attend to. I didn't understand why though. We should be complete strangers to them yet they received us as if we were already part of the Archimond family.

Both Erika and I were assigned personal maids to attend to our every needs. They were actually sisters, with the older attending to me and the younger attending to Erika. To my relief, they treated us in quite the casual manner. Never rude, but not stiff either. Perhaps it was because of their youth. The elder sister was around my age while the younger one was just a few years older than Erika. Apparently, according to them, their entire family had been serving the Archimond House for generations. Their mother was the head maid while their father was the head guard. I quickly learned and remembered their names, The mother was Annelise, the father was John, the elder sister was Henrietta, and the younger sister was Lorry.

_That explains why they’re chosen to be our personal maids. Supposedly, it’s the highest honor for a maid to be chosen for such a position._

Of course, I already told everything to Grandfather. He demanded it himself, asking me to regale him of the tale of our long journey here. Knowing that there would be no point in lying, I told him how it wasn’t an easy journey, especially when the whole incident with Erika happened. As I spoke of that, his brows furrowed, and once again, that murderous look I saw when I told him in detail about my kidnapping by Vera resurfaced. I did it when we had one of our private chats in the garden that he asked me to join. We sat in one of the gazebos there, accompanied by our respective attendants before he dismissed them so we could chat in private. This was one of such occasions.

“Oh, to think that my granddaughter could be such a great mage." He smiled. "Alan raised you well."

"...You're not going to scold me for what I did?"

"Scold you? Hah! The only thing I would scold you for is you letting your little sister out of your sight. But all the other things you did? You're well within your right to do it."

I couldn't help but smile a little. _Grandfather isn't that different from Father and Mother after all._

"I get called the Verdant Witch of Death for that, you know."

"All the better!" His smile grew wider. "That means people will now fear and respect you. Our kingdom's Sky Knights are revered the same way. And our kingdom barely has any diplomatic relationship with them so you won't have to worry about souring that."

"I don't know… I didn't do any massacring like the rumors said…" I sighed. _I'm not that kind of a scary person, you know…_

"You know," he continued after taking a sip of his coffee. "If we spread the news that the Verdant Witch of Death is here, and that she's none other than the granddaughter of the Earl himself, it might actually help in driving away bandits from this region. They would be too afraid to try anything with you around. Of course, I would only do it if you agree."

"...The bandits. How bad is it?"

He returned with a sigh. "It's quite bad. We don't have the funds to have constant patrols inside our territory, especially at the faraway villages near the wilderness. The king required me to keep a certain number of soldiers at the northern border, and raising taxes is certainly out of the question, with how most of our people are already struggling as it is.

I paused, looking down at my cup of tea before taking a sip of it. "I'll think about it." was the only answer I could give right now.

"That is fine. I understand why you might not want such a moniker. Not to mention how it might attract unwanted attention to you, positively and negatively. Fame isn't for everyone. Though, as my daughter, you'll have some fame, whether you want it or not."

_That is true. I am now, for all intents and purposes, the daughter of an Earl with his own territory. I am a noble, and not a low-rank one at that._

"Oh, one more thing."

I raised my eyebrows.

“If you can, please. Help our people with their crops. If with your magic you can at the very least make every year’s harvest be a successful one, then we would be able to start turning things around here. We will earn more in taxes and we can use that funds to increase the security of our land.”

“...I’ll look into it.” was my answer to his plea.

I remembered those Mundane Magic classes I used to take at the Academy. They were all about how mages could use their spells to help with ordinary daily lives. They weren’t that popular compared to the more combat-oriented classes, but knowing how steeped the culture of Magocracy was in magic usage, it wasn’t that odd that such classes would be mandatory. The Council would see no threat in people learning magic to grow crops better or to catch fishes more efficiently. In fact, it would be a boon to their nation. Thanks to said mass usage of magic, they were able to remain mostly independent from any other nations.

“If you’re going to go outside, I suggest taking Reinhard with you. He’ll be able to show you around.”

Reinhard Archimond. He was a personage I met a few days later after I had arrived here. He had been out with his wives on an outing to inspect surrounding villages, so I didn’t stumble upon him right away.

After Father left, with Grandfather not wanting to remarry and make another child to be his successor, he instead settled on adopting a local commoner as his son. Apparently, he was chosen because he was somewhat of a hero, as he had been taking out bandits and monsters all on his own the years. He was an expert ranger who excelled both in the sword and the bow. He then married him off to the daughter of a baron, allowing him to get access to some funds he wouldn’t be able to get otherwise.

And then, to my surprise, Grandfather actually allowed him to take another wife. This time, it was his actual sweetheart, the woman he had taken a liking to ever since they were little. The classic “childhood crush” scenario.

I thought just how mad the daughter of the baron would be from it, but somehow, she seemed to be completely fine with it, sharing his husband with another woman. She even reassured me that she had convinced her parents that it was alright as well.

_To take a commoner as a second wife, it’s like you’re insulting the first as you’re equalizing her noble stature with a commoner. And yet, they seem to be completely fine with it._

_Not to mention the thought of sharing the man you love with another. I could never understand how someone would be willing to do that._

“I suppose I would,” I replied. _I just hope that I won’t gain the ire of his wives by doing so._

“Of course, I don’t expect you to help me do all of this without a reward,” he continued. “Like you have requested, I would try to my utmost to help you obtain that Dream Orb you wanted to contact your brother.”

I had told him about how Hugo ran away after defeating Vera. At first, he was angry that he would do such a foolish thing, but he quickly understood afterwards. “Your little brother… he might be similar to Ariel. Too pure for the harshness of this world.”

That certainly wasn’t something pleasant to hear, as that implied he might actually go mad from it as well, just like his grandmother. So I replied, “No, my Hugo is stronger than that. He will bounce back. I’m sure of it.” However, even after saying such a confident thing, my worry towards him increased exponentially, which led to me bringing the matter to Grandfather, telling him how there was an extremely rare magic tool that one could use to communicate to another person, no matter where they were in the world.

“I have sent letters to all my colleagues. Hopefully, one of them will reply soon with some good news.”

Unfortunately, there weren’t any nearby World Dungeons that I could use to seek out the orb myself. So I had to just hope that somehow, I would find someone who would be willing to sell it to me, and for a reasonable price. Grandfather didn’t have much money in his coffers after all.

With the conversation being over, I departed, to the nearest struggling farmland with Reinhard accompanying me.

And the result?

_This soil… it’s barely suited for this type of crop at all. It’s too hard and dry. Not to mention the temperature itself._

_...No. Even with my capabilities, I can’t fertilize every single farmland in this region. It’s simply too impractical._

_The only solution is for them to grow something different. A type of crop that would flourish, even in the middle of a harsh winter._

_And I think I know just the kind of crop it is. All thanks to one of Vera’s books that I had pillaged from her mansion._

With that plan in my mind, I returned back to the mansion. First step: to reproduce the seed for the crop using my magic.

_Sorry, Hugo. It seems your big sister will be staying here for some time after all._

* * *

**A/N:**

Here are the pics I got for the new characters:

Marina's maid, Henrietta.

Erika's maid, Lorry

Reinhard Archimond


	99. Flaming Arrows (Start of the Necromancer Arc)

A series of carriages were travelling down a dusty valley, with a series of tall cliffs surrounding them to the left and right. Five of them to be exact, with three carrying goods and two carrying passengers.

This was what the locals referred to as the Whispering Valley, named after the whispers you would hear from the wind blowing through the many holed rocks that jutted out the two cliffs, creating flute-like sounds. Some even said that they were the whispers of the dead or the whispers of wind spirits, though there really was no basis for such rumors. There weren’t any undead monsters around and the place was certainly not a Fey Domain, or else it couldn’t have been used as an alternate route to cross into the Kingdom of Fiania. The Fey would never tolerate their land being used as a public road after all.

Even so, it was still a treacherous route. Most travelers would opt to take the route to the west instead, where it was safer and closer to civilization. Unfortunately, the one responsible for the caravan had no choice in the matter. His superior demanded that the goods were to be delivered on time, and thanks to some mix-up, they only arrived in his hands far later than what he had scheduled. And so, he had to brave himself and take this route instead of the other one, as that route was definitely longer. This was the direct route to his destination after all. And thus, he had to spend extra cash recruiting adventurers to act as their escort. At the very least, he could recoup some of said cost by including a passenger carriage with their convoy, charging the people inside extra as they would get to their destination faster.

His name was Norton, an up-and-coming trader employed by the Rinea Corporation, or, to be more exact, one of its many branches, which was the Rinea Trading Company. He used to fly on his own, but after realizing that he would profit off more by joining what basically amounted to a trader confederation/guild or sorts, he pulled the trigger on the matter. It’s hard to compete with them after all, so it’s wiser to join them instead. Sure, he lost his freedom, but in exchange, he could sleep more soundly, knowing that his business was more well-protected. Losing this shipment however, would mean the loss of his comfortable position, and even his life, if he lost it due to bandits or monsters, which was why he readily posted a B-ranked quest for the necessary escort. Back in the old days, when he still had only one carriage filled with his sole merchandise, he could get by with himself acting as the guard. He was decently skilled at the sword and bow, and he knew only to take the safest routes. Bandits wouldn’t bother targeting a small merchant like him either. They would prefer planning ambushes on large shipments, like the one he was handling right now.

His guards were a party of B-rank adventurers. Their name was Flaming Arrows, apparently named after the fact that they had a fire mage and an archer within their ranks. There was one other member, but he was the type that just blended in with his surroundings. Fitting since he was their support, filling the role of their defensive front-line fighter and their healer. All the impressive stuff that actually killed the monsters were done by the archer and the mage.

There was another with them however, as Norton felt three people wouldn’t be enough for the job. He was the youngest of them, and Norton only took him aboard because there really wasn’t any other adventurer available. He was C-rank too, which meant he should be considerably weaker than the other three. However, his quest was B-rank, so technically, there would be no problem in him partaking in it. Another reason for his reluctance was how he was apparently some noble kid from the south. Sure, the fire mage was a noble herself, but unlike him, he actually could pull some records of her completing B-rank quests before with her party. Apparently, he had just arrived when Norton recruited him, and he was only doing the quest because it allowed him to get a free ride to the north. It was a well-known fact that noble adventurers tend to be somewhat less reliable than commoner adventurers, thanks to how they were rarely suited with the life-or-death situations adventurers were often thrown into. They would run away at any sign of trouble, back to their rich mommy and daddy as if being an adventurer was just a game to them.

So far though, he performed better than he had expected. They had encountered several monsters on the road before, and they even fought off a band of bandits once, and he had made himself more than just useful there. To his surprise, the boy actually could use both his sword and his wand properly. It wasn’t just some fancy thinking of him wanting to be both a swordsman and a mage. Sword mages did certainly exist, but they were quite rare and they tend to be less effective than an actual swordsman and an actual mage. Higher-level adventurers all had their parties, and there was rarely a need for a member that wasn’t really specialized to a certain role in said party.

_Ah, there they go again._

He smiled as he heard the commotion behind him. As usual, the boy was caught up between an argument between the mage and the archer.

\--------

**Hugo**

"What?! How can you say that?! Coffee is definitely better!"

"Hmph, this is why a commoner like you should learn to be more refined! Tea is definitely better!"

"Hah, that's just your childish taste speaking! You don't like bitter stuff after all!"

"Hey, Charles! Tell this ignoramus that tea is better!"

"Don't indulge the spoiled brat, Charles! You like drinking coffee better, don’t you, Charles? I’ve seen you chug that thing like there’s no tomorrow!"

I sighed inwardly. _How many times have I been dragged into this mess?_

Currently, I was sitting on a roofless carriage. Unlike the paying passengers, we didn’t have the luxury to be seated in a roofed one. Though I suppose for us, who were paid to be guards for the caravan, it would make more sense for us to have a clear and direct sight to our surroundings at all times, thus necessitating the need for an open carriage.

With me, there were three other people. Adventurers, just like me. One guy and two girls. The guy was the healer and the tank of the group, while the girls were the damage dealer—one wielding a bow and one wielding a wand.

And now, said girls were arguing against each other. Yet again. For what seemed to be the hundredth time. And it’s always something stupid and inconsenquential.

The girl who was sitting beside me was the mage. Her name was Amelie Von Victoria—a blonde haired girl around the age of fifteen. She had her long hair curled up and tied to a series of buns on each side, and she wore a fancy-looking short dress with a robe over it. It was clear just from her appearance that she was either a fashion-loving mage who spent many gold on her outfit or she was a blue-blooded noble.

The latter was the correct one by the way. Apparently, she was what you would call a runaway noble. She came all the way from Arthurstaad—a fact that she would never let you forget, as so many times she held it up as the forefront of culture and civilization and how you have to see it at least once before you die.

And yes, it’s as annoying as it sounds.

She never mentioned the rank of her parents though, which made me suspect it wasn’t actually that high. 

Funny how much she bragged at being a noble lady when her parents were of the low echelons of the aristocracy. Heh, I wonder how she would react if I told her that I was a good acquaintance with the second Imperial Princess herself.

Of course, I couldn’t do that. It would just draw unneeded attention to myself. They might end up being dragged into Fiora’s throne struggle in the future too, if they knew too much about what’s going on with her. I doubt a lot of people knew where Fiora had gone to.

The other girl, the one sitting across me, was the archer. She, on the other hand, wore a simple white sleeveless shirt and black miniskirt (with tight fitting bike shorts-like pants underneath), along with a red cloak that complemented her bright pink short hair. Her name was Anne. Unlike the mage, she didn’t announce her family name every other second, so I wouldn’t know what her family name was. She was probably around sixteen years old, just a year older than the mage.

The remaining guy wore a medium iron armor with gauntlets, not a full steel one since he probably wouldn’t even be able to afford it. He had a sword sheathed on his hip. He had black hair and eyes, and he was simply smiling towards our direction as the argument ensued. His name was Anton, and he was pretty much the “big brother” of the group, both in age and mannerism. I was pretty sure he was already in his twenties.

I gave him a “Hey, help me out here!” look. He didn’t respond however. Once again, he must think that our quarrels were amusing to watch.

_Munyu~♥_

“Charles! I know your taste is more refined than hers! You're a noble gentleman after all! You're not like this commoner girl! Hey, tell her that tea is better!"

Amelie, who was sitting beside me (she wouldn't sit with Anne), grabbed my left arm and pulled it towards her, causing it to press against her chest. And oh boy, it was a soft and voluptuous one. The two mounds were _bursting_ out of her white shirt, contrasting with the redness of her dress. She might just be on track to be as busty as Renee when she grew older.

“Charles! You’re not like that snob, right? You know that coffee is definitely the superior beverage!” Anne fired back.

“Uhh, yeah, I think both are just fine, actually,” was my diplomatic and non-confrontational answer.

Of course, this only made them even madder, and the argument continued.

I sighed. _Starting to feel that my decision on temporarily joining a party like this might be a bad idea._

\----------

Let’s roll back the clock several months ago, shall we? After I left Fiora and her entourage, I immediately headed north once I crossed the Great Chasm using my Wind Step. Oh, by the way, the assassin group that we spared was nowhere to be seen back in the village at the foot of the Severing Mountains, where said chasm was located. They must have left immediately. I just hope they won’t betray Fiora later on. 

But eh, she’ll be fine. That girl’s really strong after all.

Continuing away from that tangent, I headed northwest, alternating between walking and running with my Wind Step. I thought it would be a good idea to train both my physical and magical stamina. Of course, I wouldn’t exhaust all my magic. That would be dangerous if monsters were to attack me. And they sure did. Nothing I couldn’t handle on my own though. B-rank ones were basically nothing to me. A-rank ones—still have to be a bit more careful, but my Boom Cannon can one-shot them, just like how I killed the wyvern back then.

I didn’t give up on my training as well. I would spend a good chunk of my time every single day swinging around the sword Fiora had given to me. To my surprise, the more I used it, the more I felt comfortable using it. It was extremely light, lighter than ordinary metal. However, it was really sturdy as well. I could hit a hard rock with it over and over without Staccato and not a single nick could be found on its surface. I also trained my Graceful Step technique as well. If I could master it, then I could replace Wind Step with it. At least, for fights that wouldn’t necessitate me going airborne.

I kept up my magic spell development as well. My next aim was to somehow make a Boom Cannon with a controllable trajectory, meaning, it wouldn’t need to only fly off on a straight line anymore. It was harder than I thought however, as the insane speed it possessed really didn’t lend it well for doing turns.

Though, thanks to my refined control, I could actually cast Thunderstorm now. Yay. All those months learning the spell didn’t go to waste after all. All I needed was better control over my mana.

With that, as well as taking up quests on the various small towns I dropped by to fund my trip, I made my way north towards the border. 

If I had to say, during my experience travelling alone mostly on the wilderness like that (I didn’t take the main route that most merchants and travelers would take), it’s true what Fiora said, that the further away you got from the center of the Holy Empire, the less affluent the people would be and the more dangerous the land would be to travel. This world was far from reaching anywhere near the level of population that my old world had. As a result, a lot of the land remained undeveloped, simply becoming places for adventurers to have their adventures. In places like that, the monsters tend to be stronger as well. Now I know why Father took his job so seriously. He made sure that the monsters would not overbreed, as that tended to make them antsy in searching for new territories, which meant attacking human dwellings. Father was strong enough to take care of the entire region basically by himself, but on the villages and small towns I had passed, they would rely on the soldiers and knights that their local lord had (well, Father himself _was_ a knight). Calling adventurers for monster extermination meant extra funds would be required, and it’s either the lord who paid or the villagers. Unfortunately, it seemed that a lot of the time, it would be the latter.

When I reached said border, I was already a C-rank adventurer. Took quite a good while unfortunately. Two months and a half, give or take, from when I left Fiora. As much as I might want to rush to Sherry, if I were to keep up my training and get money for my expenditures, I couldn’t really rush onward that fast.

The border town was named Grayden, and like the name suggested, it was a town in-between the kingdom of Fenesia, where I was at, and the kingdom of Udomia, my next destination. Most of the border was nature-made using the Northeastern Dragon Mountain Range as the marker. However, there was a length of wall made between the gaps in-between said mountain range. It was only a relic of the past though, constructed when the two kingdoms were still feuding, before the Empire assimilated them both. They didn’t even bother renovating it, causing the whole thing to basically fall apart on its own due to nature doing her work. Now, you could only see mossy, dilapidated stone bricks with many, many holes on it. Thanks to both kingdoms being vassal states to the Holy Empire, border checks were minimal. Even though the wall was barely even there, both kingdoms saw no problem in leaving it as it was.

I was tempted to try blowing the whole thing over using my wind spell, but of course, I was not crazy enough to do so.

When I arrived at the town’s Adventurer Guild however, I realized something that had been gnawing inside my heart all this time.

I was lonely.

These past two months and a half, the only human contact I got was the occasional adventurers that I worked with. Not as part of their party, but simply as a temporary guest or even just because we were doing the same job or going the same direction. And they seemed to all have so much fun with each other, leaving me alone on the sidelines.

I missed it. I missed all the banter I had with Fiora, Nicole’s calming and serene smile, and even Helen’s scowling.

Solo adventuring might sound cool on paper, but for me, who actually yearned for companionship, it was quite terrible.

And so, when I spied with my eye a long term job offer to be a guard for a merchant caravan that headed north, I took it immediately, knowing that it would mean I would have other people to travel and talk to in my journey.

Thanks to that, I had been stuck with this bunch for the last month and a half or so days.

Oh no, it’s not like they were bad people. In fact, our journey together had, in most part, pleasurable. Even if they originally doubted my ability, thanks to my young age and the fact that I was just a C-rank adventurer. After I fought together with them, defending the carriage from monsters and bandits, I now pretty much had gotten their validation, even if I never really showed my true abilities to them. I pretended to be only a mage who could only cast Advanced-level spells with shortened chants, and I never used my special sword techniques either. I didn’t want to attract any attention, as if they really knew how strong I really was, they would surely ask all sorts of troublesome questions. 

Something else that was troublesome ended up happening though. Now, after I proved myself to them, two girls constantly wanted to involve me in their arguments, which I really did not want to. And if I didn’t take their side, they would send a scowl to my direction.

I sighed again. _It’s not bad though, being popular with two girls like this. But just like back at elementary school, I know very well how vicious girls can be when they fight against each other. Another reason why my perverted dream of having a harem should just remain that, a dream._


	100. The Commoner and The Aristocrat

**Anne**

_And there he goes again, being his usual indecisive self. Really, why can’t he man up and tell her off for once? Hmph, he probably enjoys the attention she’s giving to him! Does he think I never noticed all the times he stole glances at that royal brat’s large chest? The rumors are true after all, that the nobles of the Holy Empire are all perverts behind their fancy curtains!_

I hailed from that place down south, or to be more accurate, from the Holden Earldom which is the northeastern part of the Empire. I was born to a hunter and his wife, thus I picked the bow ever since I could walk.

It wasn’t an easy life by any means. Father would risk his life every day going into the nearby monster-infested forest and mountain to feed our family. He always told us that one day, he might just lose his life there, and when that happened, he hoped that our family would be able to go continue on living without him. That was why Mother took up the skill of embroidery, so that she too could earn money for our family if anything were to happen to Father. I too, as their only daughter, swore that I would help our family as best as I could.

In the end though, it didn’t matter, as a sudden pour of monsters coming out from the forest killed both of them when I was still just a ten year old girl, thanks to our house actually built away from the village and near the forest instead. Father preferred solitude, and that, unfortunately, led to his and Mother’s death.

Adventurers were dispatched to deal with the situation as they fortified the village. There, I met up with Anton, who back then, still had his old party with him. As you might have guessed, the monster horde wiped all of them out except for him, and in the end, we stuck together, forming an entirely new party just by the two of us.

Years passed, and we would join and leave other parties temporarily, never really sticking around much for one reason or another. We climbed up in the ranks, until we became B-rank adventurers. Then, we ended up meeting with the royal brat, who became our party mage, as we were desperately in need of one. To my shame, my arrows weren’t enough to handle the monsters at our current level, especially as we now frequently fought off B-rank monsters and even the occasional highly dangerous A-rank. The royal brat had gotten into an argument with her former party and got kicked out as a result. I suppose Anton took pity on her, as she was crying in the most pitiful, pathetic way when we first met her.

It didn’t take long until she took us for granted however, and she returned back to her haughty self.

_Yet another reason to the list on why I hate nobles._

Back then, the local lord of our region never sent out his knights to fight off the monsters. That’s why so many adventurers and villagers died to the monsters back then. The villagers, including myself, had to pool every single coin we had to post a quest to the Adventurers’ Guild for help. Even so, we didn’t have enough money to attract enough adventurers to come. I was extremely grateful to those who had chosen to come, even though to them, the risk must outweigh the payment. It was another reason why I went with Anton, to repay his kindness and the sacrifice of his party.

_They never care about us the common folk. They only care to take our well-earned money in taxes, just to fund their lavish lifestyle._

Which was why when I realized we were going to travel for a length of time with yet another noble, I displayed my opposition.

“He’s just some kid, isn’t he? He’ll just be dragging us down. And that expensive outfit… he doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he’s a noble.” I voiced my complaint to our questgiver.

In the end however, he still insisted on bringing him along.

And now, near the end of our trip, I had to retract everything I said back then.

He was strong. Far stronger than he looked.

Twice he had saved our bums from certain danger. Once, when we were ambushed by a colony of Fire Ants. Our wonderful noble brat’s fire magic was naturally heavily resisted by them and their numbers were so many that I couldn’t hold them off no matter how fast I shot them. Before I knew it, I already ran out of arrows. As they started swarming around the passenger carriage, with the helpless men and women inside, I decided to do something reckless. I jumped off the top of said carriage and used myself as bait for them, just so I could get them away from the innocents that would get hurt if they were to burn the wooden carriage. I knew it was suicidal, as I could be surrounded by them in no time with no route to escape. Yet I did it anyway, as I couldn’t bear to let anyone die on my watch.

And of course, that’s exactly what happened.

Just when I thought it was all over however, a series of waterspouts suddenly came out from the ground, annihilating the ants one by one until there wasn’t a single one left.

It was Charles. He, who throughout the fight, had been mostly acting as a front-line fighter along with Anton, suddenly was able to cast such powerful magic.

It didn’t make sense. He was in no position to do that. To cast that level of magic, a mage would need around a minute in order to concentrate his mana and finish the long chant. And yet, it was as if he did it in an instant, with no chants whatsoever.

When the battle was over, my feelings were thrown into disorder.

I felt extremely grateful to him, as he pretty much had just saved my life. After one of the ants bit me in the leg, I fell down to the ground, bleeding from my injury. I was completely surrounded by the ants, with no chance to escape. I was already resigned to my fate, thinking that finally, I would join Father and Mother in the afterlife. And then, like a knight (or rather, a mage) in shining armor, he swooped in and saved me.

And yet, I was angry as well. Why did he hide that level of strength from us? Afterwards, I questioned him in the matter, but he simply dodged the question, telling how he simply had been chanting while using his sword at the same time, which was a complete lie of an excuse.

I felt hurt. I felt deceived. It’s as if he was saying that he didn’t really trust us. We had traveled together for two weeks then, and I thought we were already friends. Apparently not.

And that’s why I couldn’t really like him, even if I wanted to. Maybe if he told off that noble brat more, then my view of him would be more favorable. But knowing how he was a pervert who preferred girls with big chests, fat chance that would ever happen. He didn’t even scold the noble brat when she broke down crying just from taking her very first human life.

I suppose I can talk about that as well. That was the second incident, a month after we departed from Grayden. We were ambushed by a band of bandits, who clearly had known we were coming beforehand. It was perfectly planned. It took place in a valley, a smaller one than this, and they sent down giant boulders from the cliffs to the left and right of us, blocking the road on both sides. Then, their cocky leader shouted from above, telling us to surrender, or else he would rain us with their arrows. He even showed us all the archers he got under his disposal. There must be at least 50 of them. It was clear that this was a professional job. They could even be deserters from the Udomia Kingdom’s army. It wasn’t unheard off for well-trained soldiers just abandoning their posts, taking up banditry instead. Usually, it happened when they weren’t paid enough, thus banditry offered a more lucrative, yet less morally-sound offer.

It was a completely disadvantageous situation. If I moved to fire at them, or if the royal brat started to chant her spell, they would attack, and there was no way we would be able to survive a barrage of arrows from that amount of archers.

Our employer was ready to surrender, until Charles suddenly called upon a thunderstorm that shattered their formation into pieces. It gave us the opportunity to strike back, as the bandits, panicking of the series of thunders that blasted them up above, descended down to our place with the intention of killing whoever was casting the spell.

There, the royal brat was forced to take a life for the very first time, burning a number of bandits with her spell, leaving only horrid-smelling charred remains behind.

She broke down, and started crying in the most annoying, high-pitched voice possible. And Charles—that kid immediately came to her and comforted her.

Like, come on, she barely did anything in the fight. I killed most of the remaining bandits. And yet she decided to be a drama queen and clung to him so tightly, there was no way he wouldn’t notice the two lumps of fat pressing into his chest.

With those thoughts, I gave him an angry stare, before giving a huff and looking away, not wanting to see anymore of his face or the noble brat who’s sitting beside him.

At least, until I heard a screech from the skies.

\---------

**Hugo**

“Monsters!” I shouted.

I immediately got up along with the others. In a monster attack, we already had prepared a strategy beforehand. The caravan would immediately reorganize itself into a circle formation instead of a line, to minimize the area where us as its guards had to defend.

I looked up to the skies and sure enough, there were three, no, four Steel Rocs circling our position. They were a common monster in this valley. Similar to the Hell Condors we had back home, they were also B-ranked giant bird monsters. They would attack by firing their razor sharp feathers like a rain of knives on their victims. Which meant we would have to draw their attention away from the caravan before the carriages were destroyed by their attacks.

"Everyone! Scatter formation!" Anton yelled as he readied his shield. "Anne! Draw their attention to us! Amelie! Move away and start chanting your spell! Charles! Guard her if any of the rocs decide to go for her!"

Like a true adventuring party leader, he immediately gave out the correct orders in an instant. He might be nowhere as strong as me, but I respected him for that. Compared to his party, the way Fiora and I fought were basically just us doing our own things with barely any cooperation, since the monsters we fought were so weak compared to us. However, for most adventurers, this is necessary to survive most monster encounters.

I ran away with Amelie, jumping off the carriage we were in, and as she drew her wand and started chanting her spell, I readied my sword to parry any incoming feathers.

Thanks to Anne's arrows, three of the rocs flew after her. As expected, they bombarded her with feathers in return, but Anton blocked them all with his shield. The remaining one came after us, but I managed to parry each and every single feather. It was so easy. They were nothing compared to the speed of Fiora's attacks.

“Flame Strike!”

Amelie launched a fireball at high speed into the air. It hit one of the rocs, before exploding in a swathe of flames, spreading the heat in a circle around the creature. It fell down from the skies, as its steel wings melted.

“Yay! One down!” Amelie celebrated.

 _Too early!_ I yelled in my mind. _The battle isn’t over yet!_

And indeed it wasn’t, as the other rocs, noticing what had just happened to their comrade, immediately moved in to attack the mage instead. Yep, it’s just like how in MMORPGs, dealing damage will get you aggro. 

She noticed it as well, and immediately repositioned herself to be closer towards Anton. Anton himself responded the same way, running towards our direction with Anne following from behind—the archer desperately trying to either draw back aggro or take out at least one of them with her arrows. If she can land one in one of their weakspots, like their eyes, then that’s something she can do. The rest of their bodies however were made out of steel, which, as you no doubt already guessed, were resistant to normal arrows.

“Krraaaahhhh!”

Bullseye! One of the arrows indeed landed in one of the monsters’ eyes, taking it out from the skies as well. I would be surprised, if I hadn’t already known what an amazing archer she was, from all the time we had spent traveling together.

Two, however, still managed to launch their steel feathers towards us.

“Eeekkk!”

Amelie screamed as she realized what was coming at her direction. However, I stood in front of her and parried every single one of the feathers as well. Even two of them didn’t really make me break a sweat.

And then, the final blow was landed by Anne, as she pierced one bird on its throat, and another in what could only be described as its exposed buttocks. Poor thing…

“T-thank you!” Amelie said to me as the fight was over. “If it weren’t for you, then I would’ve—”

“Oh, it was nothing,” I replied with a smile, turning to face towards her. “I’m just glad I could parry all those feathers, you know. I swear I must have missed a few.”

There’s no need to brag. Like I’ve said, I’m keeping a low profile here.

"You idiot!"

Suddenly, Anne's loud voice entered my ears.

"That was reckless of you! I told you before to use less powerful spells so the monsters won't go after you!"

Oh, it wasn't me she was scolding. It was Amelie. Putting her hands on her waist, she came up to the girl and began ranting at her.

"What would you do if Charles can't parry all the feathers, huh? Your stupidity is risking not only yourself, but the entire party as well!" She now pointed her finger at her.

"Oh, shut it! Charles here is _perfectly_ capable of blocking all those arrows! You just don't trust him, which makes _you_ the problem here!" She fired back, while flashing a smile towards me.

"You know he's only a kid, right? You can't rely on a kid to protect you! Have you no shame?"

"He's not a kid anymore! He's already a perfect adult and a gentleman! Right, Charles?" Once again, she gave the same smile while fluttering her eyelids.

"You're delusional! Just yesterday, he forgot to zip his pants after taking a leak! Can you say that’s something a fully grown adult will do?

"Whaaat? You pervert! You peeked at his underpants, didn’t you?”

“What?! How dare you even insinuate that?! I have you know that I immediately told him of his blunder while never even taking a single look!”

And so, once again, they returned to their arguments. I could only sigh, with Anton beside me doing the same.

...Oh, and I did actually forget to zip my pants back yesterday after my relief break. That was embarrassing. Pretty sure Anne stole multiple glances down there before she told me about it though.

We soon departed once more. We didn’t have time to loot the birds as our employer insisted that we hurried onwards. No doubt he was scared of any more monster attacks.

It’s fine though. We were paid handsomely for this job after all.

\-------

**Amelie**

_Sheesh, what's wrong with her?! Why can't she stop being grumpy and be nice for once?!_

With a huff, I cut short my argument with the peasant girl as we climbed back up the carriage. I sat beside Charles once more, making sure that I smoothed down my skirt first and not to sit with my legs open like that peasant girl liked to do. Hmph, just because she wore those shorts under her skirt doesn't mean she should sit like that! 

Well, it’s just what you would expect from an unmannered, uncouth peasant like her. Unlike my _dear_ Charles, who’s the perfect gentleman in every sense of the word!

Oh yes, he is simply wonderful. At first, I thought he was just another snot-nosed noble brat who couldn’t take care of himself, but he had proven himself well above all those other kids I was unfortunate enough to be forced to mingle with back at the capital. He never cried or whined or complained when our journey got tough, and he even comforted me when I had to do that abhorrent, _horrifying_ thing of defeating those bandits with my fire spells. It was the very first time I had to kill another human being, and the sight of their charred corpses… urgh, even now, it still disgusted me to remember that. Like a true gentleman, he accepted my weakness as a lady, unlike that awful peasant girl who just mocked me for it. He even allowed me to sleep with him (n-not in that way, mind you!) for a few nights afterwards just so I could sleep without being bothered by nightmares from that terrible event.

_If only Papa gave me a boy like him to be my fiance, then I wouldn’t have to run away from home…_

As a daughter of a noble from the capital, I knew from a young age that I would be married off to a boy from another noble house when I got old enough. But I expected them to be as refined and genteel as I am. Instead, the boy Papa chose, that despicable, no-good Richard, was an awful, awful boy! For starters, he was nowhere near as good looking as Charles. And he was not gentlemanly in the slightest! He would lift up my dress and peek at my panties, thinking it was in his right to do so just because he was his fiance! How dare he!

But Charles… Charles is different. Charles is nice and gentle and handsome. And he's really strong and reliable as well! And since he's a noble as well, maybe we can…

Oh, nononono! Papa will never approve of me marrying with some random, no-name noble!

But if he became a famous adventurer, then maybe even Papa would…

Ehe… ehehehehehehehe!


	101. Guild and Bank

**Hugo**

And there she goes again… grinning on her own while having this starstruck look on her face.

I never quite know what that girl is thinking, really. I can certainly see why Anne gets annoyed by her so often.

Well, I’m just glad that she’s fine. I don’t think she’s really suited to be an adventurer, but she’s a pretty good mage and thanks to Anton’s leadership, she has been able to perform well in said role. I have a feeling that she won’t be able to survive well at all if she has to go solo like me though.

\---------

**Anne**

And there he goes again, bragging about how strong he is to her. Hmph! Does he think he's fooling anyone, pretending to be all humble like that?

He knows very well how strong he is. Those feathers were never a problem for him from the start. And yet, he played it all coy, pretending that he only barely managed to parry them all.

Annoying. It's really annoying. It's like he's looking down on us!

He's probably doing it to impress that noble brat. He's a noble too after all. Nobles like that kind of stuff, right? Playing the knight in shining armor to woo the ladies? That brat might be fooled, but I sure am not! Even if he saved me that one time!

\---------

**Hugo**

To my pleasant surprise (and our entire caravan, naturally), we went through the rest of the valley safety. No other monsters popped up and before we knew it, we were already out on the plains and back on safe roads.

And finally, in ten more days, we arrived at our destination. The town of Keirnes.

It was a small town, all things considered. It wasn’t located in the main route traders and merchants would take to move around their merchandise. Even so, at least according to our employer, it was important enough to the Rinea Corporation, or rather, its trading subsidiary, to set up shop here. Apparently, it was the center of trade for the eastern part of the kingdom, so they would lose out if they merely abandoned the place to other merchants. And it was also a town where adventurers liked to use as their base of operations. The region was still mostly wild, filled with monsters that needed to be taken care of. And a lot of them were quite strong too, to the point that high-ranked adventurers would come here in search for the high-ranked quests that they wanted.

“In short, you’re selling to adventurers?” I asked him.

“Well, some of the goods here are indeed for them,” he replied with a smile. “Not just weapons and armors, mind you, but magical items as well.”

I asked him about the Dream Orb afterwards. He had heard of it, but he had never gotten his hands on it. “That thing is so rare, you can buy a whole house and land with it! Or maybe even more!” he exclaimed.

I gulped. So buying it is pretty much out of the option. I have to get it myself.

Once we arrived, our employer thanked us for our service with a bright smile on his face. He gave us the completion notice that we could take to the Guild afterwards to report our quest and then get our payment there. This was done so that the adventurers would have no incentive to just kill the quest owner and rob him of his money. You don’t necessarily have to do it though, as you’re perfectly welcome to pay them on your own.

Although, in his case, I’m pretty sure we can get a huge sum of money if we take all of his merchandise. If we can sell it, that is. I have a suspicion that no merchants will be crazy enough to buy goods stolen from the No.1 trading company in the continent.

He mentioned it by the way, how if he tried to rob him, there would be no merchants in the Holy Continent that would buy his merchandise off our hands and we would be fugitives for the rest of our lives.

Yeah, he didn’t trust us when we first met. But now, I think his attitude already flips 180 degrees, to the point that he actually offered us to be his permanent bodyguard, as part of the Rinea Trading Company. We refused. The Flaming Arrow trio didn’t want to be tied down and I obviously had my own goal in mind.

And thus, we entered the town’s Adventurer Guild with proud smiles on our faces for a job well done. And the knowledge that we would be paid a lot of gold very soon. Yeah. That must contribute to our good mood well enough.

The Adventurer Guild located in the town was surprisingly pretty big for a small town like this. Perhaps it was thanks to how many adventurers frequented the region. The receptionist lobby was big enough that it could hold fifty or more adventurers at once, which was the exact situation that we encountered as we stepped into the building.

“Hey, what’s with all the commotion?” I asked the nearest adventurer once we entered.

“Oh, newcomers? Haven’t seen your bunch around here before,” he replied with a smile. He was a lanky middle-aged man with a barely noticeable stubble on his chin. “As for your question, those guys are currently gathering up their members for they’re going to depart on a big S-rank quest."

My eyes traveled to where "those guys" were located. Sure enough, they seemed to be celebrating about something—regaling the tale of their adventure with some dramatic reenaction to the other adventurers there.

"Those folks are the Quiet Slayers, a famous S-rank party in the region. Not only that, but they're the leader of the Emerald Exodus, a clan consisting of their party and several other A-ranked adventuring parties. This time around, they’re going to utilize the power of the entire clan to do the quest.”

_Whoa, S-rank? Does that mean they're as strong as Father and Mother?_

_The Quiet Slayers though… they're not really being quiet at all…_

“What kind of quest takes that much manpower?” I asked him, out of pure curiosity.

“Heh, you wanna know, kiddo?” He grinned. “Dragon slaying, kiddo. Dragon slaying. A frost dragon has been spotted on the peak of a mountain in the region, and this town’s mayor has put a really lucrative quest to take care of it. Precautions, you know. Why wait until it descends down the mountain and starts killing people before putting it down?”

“Ah, I see,” I replied. _Dragon slaying, huh? Certainly, dragons are S-rank monsters. And not only that, they’re said to be the strongest monster in the entire Holy Continent. Makes sense why they would want so many people. Strength in numbers and all that._

"Oh, by the way, kiddo." He looked straight at me as he said it. "What rank are you?"

"Eh? Just a humble C-rank, nothing more," I replied with a polite smile. No reason not to be nice.

"And your party?"

"Oh, they're not my party. I'm just—"

"Oh no no no no, he's _totally_ with our party, right, Charles?"

_Munyu~♥_

Before I could answer, Amelie already interrupted me while grabbing my arm, making it touch her soft chest. I really didn't know if she did it intentionally or not, but I certainly appreciated the sensation.

"Hey, knock it off!" Anne interrupted, before giving a look towards the man. "Look, he's never been part of our party. He's travelling on his own and it just so happens that we took the same escort job so we're stuck together."

"What?! Don't tell me you're against him joining us!" Amelie whined.

"It's not about that! It's just that if he wants to go party up with other people, then we shouldn't be spreading around the news that he's a permanent member of our party! That wouldn't be right, would it?"

I couldn't help but smile. _Heh, I guess she does care about me. Even though she never seems to accept me being around her that well._

"Anne's right." Anton finally spoke up, putting his hand on Amelie's shoulder. "Charles is not obligated to be with us. After all, he wants to go to the Demon Continent. He can't stick around with us forever, can we?"

I already told them about my destination. As for the reason, I simply told them that I had a friend I wanted to meet there. No need to tell them anything further.

With a sad look, Amelie released my arm from her grip.

We then walked to the only open counter. We gave the receptionist there our quest proof and she immediately accepted it, adding the quest completion to our cards. Really, if you think about it, those cards are amazing inventions if you consider the general technology level of this world. It's almost like an electronic data card with those chips in them. I heard they were invented by some legendary magic item crafter years ago, but I'm not sure on the details.

Afterwards however, instead of handing us the gold, the receptionist each handed us a piece of paper.

_Let's see here… To be redeemed at the nearest Rinea Corporation Bank… Huh?_

It wasn’t just me that was surprised. The entire party, judging by their befuddled expressions, were taken aback as well.

“Hey, what is the meaning of this?” Anne was the first to lash out. “You’re not going to give us the gold?”

“Apologies, Ma’am, but for the sake of security, this branch of the guild has partnered with the town’s Rinea Mercantile Bank to provide any large amount of payments through them. You simply have to bring those papers to their receptionist and they would immediately pay you per the amount stated.”

Bank notes. This is basically what these papers are. To think that things like that would already exist in a fantasy world like this. Then again, if I recall correctly, even in medieval Europe, there were already banks, though they mostly served merchants. And judging by the “mercantile” part, in this world, it’s probably the same as well. Before modern era paper money became widespread, bank notes were the progenitor. Merchants use them to exchange gold instead of lugging actual gold bars around, which would be far more cumbersome (not to mention dangerous as well). And judging by how Anne reacts, it seems she probably has never even heard of it before.

“It’s fine, Anne,” I told her. “I don’t think Miss Receptionist is lying.” I tried to put on a reassuring smile. I don’t really want her to embarrass herself or the rest of the party by going on an outburst from her ignorance.

“Hmph, fine!” she replied. “But we’re coming back straight here if they end up not giving out our money, got it?” She gave a threatening finger point towards the receptionist. The young lady simply smiled in response however. Truly the mark of a professional customer service employee.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on here? Why are you yelling at her like that?”

Before we could leave however, someone decided to butt in into our conversation.

It was the guy that stood in the middle of the crowd from before.

“Now you hear me, little girl.” He was speaking to Anne here. “Don’t harass Miss Sylphia here. She’s our No.1 receptionist around here and if you ever be a bother to her, I’m going to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.”

Now that I got a close-up look at him, I could confidently describe his appearance. The man was in his mid-twenties if I had to guess, and he was wearing leather armor with a large sword on his back. That was enough to tell me that he was just like Father, a frontline offensive swordsman who preferred mobility over defense. He was tall and well-built, though not to the extent of him. And his face wasn’t bad-looking either. It’s hard to describe his charm, but if I had to say, he was halfway being a pretty boy-type swordsman and a rugged, gruff-type swordsman. He had blonde hair with blue eyes, and I could easily imagine him being the type to be popular with the females. And seeing how he’s part of an S-rank party, that only adds to his attractiveness. Girls love strong men after all.

Me? I guess I am pretty strong. Unfortunately, I can’t really show it off since thanks to my young age, it’s going to be really obvious to any one chasing after me that it’s me. I doubt there are any other young boys of my age who're this capable in magic (not to brag, of course). And I’m not just talking about the Magocracy. Fiora’s political opponents might also decide to make me their target next after realizing they can no longer reach her.

Not to mention that me going around picking up chicks will no doubt anger Sherry. Though I guess just being adored is fine. Yeah, that’s perfectly fine. I can be a show off here and there. Maybe having a flock of fangirls. Yeah, that sounds nice alright…

“Hey! I’m not bothering her! I’m just asking her a question, that’s all!” was her retort.

“Anyway,” he seemed to opt to ignore her altogether now as he faced Anton. “You guys are new here, right? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around. Name’s Arcturus, an S-rank adventurer.” He gave a grin as he offered his hand towards him. He probably assumed (correctly) that he was the party leader.

“Greetings,” Anton replied with a smile, returning his handshake. “I’m Anton, and I’m a B-rank adventurer.”

“Ah, B-ranks, huh? Shame. Would recruit you guys to our clan but you guys need to be A-ranks first.”

“You people are really going against a dragon? That's awesome!" Amelie asked with a disbelieving yet perfectly excited expression.

"Oh? Didn't see you there, Miss." He turned to face her with a smile. "And yes, you are correct. We are indeed going up against one. Wish us luck, alright?"

_Yep, he seems to be the smooth, womanizing type, alright._

After said short conversation, he excused himself and returned back to his group. Turning back my attention to the receptionist, the young lady was so very obviously blushing. _Damn. That's what being a famous S-rank adventurer gets you, huh?_

We then left the Guild building, heading straight towards the bank the receptionist had mentioned. Unlike the Guild, it was located on the wealthier side of the town. It was pretty easy to find, as the building itself was quite large. Not to mention the large sign it put up on the front, saying “The Merchant Bank of Rinea” clear and loud. Two fully armored guards stood tall on the entrance, with spears at the ready. I noticed the discomfort of the trio as we walked up the steps to the entrance. _Yeah, this building certainly doesn’t have the most welcoming look._

When we entered, the atmosphere we got was far different from what we just experienced from the Guild. It was awfully quiet, as if the very air itself had been jinxed with a charm of silence. It wasn’t like there weren’t other people around. In fact, there were a decent number of them. However, they all spoke in hushed tones, as if they didn’t want others to hear their conversations. It’s awfully different from the loudness and merriness adventurers were well-known for.

We walked over to the nearest receptionist that wasn’t occupied. Unlike the one we just met, this lady was certainly more well-dressed, with a neat and tidy uniform that just screamed “bank employee” to you. The one on the Guild wore a uniform as well, but her collar was open and her posture was far more relaxed than this woman we were currently facing.

“Can I help you, Sir?” She spoke to me as I had taken the lead to arrive at her counter first.

I gave my note to her, as well as the others. Judging by her expression, she probably already knew what we were coming here for, just from the way we were dressed. I imagine adventurers would only come here to get their payments and nothing more. How would you lend a loan to a group of people who can just skip town anytime they want?

“Very well. Everything seems to be in order. Please wait for a moment.”

She then rang the small bell that was placed on her desk. A man then appeared from the room behind her. She said some words to him, away from the reach of our ears, and then the man returned back inside said room.

The next five minutes was pure torture, at least for the trio. Like people who had never used a service like this before, they kept glancing around in the most awkward and guilty manner, to the point that I was starting to get embarrassed by them. Me though? I kept my cool perfectly, even having a little chat with the receptionist while we waited.

Once the timer was up, the man returned, bringing four leather pouches that were filled with ten gold coins each. That was our payment each, which was a lot, considering how our escort quest was just a B-rank quest. The longer a quest would take, the more it would pay, even if the rank didn’t change.

Only after we left the building that the trio could take a long breath of relief.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I noted with a small grin.

“Charles, you’re amazing!” Amelie exclaimed with glimmering eyes as she grabbed my hands. “How did you do it, keeping your cool throughout the entire thing?”

“Well, I’ve been here before. Not here, as in this bank, but a different one back at Frastelleren,” I lied. Of course, the answer was that it was something I would often do back in my old world, as a working adult and all.

“Wow, really? That’s so cool!” she replied, grabbing my hands even tighter. _This girl really needs to learn what a personal space is. Not that I'm complaining, mind you._

"Hmph! It's not a big deal, is it? That just means he isn't as sheltered as you," Anne commented, folding her arms with her huff. _She always reacts like this everytime Amelie praises me for anything. Well, it's nice to keep me from getting a big head, I suppose._

_And now, I guess it’s time for me to say my goodbye._


	102. The Master Alchemist

I sighed inwardly. _Alright, Hugo. Don’t screw this up. Don’t do something dumb like breaking into tears or anything. You didn’t do it when you left Fiora and you shouldn’t do it now as well._

"Well…" I released my hands from Amelie's grip, my smile turning into a melancholic one. "Our travels together these past months have been fun. I might stay around for a couple of days here, but after that, I'll continue to the north. You guys are going to the capital, right? So, I guess this is goodbye."

The trio paused. Amelie's smile vanished in an instant.

"H-hey, are you sure you don't want to join our party permanently? You and I… we got a good dynamic going on, you know. You protect me with your sword while I chant my spells."

"...Knock it off, Amelie. He got better things to do than being stuck with us mere B-ranks." Anne suddenly spoke, putting her hands on her hips with a scowl on her face. "Right, Charles? Really, drop the act. You're far stronger than you're letting on, stronger than us for sure. I really do not appreciate the condescending way you look down on us all this time."

_...Oh shit, she notices? I only had to use a bit more of my strength against those fire ants that one time. The rest of the time, I made sure to not show off too much._

_And of course, I never meant any condescension by it in the slightest._

"Condescending? What in the world are you talking about, Anne?" Amelie was the first one to respond, before I could. "Charles has been the nicest boy I've ever met! How can you say that to him?"

"That's because you're blind, you noble brat," she fired back. "You like him, don't you? Don't deny it. It's all oh-so-painfully obvious."

Amelie's face immediately turned beet red. However, instead of denying it, she instead responded by, "Y-yeah! I like him! What's there not to like? He's a gentleman, he's strong, and he's not a rude, uncouth person like you are!"

"Then just leave us and go with him if you like him that badly!" Anne shouted, now actively clenching her fists.

"Fine! Charles! We'll just make our own party together! I'll go with you to the north or wherever you want to go!" she declared as she snatched my arm, pulling me close to her. Of course, as usual, this made me feel up her large boobs in the process.

"Look, Amelie, I can't take you with me," I finally spoke up. "I'm going to the Demon Continent, remember? It would be too dangerous for you there. And besides…"

_Welp, here goes nothing._

"I can't reciprocate any feelings you might have for me. I already have a girl I like. In fact, this whole journey of mine is to get for her."

If I were in an anime right now, I'm pretty sure I would be able to hear the sound of glass breaking as Amelie's mouth drops wide open from the revelation.

"Y-you already… have a girl you like?" Her voice shook.

I nodded, unabashedly and proudly.

Then I noticed it—the tears pooling at the edges of her hazel eyes.

_...Oh no, she's going to—_

"Uwaaaaa, you jerk!"

And just like that, she ran away in tears.

"...You really are the worst."

Anne was the next to leave, giving me the most vicious glare that she had ever produced.

Anton, who had remained silent during this whole altercation, wisely so I might add, put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. 

"It's fine. They'll recover in no time. Now go. And thanks for everything you've done to help us. Honestly, against those fire ants, we would've been screwed if it weren't for you. We really owe you our lives. Feels bad that it has to end like this, but those girls need to mature sooner or later."

_Spoken like a true older brother. He really was always the most sensible of the group, even if he never spoke as much._

I smiled as well, returning with, "I have to be the one to thank you, for accepting me for these past months into your group. Honestly, back then, I was getting lonely traveling on my own, so I was happy that I got someone to travel with at last."

"I see," he replied. He then gave his hand, which I shook readily. "Good luck on your future travels, Charles. You know, are you sure you're not actually a hobbit? You're awfully mature for how you look. Even more mature than those two, I say. Not to mention how much you excel in combat."

I grinned. "I'm 100% human. See? No pointy ears." I grabbed my right ear after I released his hand.

"Hmm, if you say so." He still didn't quite believe me, it seemed. "Don't hesitate to say hi when you saw us again on the road, alright?" He patted my shoulder again. "Oh, and introduce your girlfriend to us. I want to meet the kind of girl that had stolen the heart of an extraordinary boy like you."

"Well, I'll think about that," I replied with a proud smirk. _Aah, how great it feels to be able to say that you got one to people._

On that good note, he was the last to leave.

And then, I was alone once again.

I sighed _,_ before giving a wry smile. _Guess I kinda messed that up, huh?_

\------

I decided to go grab a meal first before I went to look after an inn. Thinking about it, I could've invited them to lunch (or brunch, I guess, since it's not quite in the middle of the day yet), but that ship has sailed long ago.

I settled on some expensive restaurant I found in the district there. I was now 10 gold coins richer, so I thought to myself, why not? I want to splurge from time to time. I ended up spending quite a generous amount of silver coins in it. Didn't really regret it though, as the food was delicious, and I actually got a pair of cute waitresses serving me in the process.

_Fiora's right. This outfit really makes me fit quite nicely with the upper class folks._

For these past months, I had been wearing these expensive clothes she purchased for me. The fabric wasn’t just comfortable and pleasant to the skin, but it was also durable and easy to clean up. So the promotion on how they were made for well-off adventurers weren’t a lie. Cleaning them up was easy as well. I could generate water with magic while I had some soap I purchased from the alchemy shops I visited on the road.

_Too bad that soon enough, I won’t be able to wear them anymore._

And by that, I mean my growth spurt. I've hit puberty after all and thankfully, it seems I'm on track to be at least as tall as Father. So eventually, these clothes wouldn't fit anymore and I would have to buy a new one. If I have the money, that is.

_But for now, I'm still Charles Pendleton, the good-looking noble adventurer._

\-------

I decided to head to the shopping district afterwards. I needed to do some restocking on my supplies, like said soap for example, both for my own use and to wash my clothes. For the latter, if I was in town, staying at a good inn, I could get the innkeeper to wash them for me. But if I were out in the wilderness, obviously, I had to do it myself. Back in my old life, I would always use a laundromat for that purpose, so having to physically scrub the clothes for a good amount of time was certainly not preferable. But alas, there’s no spell that could make your clothes automatically wash themselves.

When I returned back to the main street however, I noticed that there was a small crowd of people in my path. _Something must have happened_ was my first instinct. When I got closer however, I noticed that it wasn’t some horrible accident where a kid got run over by a carriage or something, but instead, it was a bunch of people gathering around someone—two persons, to be more exact. They were riding on their horses, casually and carefully shifting through the people on their path.

“Look! Lady Flameu is here!"

"Ooh, Lady Flameu!"

"Aah, my savior! Please marry me, Lady Flameu!"

I raised my eyebrows, questioning just what in the world was going on.

Going even closer, I got a closer look to the person the crowd was cheering for. She was a young woman, perhaps around her twenties. She was wearing a hooded cloak, but I could see her scarlet hair peeking out from it. And judging by the staff she slung over her shoulders, she was probably a mage of some sort. The one riding beside her on the other hand was a fully-armored knight, to the point that you couldn't see his face, thanks to his helmet. Peculiarly, his armor was pitch-black, unlike most knights who had white armor.

"Hey, who are they?" I asked the nearest person that would answer.

"Oh, you don't know?" The one that answered was a broad-shouldered man. "You must be new here. An adventurer?" I nodded. "Well, let me explain it to you. The lady there is Lady Flameu. She's the alchemist that's responsible for curing that horrible plague six months ago. It would have ruined this town if it weren't for her."

_Ah, that explains the celebrity treatment._

_And she's an alchemist. I guess to cure plagues, you can either be a priest or an alchemist._

"Who's the knight then?" I asked again.

"Oh, that's Sir Black Knight. No one knows much about him, other than he's a knight who serves His Majesty at the capital. Oh, I forgot to mention that Lady Flameu is a court mage, didn't I? That's why she can have him as her bodyguard at all times."

_Oh wow, so they_ **_are_ ** _important people after all._

_Better stay out of their way then. No need to bring attention to myself by interacting with them._

I watched them leave from a distance, before going in the opposite direction, towards the shopping district.

\-------

"Hey, this soap… isn't this too expensive?"

"What? I assure you, sir, that it's _perfectly_ reasonably priced. In fact, I'm selling it to you at a bargain. It's imported all the way from the Magocracy! Surely, you've heard of it before, good Sir?"

"...Yeah. All too much even. Still, one gold is way too steep. Ten silver is the normal price."

"T-ten silver? That's too much, good sir! I'll starve if I sell it to you at that price."

"Ten silver. Take it or leave it."

"...Urgh, fine. You sure are a hard bargainer, sir."

And with that, I stood victorious in our haggling fight.

I learned about haggling a lot from Helen. And a bit from Marina as well, back in those happier days. The trick is really on how you should talk. You need to always be confident. Show that you're absolutely sure in the price you got in mind. Your facial expression is really important as well. Helen would always keep up her stern look while she bargained with the shopkeeper that would intimidate them to accept her lower price. Well, her massive boobs might have helped as well to be honest, but even without those bouncy pairs, I managed well enough on my own.

I gave the shopkeeper the ten silver pieces I promised before snagging the soap, storing it inside my trusty bag. It was my personal soap, not the one I used to wash my clothes. I still had enough of that already.

I then left the building. It was an alchemy shop, located in the shopping district. It was a fairly sized shop, clearly catered to the middle to upper class. I doubt the poor folks would be able to afford ten silver pieces for a soap. Hell, for them, baths were already a luxury. Such was the state of the not-haves in this world, unfortunately, so bad body odor could become a valid reason why the upper class wouldn’t want to associate with them.

Speaking of body odor, Amelie was very particular with that. She always whined and complained about not being able to take as many baths as she wanted. And she didn’t want a simple bath of conjuring water with magic over her naked body, but a full-on experience with warm and perfumed water.

...I’m amazed she lasted _that_ far as an adventurer.

Anne, on the other hand, being commoner-born, was far less particular about keeping herself pretty and all that. For starters, you could see how her skin had far more blemishes on it compared to Amelie’s. And the few moments our hands touched, they were rough and full of calluses. It was a true sign on how long she had been holding a bow with her two hands.

There is a reason why mage is usually the profession of choice for adventuring nobles. Because magic doesn’t require them to train their body in the slightest, only their concentrating and memory.

Me though? I could afford to purchase some lotions for my hands here and there. Though after transitioning into using Fiora’s sword, I realized even the grip was far more pleasant to hold on to. I could swing the sword all day if I want to, and not ever get any blisters on my hands. 

_Whoever made it must be a master craftsman. To think that she gave me such a valuable sword…_

And of course, I kept up with my hygiene. It’s not because I’m vain or anything. It’s just that 1. Marina had drilled into my head that I had to take a bath every day 2. Going without a bath for a day just felt odd and uncomfortable, which I could blame for either No.1 or the fact that I was a Japanese person in my old life.

I then decided to stroll around the district some more. _Maybe I can find something nice to buy. Like books to keep me entertained or something._ So I went to a couple of bookstores and stayed there for quite a while, browsing away (to the annoyance of one of the shopkeepers, unfortunately enough). I had already finished all the books I got way back then from when I was still at the Magocracy.

I ended up purchasing a couple. And, like a true book collector, I didn’t sell the books I had already finished, even though they were certainly eating up space inside my Bag of Holding.

_And besides, I think it would be too embarrassing for me to be selling them, knowing how raunchy some of them gets._

Afterwards, I made my rounds around the city, looking for the inn I would use for the night. Looking at the skies, the day was soon going to be over, and it would be wise for me to find a place to stay soon.

My steps took me on an alleyway. Like I had said, this town was a small one. To pack more buildings inside, most of the roads weren't that big, and the layout itself was somewhat confusing. I think they might have actually intentionally designed their cities to be like that, in order to deter intruders in the time of war and setting up a good place to wage a guerilla war if they actually managed to occupy the city. Too bad it made the experience of walking through the city as a civilian worse as well.

_Hmm, no one is around though. Maybe I did take the wrong turn._

Suddenly, I stopped. Not because I wanted to, but because I saw what looked like a person collapsed on the small road I was walking on.

_What the… that's—_

I rushed to the figure. Sure enough, it was indeed a person—a little girl to be exact. She had light red hair, tied into a pair of short braids. Judging by the poor state of her dress, full of patchwork and made out of coarse, uncomfortable material, she was clearly not a noble of some sort. Not to mention the bruises and calluses on her little feet. She didn’t seem to be wearing any shoes either. _Don’t tell me that she has been walking bare-footed in this condition!_

"Hey, are you alright?" I kneeled over and helped her get up.

Only to find that she was burning. Her temperature was so high that I nearly released her out of surprise.prise.

_Shit, this is bad!_

“H-hey, wake up!” I shook her body. No dice. She wasn’t responding.

I looked around. Nobody else was there but me.

“High Fairy! Come out and heal this girl!”

With no prying eyes around, I could safely summon her without attracting unwanted attention. She appeared at once with a bright flash of light, floating near the ground in an almost fully horizontal feature as I held the little girl up in a sitting position. As I commanded, she immediately worked on healing her, gently making her drink her spring water with me helping the little girl to swallow.

To my horror, it didn’t work. The only thing she managed to do was heal the blisters on her feet.

“I-I don’t know, Master! I don’t know why it doesn’t work!” she exclaimed, all teary-eyed. “My spring water should’ve rejuvenated her!”

_Don’t tell me that this is some incurable illness she got! Just from the heat, I know it’s not just an ordinary cold, but for High Fairy to be unable to heal her…_

_...Wait, it’s too early to give up! This town should have a church! I can ask the priest there to heal her!_

After thanking her for trying, I dispelled the high fairy. She didn’t even ask for her usual headpat, knowing that she didn’t deserve it for failing at her task. I then lifted the little girl in my arms. _Damn, she’s so light. This can’t be good, can it?_

I ran as fast as I could, heading back towards the central district of the town where the church should be.

* * *

**A/N:**

Here's how the little girl looks (when she's healthy of course).


	103. The Master Alchemist Pt. 2

_I knew I already saw a glance of the building when I passed by the place! Come on, please be there!_

I earned some odd looks from the people I passed as I ran, but I didn’t care. A little girl’s life is on the line here!

I’m not sure why I was panicking so much then. Perhaps it’s because for some odd reason, she reminded me of Erika—my little sister I had cruelly abandoned and lied to. She was a little bit older though. And her hair wasn’t blonde. So I don’t know where that thought came from.

Or perhaps it’s because I was simply a good person at heart.

_Heh, as if. I’m just doing this because I don’t want to have any regrets later on from abandoning a little girl to her death._

At last, I reached the church. It was a large building located in a large intersection of the central district. Just from the well-maintained building, I could tell that it was a prosperous church. _So the townspeople must be constantly donating to it then._

I rushed inside. There were only a number of nuns there, cleaning the place. I immediately yelled at them, saying I got someone who needed healing ASAP. Not in that exact word, but you get the point.

They immediately sent me to meet with the head of the church. To my relief, he was actually a high priest, so his healing skill should be enough to cure her, hopefully enough. And he was currently in as well, in the back room of the church. For once, I was grateful for my luck. 

_If only Nicole was here, she probably could’ve healed her in an instant._

I was led to what I assumed was the nursing room, since there were multiple identical and plain white beds all standing in a row. The nuns told me to put her on one of the beds, which I did immediately. The girl was still unconscious, and she was still burning as well. They then told me to wait as one of them went to fetch the head priest. I was so taken by worry I didn't have any time to notice that the nuns I met were actually quite pretty, with one having quite the sizable bust as well 

The head priest soon arrived. My impression of him was a good one. He was a man in his later years, with a short white beard and a pair of small near-sight glasses below his eyes. He was wearing a white priest's robe that went down to his feet. He had a similar dragon symbol on his tall priest hat that Nicole had under her neck.

"Well met, my child," he spoke with a gentle tone. "I believe you have someone that is in need of the Saint's blessing?"

I told him everything. How I had met her by chance and how bad her condition was.

"Hmm?" He raised his eyebrows, scrubbing his beard. "So you say you don't even know this child?"

"Yes, Father," I replied. I know that's how you're supposed to call a priest.

"You do know that blessing someone would require a donation to the Church, correct?"

_...Oh, right. It's like how you have to pay to uncurse or detoxify yourself in Dragon Quest._

“That’s fine,” I replied. “I’ll pay for it.”

“Then, it would be one gold coin,” he said without skipping a beat.

_Wait, seriously? One gold coin? Isn’t that too expensive?_

I was about to protest, but I stopped myself. _There’s no time to bargain. She needs to be looked at immediately._

And so, with great reluctance, I took out one gold coin from my pouch wallet and gave it to him.

“Thank you kindly, Sir.” He gave a little bow, along with a smile that I felt was more fitting for a merchant over a holy man. “I shall pray to the Saint that your good deed will reach the Heavenly Dragon.”

He then walked to where the little girl was laying down. After touching her forehead, no doubt to sense her temperature, he immediately began his work. He cast a series of spells, from detoxification spells to uncurse spells. To my horror however, none of them seemed to work. After he cast the last spell, and seeing no change to the state of the girl, he shook his head and returned back to me with a sad expression on his face.

“Unfortunately, this little one is beyond saving. I shall pray for her soul to be delivered to the heavens, but other than that, I can do nothing for her.”

“Wait, don’t you have something else you can do?” I refused to give up so easily. “Like a healing or rejuvenating potion?”

That question of mine however led to a scowl forming on the old man’s face. “Apologies, but we are not an alchemist’s brewery here. And I assure you, if a High Priest like me can’t heal her, no one else can. It is simply her fate to perish to her illness. It would be wise for us to accept that and pray for her deliverance instead.”

It’s exactly what Nicole said all those months ago when I first met her. And yet, the way he spoke it was far different than her. Instead of comforting, it instead felt almost… dismissive, as if he couldn’t be bothered to consider other options, choosing to believe that nothing could be done for the girl.

“...No,” I replied, probably with an angry look on my face. “Forgive my insolence, but I am still not ready to give up yet, Father.”

I walked over to her and lifted her up from the bed.

“Very well then.” He sighed. “Then please, take her with you. When she perishes, then you should bring her back to us. We will bury her in a proper manner, if that is what you want.”

 _If I give you some more gold coins as donations, no doubt…_ I thought to myself. My distaste of this ingenuine man only grew more and more.

“Can you return my gold coin to me, Father?” I asked. Now I definitely had a frown on my face. “I’ll use it to pay for her treatment somewhere else.”

“I’m sorry, but donations that have been given cannot be returned,” was his answer.

I was tempted to fire a spell or two at him and forcefully get my money back, but there’s no sense in causing a ruckus now. I need to go look for other places that can heal this little girl in my arms.

And so I left the church with one less gold piece, and with the same sickly girl that I had rescued off the streets.

_Oh, I know! I should ask for help from those three!_

My thoughts immediately went to my old party, and how they might be able to help. Especially Anton, who had some skill in healing spells.

_Oh right, he’s not that good at it. His ability should be less than what my Great Fairy is capable of. So there would be no point in asking him for help, is there?_

“U-uuhhh…”

_Hmm? That was—_

“H-huh? W-where am I…?”

My heart skipped a beat. 

_The girl! Her eyes are stirring open! She’s waking up!_

I nearly dropped her in surprise. That would have been disastrous.

To my alarm, her eyes suddenly widened, as if she was witnessing something terrifying right in front of her. “I-I need to… I need to go! To her place… Lady Flameu’s place…”

And with those words, she fell unconscious once again.

“H-hey, hang in there!” I shook her lightly. No dice. She laid as limp and lifeless as before. If not for her body heat, you could probably mistake her for a corpse.

_Flameu? That’s the name of that mage from before! She wants to meet her? Why?_

It was then my turn for my eyes to widen. _Of course! She’s a skilled alchemist that has cured this town’s plague! So maybe she wants to go to her to get herself cured!_

I didn’t hesitate. I immediately rushed towards the place where I could find that Flameu lady I saw before. Hopefully, she hadn’t left town yet, or else…

Oh, and of course, I had to ask the townspeople where I could find her first. Thankfully, it didn’t take long until I received the information I needed, especially when they saw the little girl in my arms. They rightfully assumed that I was taking her to the alchemist to be cured, and so they readily provided me with the address I needed. Apparently, she had a workshop at the edge of the town. I headed there at once, trying to balance speed and comfort as I held the little girl. I wouldn’t want to rattle her when she was in this weak of a condition after all.

When I arrived there however, I was greeted with quite the intimidating sight.

The knight that was accompanying her was there, standing on the front of the wooden fence encircling her house. I wasn't sure why, but I felt intimidated, just by looking at him from a distance. _Why is he standing like that? He's guarding her or something? Just from being there, it's like they're announcing that they don't want any visitors._

I paused my steps once I was about three feet away from him. Before I could open my mouth however…

"...Come in."

I didn't need to be told twice.

\-------

Behind the gated fence was a small grassy area, with a bed of flowers beside the house and a small pond nearby. There was also a well near said pond. I noticed the smoke coming out from the chimney. And as I got closer, I could smell that characteristic medicine smell you would often find in alchemy shops.

_There’s no doubt about it. This really is her place._

The knight led me to the front door. The house itself wasn’t that big. It’s certainly no mansion. It was more like a simple square house you could find anywhere. I had expected her dwelling to be bigger, since she was an important person and all, but if I took into consideration that she was a court mage, she probably had a bigger house in the capital, and this was merely a temporary place she used when she traveled here.

“Wait for a moment.”

With the same monotone voice, filtered through the breathing gaps of his helmet, the knight told me to wait outside. _Makes sense. He will have to announce my arrival to the alchemist first after all. I just hope she isn’t in the middle of something. This girl really needs medical attention as fast as she can get it._

He entered the place, and I awkwardly stood there, still holding the little girl in my arms.

However, just a few moments later, a person came out from the house.

And it wasn't the knight.

"Oh my.”

She rushed to my side and took the girl off my hands without even asking for my permission.

“This is bad. She won’t last long with this high of a fever,” she said with a worried look on her face as she rested one hand on her forehead. “Come.” She gave a grave glance towards me. “You have to tell me everything. From when she started to get sick, how the illness started, and how her symptoms progressed.”

Without even waiting for my answer, she took the little girl with her and rushed back into the house.

“A-alright…” _Well, I like her excitement at the very least. She already seems to care more about her compared to that priest._

\----------

I was greeted by a large room the moment I entered through the door. It was pretty much a full-blown alchemist laboratory. From a large cauldron in the middle of the room, that was currently brewing something by the way, with the smoke going upwards through the chimney situation right above it, to other, more proper chemistry equipment like beakers and a centrifuge. Though they were obviously not the modern versions of them, with the centrifuge being made out of wood and the sort that you have to move on your own. The beakers are still made out of glass however, though they don’t have the usual measuring markings you would expect from them. There were also rows of shelves fitted with what looked to be alchemy ingredients, from crushed flowers to mushrooms to small bottles of what labeled as reagents. And like a proper lab, they were all labeled properly and stored neatly on the shelves.

_So this is her workshop… I can’t say I’m not impressed!_

“Don’t touch anything,” the knight warned. I didn’t need to see his eyes to tell that he was keeping them locked on at me, making sure that I didn’t end up breaking or tripping on things. Ha! He probably thinks I’m like all those other clumsy kids! After Fiora’s training, there’s no way I would ever trip on anything ever again!

The alchemist took the little girl to the far end of the room, where there was another door leading somewhere else. I don’t believe it leads to the outside at the back though. This room is large, sure, but the house isn’t that small so that it can’t fit another room beyond this one.

And sure enough, it brings us to a normal-looking bedroom, where I imagine she will take her rest. Though that makes me wonder. Does the knight have his own room? Or don’t tell me he actually sleeps with her? That lucky bastard!

I said that because the alchemist was indeed one attractive woman. She fit that “mature, adult woman” charm to a T. She was dressed in a white dress underneath a dark red robe. And said dress exposed a fair amount of cleavage ( _is she not wearing any bras?)_ and a generous amount of her smooth, long legs, thanks to the long slit it had in the middle. And the subtle way her butt swayed after every move—it was simply heavenly.

Now, I don’t know how handsome the knight is under all that armor, but knowing how knights tend to be in fantasy stories, especially one that dons an all black armor like that as if he’s a chuuni who wants to be called a Death Knight, there’s a good chance that he is indeed pretty good looking. Judging by his voice, he shouldn’t be that far off from the alchemist in age.

Once inside the bedroom, the alchemist laid down the little girl on the bed before going back into the main/laboratory room, most likely to get her tools. In the meantime however, she bombarded me with a series of questions regarding the little girl. I answered the best as I could, admitting nothing, even the part where I had tried healing her with my great fairy. Her frown only grew every time I answered. As for the examination itself, it was as if she was a doctor from my old world. She opened her mouth, examined her tongue, listened to her heartbeat, and even took a sample of her blood using a needle. Of course, she didn’t have the modern tools to do so, thus she had no way to measure things like blood pressure.

After she finished interrogating me about her, as she still worked on her examination while going through her notes, she suddenly said with a smile and glance, "You're a good boy, aren't you, going this far for someone you know nothing about?"

"Eh, it's nothing," I answered with a slightly bashful smile, scratching the back of my head. "I can't just abandon a little girl collapsing on the road like that now, can I?"

"Why not?" She returned with her own small smile. "You do know people die all the time from illnesses, right? Would you really go out of your way to help every single ill person you meet on the road? Usually, adventurers like you won't be playing the hero like this for free. If they're going to help someone, they will no doubt ask for a reward afterwards. You think a girl like her would be able to give the just amount of reward for the effort you’ve given to her? You said you have asked the church for help. They must have taken your coins for that. Even they won’t heal people for free. And you’ve no doubt seen the way she’s dressed. It’s unlikely she would be able to return whatever amount of money and time you have spent on her.”

“Well, if you put it like that, I guess I don’t really have a good reason to help her, huh?” I replied. “But still. It’s something I felt I wanted to do, and so I did it. That’s all there is to it.”

“...I see.” I noticed that her smile seemed to have grown wider. “Your name?”

“Charles. Charles Pendleton. C-rank adventurer.”

“I am Cordelia Flameu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Charles.”

She didn’t ask me anything else after that. 

After spending some more time just looking at her working from a distance, she finally returned back to me and said, “Thank you for bringing her to me, Charles. But you should return for now. I would still have to do other tests for her that would take hours. Unfortunately, I don’t believe her ailment is anything common. Come back in the morning, if you’re still interested in her condition, that is. it’s fine for you to leave her with me and continue on traveling. I know where she came from actually, so I assure you that I would make sure that she would return safe and sound to her family.”

“Oh, really?” I replied. _So that’s why she mentioned your name. She had met her before. Thinking logically about it, no one would be bold enough to just seek out a famous healer like her when you have nothing to pay her for her services. So they must be acquainted at the very least._

“Actually, I haven’t gotten an inn yet. So, I was thinking, maybe you have an extra room I can sleep in here?” Yeah, as she worked, I’ve been thinking to myself… _Maybe I should stay here, just in case she needs any help._ “Maybe I can help with my great fairy. I know she couldn’t cure her the first time around, but she might be able to soothe her discomfort.”

She paused for a few moments, before moving her attention towards the knight, who had been standing silently in the corner of the room all this time. “What do you think, Lord Berault? Can you share your room with him?”

“...If you wish. I shall sleep on the couch tonight,” was his answer.

_Oh, so he does have his own room. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have a relationship._

“Well, there you have it,” she returned back to me with a smirk. “You can stay.”

And thus, I decided to stay there for the night.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here's how the alchemist looks.**

****

**As for the knight, you can just imagine Goblin Slayer only that he wears a pitch black armor. Only his armor is clean.  
**


	104. The Master Alchemist Pt. 3

As the sun set and night crept in, the alchemist continued her work. This time, she started doing tests on the blood sample she had taken from the little girl, using the reagents and beakers that she had. It was honestly quite the fascinating process to watch, if I were to be honest. I had always possessed a minor fascination with chemistry back in my old world, though I never really actually got into it.

As she worked, she started the conversation once more.

“So, what brings you here, Lord Pendleton? Are you perhaps like those adventurers who came here looking for more challenging work? And more well-paying too, I imagine. If you have a Great Fairy as your summon, I imagine you’re quite the high caliber mage. Am I correct in that assessment?” she asked me, looking up momentarily towards me with a smirk, before returning back to her work.

_Lord Pendleton? I guess she assumes I’m a noble? Just from my clothes, I suppose._

_It feels really weird though, being addressed like that. And that smirk. It’s almost as if she’s half-mocking me as she says it._

“Hey, can you stop with the Lord stuff, please? It feels weird being called like that,” I replied, scratching the back of my head. “I might come from a noble house but I’m more of an adventurer than a noble.”

“Oh, but that won’t do, Milord,” she replied with the same smirk. “As the court mage of this kingdom, I have to give due respect to every noble personage I met, especially when he is a complete stranger."

_Yep, she’s teasing me alright._

_Not that I’m complaining though. "Lord Pendleton" has quite the nice ring to it, hehe._

“So, Flameu, I-I mean, Lady Flameu,” I quickly corrected myself. _Damn, I forgot that she herself is a noble._

“Oh please, calling me just Flameu is fine,” she returned. “I’m not a noble like you.”

"What?” I exclaimed in surprise. “You’re a court mage, aren't you? So you should be a noble as well.”

She chuckled. “I wish I am. Unfortunately, the king has yet to confer me a title, even after all these years I have served under him.”

“Huh. So you’re not originally a noble? I continued my probing. At this point, I knew I probably was going too far with the personal questions, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but be curious.

“I was an adventurer before,” she answered. “The king offered me the job and I took it. It certainly paid better than even the S-rank quests.”

“Oh, so you were an S-rank adventurer?”

“Hmm, I suppose you can call me that.”

“That’s awesome! I’m still just a C-rank myself.”

If I were to be honest, I don’t think S-rank adventurers are that impressive. I only flattered her like that just so she would be less suspicious of me. Since I was still an eleven-year old boy, I should be able to play the innocent, easily impressed type. That would surely ease her with my presence. It’s kinda what I like to do with the strangers I met. 

"Well, it's my turn now to ask you some things, Lord Pendleton.” She smirked once again, as she shook the small vial she was holding before putting a couple of drops into the beaker she had in front of her. “You’re not from here, are you?”

“Yep.” _How did she know that?_ “I came from Frastelleren actually.”

“Oh? That port city all the way to the south of the Holy Empire? How curious. What led you to go all the way to the north like this?"

"Nothing special. Just looking for better quests, that's all. Since the Holy Empire is a pretty peaceful place, there really aren't that many high rank quests around."

This was an excuse I learnt from the adventurers I had talked to on my journey. High ranking ones tend to prefer the northern lands as the base of their operations as better paying quests could be found there. The northern kingdoms still had a lot of monster-infested lands as part of their territory.

Well, that, or you camp at one of the World Dungeons. Though from Anton, I learned that there tends to be fierce competition between adventuring parties there, especially high-ranking ones.

"I see…" She paused for a bit as she adjusted the temperature of the small lamp fire under the beaker by turning a knob. As she did, she bent over forward, allowing me the lovely sights of her loose white dress failing to cover her breasts.

I gulped. _She really isn't wearing any bra. I can see a hint of her nipples there!_

But then, all of a sudden, her smirking face turned as pale as a sheet.

"No… this is…"

"Hmm? Is something the matter?"

"Lord Pendleton." Her voice turned grave as she straightened herself. "I believe we might have ourselves a problem here. The result of her blood test… she might have been infected by a version of the Black Blood plague.”

“The… Black Blood plague?” I raised my eyebrows. I've never heard of such a plague before.

Not that I go around reading books about plagues, mind you.

“You haven’t heard of it, haven’t you? You really did come from the south…” She started to bite her thumb.”It’s the plague that infected this town six months ago.”

“Wait, seriously?” My heart skipped a beat. _That can’t be good! Not in the slightest!_

“Yes. But I have yet to determine what type she possesses. The Black Blood disease, even though it only has one name, actually has several versions, with some being contagious and others not. I just hope that the one she has isn’t, or else…”

“Another breakout would happen,” I finished her sentence.

_Don’t tell me that the plague is similar to the Black Death Medieval Europe once had? That shit’s terrifying. Wiped out a third of the entire continent’s population._

_Though I guess since this plague doesn’t seem to have spread beyond this town, it shouldn’t be that bad, right?_

“I shall do more tests to determine which type she has. But for now, I suggest you keep your distance from her as much as you can. Oh, and you might want to change out of those clothes, since you ought to have her sweat on them.

"It's fine," I replied with a grin. "I may look like this, but I have never been sick in my entire life. My immune system is pretty good, you know."

"Immune… system?" She tilted her head.

"A-ah, nevermind. Just some term I made up."

_Oops, that's some modern knowledge right there._

_As for why I am so confident in how I’m not going to catch the plague, well, I dunno. I just don’t feel like running away, after I’ve committed to helping that little girl. It might bite me in the ass later, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take._

_And besides, Flameu here should have the cure, right?_

I did as I was told though, and went to the knight's room to change my clothes (he said he didn't mind when I asked). The guy had been standing in the corner of the room like a statue, not even making a single sound. I am seriously impressed by how he can stand for so long in that suit of armor without any signs of tiredness. _Just like the stereotypical silent knight._

His room, almost hidden away from sight as the door to the place was placed in the middle of two bookshelves, was, for a lack of a better term, bare. He didn't have a single decoration inside, unlike Flameu's room that had some flowers, a bookshelf (apparently, the ones in the main room weren't enough), and a study table filled with parchments. To be fair, the room itself was smaller, so it wouldn't make sense for him to have as much stuff as her. But come on, only having an armor stand and a chest (for his normal clothes, I assume)? What is this? It's like he doesn't have any other personal life other than being a knight.

I took off my clothes, keeping only my underpants on, and then changed to the light tunic I usually wore to sleep. It was of light brown color, with knee-length shorts. It’s pretty comfy, even though I bought it for quite the bargain.

_...You know what? Maybe I shouldn’t be wearing this. I think it’s quite improper to be wearing your bedwear in front of a stranger. Though I didn’t hesitate wearing them when I was still with the Flaming Arrows. Not to mention that the shorts will sag if I try to attach my sword belt to it. And I don’t think I’m comfortable enough to not have it near me. I still barely know these people after all._

And so, I changed back out of this attire into my old clothes. Not the one I wore from before, but the one I wore all the way from the Magocracy. They still fit, though a little bit tight. And there were a couple of holes on them that I brought to the tailor to slap a patch on.

_Really should consider buying a couple more clothes. Maybe some light armor?_

When I returned, the alchemy table Felicia had been laboring on was working full force. Every single beaker was being used. Some remained still with their liquid, some was emitting colored smoke as the fire under them heated the mixture, and some still emitting a similar smoke even though there wasn’t anything burning them.

_I wonder which part of alchemy is magic and which part is just chemistry. So far, this looks more like normal scientific chemistry more than anything… she wasn’t using her cauldron in the slightest. That’s probably where the magic happens. It’s like a witch, casting a spell while cackling maniacally, brewing the potion inside said cauldron._

I never really learned much about alchemy (mostly because I would rather learn about elemental magic instead). Marina could perform a little of it, at least according to the person herself, she was nowhere near as good in it as she was talented in elemental magic. Watching this Flameu person works though, I assume this is how a master alchemist performs her craft. And I have to say, it’s quite the bewitching scenery.

After some time, she let out a sigh as she examined the results of her test.

“You’re lucky. The type she has isn’t contagious.” She smiled.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” I replied with a grin.

“This is the first time though, finding someone this unconcerned when he encounters a plague. Usually, they would all run away at once, afraid that they would catch the illness as well, especially when they’re of the upper class. How curious...”

My grin disappeared as she started eyeing me up and down in quite the uncomfortable manner. _Oh crap, did I just make her be suspicious of me?_

"Not to mention how much you care for a random little girl you know nothing about. That's not how your typical adventurer or noble would react. Your typical adventurer would demand payment afterwards, and, if the person can't pay, they might just sell the person they had saved into slavery. After all, it's within the law to force someone into bondage if they can't pay their debt." She smirked.

_I think I remember Fiora saying something like this. Criminals, including debtors that can't pay their due (since being unable to pay your debt is a crime in the Holy Empire and it's vassals), can be sold into slavery legally. The kingdom itself can do it, to raise funds for their coffers (though most of the time, the money will just get pocketed by the local lord), or a private individual, often an adventurer, if he's the one to catch said criminal._

_Of course, she plans to do away with the system entirely. Which, ironically enough, might lead to criminals just being killed on the spot. Vigilantism is one of the big tropes of a fantasy world after all. Just count how many bandits you have killed in all those random encounters._

"As for a noble," the alchemist continued. "The only reason why they would go out of their way to help a peasant like that if they have a perverse motivation in doing so. That little girl is pretty cute. They might just want to take her home and do all sorts of depraved things to her.”

Her smirk grew wider. It’s as if she enjoyed talking about these grim stuff.

“You know, don’t you think that you’re being too negative?” I spoke up. “Not all adventurers and nobles are bad like that, you know.”

She snorted. “You don’t know anything, Milord. After all, I had—”

Suddenly, she stopped.

“...No, let’s not talk about this matter anymore.”

_Wait, what? You can’t just stop your story midway like that._

“Now, I would like to discuss about—”

“Aaaahhhh!”

I heard a muffled scream coming from the door that led to the alchemist’s room. And she heard it as well without a doubt, as once again, her face turned gravely pale.

She rushed inside, with me following from behind.

“I-it hurts! M-my chest! It hurts!”

It was the little girl. And she was clutching her flat breasts with both hands, yelling how much pain she was in.

Flameu didn’t hesitate. She took the staff placed on the corner of the room and conjured what looked like a syringe filled with liquid out of thin air.

_Wait, no, that’s not a conjuring spell. It’s the same Dimensional Storage spell Marina used._

She then promptly stabbed the syringe into the girl’s arm. Immediately, the effect showed. She stopped screaming as seemingly, her pain died down. And then, the alchemist lifted herself onto the bed before hugging the poor girl to calm her down.

“Shhhh, it’s fine. I’m here now,” she whispered, bringing her face close to her bosom as she gently petted the back of her head.

“L-Lady Flameu… y-you’re here…” the girl weakly answered. “Please… please save my village!”

_Save her village? ...Wait, don’t tell me that—_

“Hush, I know. Your village… they’re suffering from the same ailment as the one you have right now, don’t they?”

“Y-yes, miss! I was the only healthy one so I had to run all the way here on my own!" _Ah, that explains the bruised feet._

"That's really risky, you know," she lightly scolded her. "But I suppose it's the best thing you could've done for the situation. Good job, Leila." She smiled.

"Hehe, thank you, miss!" She burrowed her face to her chest.

So they really are acquainted with each other. No, more than that. They're good friends. And seeing them like this, they even look like a pair of sisters, or even a mother and her daughter, seeing how both have red hair and all.

_Aah, what a heartwarming sight._

"Miss…" The girl lifted her head. “Please, come back to my village at once. Father is ill. And the other villagers as well. I-I’m fine. I can bear it. I’m a strong girl after all.”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she had the most forlorn look I ever saw on a person’s face, as she continued to caress the girl’s crimson hair. It’s like she was experiencing some sort of a deep sadness, to the point that she had to hold back her tears.

_That look… it’s just like Nicole’s when she failed to heal that little girl… The look of a Saint… or a Goddess of Healing..._

She then sat up. “Rest for now.” She told her. “Don’t think of anything else. You can leave everything to me, alright?”

The little girl nodded, before turning her attention towards me. “You’re the one who brought me here, didn’t you? Thank you so much, Big Bro!”

Even in her current state, her smile was still as angelic as I had expected.

I beamed in return, with Flameu following suit.

_“Big Bro”, huh? I once had a cute girl that would say the same thing to me every day. Aah, she probably hates me now though..._

"Come." Flameu spoke to me. "We have something to discuss."

We exited the room, back into the main laboratory area.

"Lord Pendleton, how strong are you in combat?"

I raised my eyebrows. _Where did that come from?_

"If you're truly just an ordinary C-rank adventurer, then I cannot ask for your help any further. However, if you are hiding your true capabilities, then you might just be strong enough for the task I am about to ask you. For a mage who has a Great Fairy as his summon, I doubt you're the former. So please, tell the truth. That child… she will die with the rest of her village if we don't act fast."

"...Fine. I admit it. I'm stronger than I look." I folded my arms under my chest. "How strong do you need me to be? You need me to hunt some strong monster for the ingredient to make her cure right? I can guess as much.”

Her smile returned.

“I need you to kill a dragon.”

“...What?”

“Yes, a dragon. The strongest monster species on the Holy Continent. The S-rank monster you normally need an entire army to fight. I need you to kill one and bring its heart to me. That way, I can synthesize the cure that girl needs as well as the cure for the rest of her village,” she continued without skipping a beat.

Her smile turned into a smirk. It was clear that she wanted to see how I would react.

_A dragon, huh? Maybe… just maybe… I’m strong enough to take on one._

Putting up my most confident grin, I replied, “I can already defeat A-rank monsters with ease. So I’m quite confident that I can take on a dragon. It’s just one rank above after all.”

Her smirk widened, nearly turning into a full grin.

And for some unknown reason, that grin scared me a little.


	105. The Master Alchemist Pt.4

“Very well then. I’ll take your word for it, Milord.”

She then explained what needed to be done in order for her to synthesize the cure. The dragon heart would indeed be the key ingredient, but there are other ingredients that she would need to prepare first, thus there’s no need for us to depart right away in the middle of the night like this. We can wait until the next morning, with her working without sleep to prepare said other ingredients.

Oh, right, she’s coming with us, along with the knight. Apparently, they’re pretty good combatants as well. And besides, we will need to bring along Leila, the little girl, with us, as the cure will be finished at her village. She tells me that the nearest dragon we can slay is located in the nearby mountain from said village, which is really fortunate for us.

_Oh, that’s right. Those S-rank guys… they’re after the dragon too, aren’t they?_

I told her about the short meeting we had at the Guild, and her expression turned into a concerned one.

“That’s not good. A clan like that… they won’t just willingly hand over their spoils to us. A dragon heart is an extremely rare and valuable material after all that can fetch a high price in the market.”

“Can’t we just buy it off them after they have defeated it?” I suggested. I’m all for heroism, but if there’s a safer way, why not take it, especially when a little girl’s life is on the line.

“Well, that would be a viable option… if we have the money to do so.”

“Wait, shouldn’t you have a lot of money as a court mage?”

“His Highness doesn’t pay me much unfortunately.” She shook her head with a melancholic, yet strangely, slightly bemused expression. “I might be his court mage, but to him, I’m closer to a commoner than a noble. And there’s no need to pay a commoner a lot of money for her services, is there?”

“Maybe you should get a different job,” I suggested with a smile. “Open an alchemy shop. You’ll be rich in no time with your skill.”

“Rich?” Suddenly, a frown shadowed her face. “I don’t become an alchemist to get rich.”

_...Uh, did I just touch a nerve there?_

Thankfully, she quickly recovered.

"Thus, the only way we can obtain the dragon heart is if we either kill the dragon first, or we take it from those adventurers. Milord,” Here, her smirk reappeared once more. “Would you be willing to do the latter, by force if necessary?"

Now I know the fundamental difference between her and Nicole. Even though she shared that loving expression with her when she comforted the little girl, she also had a certain mean, mischievous streak to her. Not quite like Fiora’s, since I don’t sense that sense of superiority she exuded, but she certainly took delight in putting me in the spot with questions like this.

_She’s still testing me, isn’t she? For the lengths I’m willing to go for the little girl?_

_...Well, the answer’s clear, isn’t it?_

“I would really prefer if we don’t do the latter,” I replied firmly. “However, if it comes to that, then I am willing to challenge them to a fight for the dragon heart.”

“And if they refuse?” Her smirk now transformed into a half grin.

“They won’t. At least, their leader won’t. I’ve met the guy. He’s the cocky type. If he refuses a duel invitation from a mere C-rank, and a kid at that, it would reflect badly on his reputation for sure.”

This time, it was my turn to grin.

“Ha… ahahahahahahaha!”

She suddenly broke down into a laugh. She placed her left hand on her mouth to cover it, but her laughter still echoed across the room. And it was the kind of laugh a villainous woman would have, which actually sent a bit of a chill behind my neck.

_...You know what? Maybe she’s a kind person to sick little girls, but she might also secretly be a mad scientist or something. Or rather, a mad alchemist. Though I haven’t seen anything out of the place around here. No brains in a jar or rows of poison you would expect from such a character._

“You’re really quite smart for your age, Lord Pendleton,” She wiped a tear from the corner of her right eye.. “Forgive me for thinking that you’re just a naive noble kid who wants to play hero.”

_Wait, is that how she has been seeing me all this time?_

“Although, are you truly certain you can win against an S-rank?”

“Well, I just gotta try, don’t I?” I replied with a smile. “And besides, couldn’t you use your influence as a court mage to make them give the dragon heart? Like I said, I’d rather do this without violence.” _I don’t need any attention given to my way after all. Not when I’m technically a fugitive like this. It’s been barely a year since I killed Vera, give or take. There’s a really good chance they’re still looking for me, especially since from what I heard from Marina, they’re still looking for that necromancer girl even after years had passed._

_But then again, if the news spread that I’ve slayed a dragon, that would make me famous as well, wouldn’t it?_

_Oh well, I got no choice. Fiora will kick me in the nuts if I run away from this, just because I’m afraid of some hypothetical assassin coming after me._

“Hmm, I wonder about that.” She pursed her lips, putting her index finger near it. "They would surely demand official compensation from the throne. And if we don't give it to them, they won't be happy. And that's bad news for us. Our country is a small one, just a vassal state of the Empire. We don't have the Imperial Knights that can easily take care of them if they go in an uproar."

_Ah, right, I forget. They're a group of strong adventurers that can easily be too much for the average soldiers to handle. And none of the vassal states have that strong of a military. Probably intentional, so that they won't rise up against the Empire._

"Ask the king to pay them then," I pointed out the obvious.

"Ha! He won't spend a penny on this kind of matter. He won't care and I will be the one to suffer the consequences if I use his name without his permission."

Once again, she showed her bitterness towards the ruler she was supposed to serve. _I don't think it's wise to keep around a court mage that dislikes you this much._

“Sir Pendleton. If you will hear my plea.”

I nearly jumped off my feet. The knight, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke out. His armor clanged lightly as he approached me.

“If you are truly as strong as you speak, then please, grant me the honor of dueling you.”

_...Wait, what?_

“Fear not. We shall use the non-lethal ceremonial fencing rule. First one who landed a definitive hit on the other would be the one victorious. It would not be a duel to the death. I simply wish to test my blade with yours.”

“Ah, that’s an excellent idea, Lord Berault,” the alchemist chimed in with a smile. “Lord Pendleton. I also wish to see your true capability in combat.”

“B-but it’s already dark outside. I don’t think it’s a good idea to—”

“Nonsense. It’s the _perfect_ condition to test one’s real mettle in combat. After all, you don’t always fight in the most optimal situation, do you? And besides, I can give you two some light with the Light Orb I got.”

_Light Orb. It’s basically several Light Gems gathered and melded into an orb-shaped ball that shone quite brightly, to the point that you would hurt your eyes if you stare directly at it._

"Oh fine. I'll do it." I relented. It's unwise to fight together with someone whose capability you don't know about, so in that sense, it's a good thing for me to show what I'm capable of, especially since we're going up against a dragon.

The duel ended up taking place in the backyard of the house. The rules were simple. I was allowed to use both my sword and magic. The knight, on the other hand, can only fight with his sword, so no magic option for him.

To my surprise, he didn't bring a shield with him. He only has a normal-looking steel sword that he held in his right hand.

_Then again, I don't think I saw any shields laying around back inside._

The knight agreed to a fifty meter distance between us. Guess he wants to give me an advantage, knowing that I can use ranged attacks while he can't? Bad idea. If I were to fight for real, I'm pretty sure I can kill him in one shot using Boom Rifle.

Flameu would be the one to give the signal, with her activating the light orb.

_Let's see here… what spell should I use?_

_Oh, I know! I can use that!_

I drew my wand on my left hand with my sword on the right. I waited for Flameu to give her signal.

And then, light burst forth.

“Sand Gra—what?”

_The knight! Instead of running, he jumps straight at me! How can he do it wearing such heavy armor?_

_Fine! You think I can’t handle that? Then what about this instead?_

“Cold Blast!”

A storm of ice and snow hit him in mid-air dead on. Or that's what I expected. Instead, he cut through the gale, closing the distance between me and him even more.

_Ha! I see! Galahad-style!_

He finally reached me, but I was ready to block his blow with my own sword. As always, I used Fortissimo with it, so I wouldn’t lose my grip of my sword.

Using my left hand, I aimed my wand at his stomach, and yelled, “Water Blade!”

_It doesn’t work! The water doesn’t pierce his armor! He must have used Fortissimo as well!_

Using Graceful Step, which I have mastered by the way (and officially making me an Expert-rank Galahad swordsman, at least according to Fiora), I put a distance between us. In the meantime, I charged up another spell.

This time, it’s something that even his Fortissimo shouldn’t be able to defend against.

“Boom Rifle!”

I aimed at his leg, knowing that I could just heal his wound afterwards.

The spell fired, and, just like I had expected, he was neither fast enough to parry it nor strong enough to block its piercing strength.

He fell down on one knee, and I heard Flameu shout that the match was over.

I was the clear winner.

"Magnificent, Milord!" Flameu clapped with a grin on her face. "Lord Berault is the strongest knight of this kingdom yet you took him on with such ease. Once again, I have to apologize for ever doubting your abilities."

She then gave him a small vial of liquid. The knight promptly drank it (he was so fast with his helmet’s visor than I didn’t even get a glimpse on his face) and he seemed to have recovered in an instant, standing back up in no time at all.

"With your ability, we certainly can take on the dragon. Yes, I now fully believe in you, Milord." I blushed a little. _Hehe, it always feels good, being praised like this._ "Although, I do wonder… What spell was that? I never saw anything like it before."

"Umm, w-well, it's just a custom spell of mine. Nothing special." I scratched the back of my head. 

"I see..." Her smile turned into that ominous grin once more. "Fascinating…"

I gulped. _You know, I don't like the way she says that. Can’t help but feel I’m going to be dissected by her for her research or something..._

“Well,” She turned to face the knight. ‘What do you think, Lord Berault? You agree that he’s strong enough to face up against a dragon now, don’t you?”

“...I still need more training,” was his answer.

_Welp, I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings or anything._

Afterwards, we went back inside. I was told by the alchemist to rest, and to leave the rest to her. All I needed to do was to prepare my stamina for the fight against the dragon. And so I did, but not before asking about something that had been bothering me for a while.

“Miss Flameu. Why are you all the way out here instead of at the capital with the king? Isn’t a court mage supposed to stay, y’know, in the court, at all times?”

Her expression brightened, as if I had asked something really amusing.

“Why, for my research, of course. I need certain ingredients that I can only find in this region. So I purchased this house as my base of operations. The king was generous enough to give me permission to do so, especially after I promised him that all the benefits of my research would be used to fill up his coffers.”

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re promising him to do stuff like turning rocks into gold?” _That’s like the classic alchemy dream, isn’t it?_

“Ha, like in the stories, huh? Unfortunately, in the land of reality, not the land of bards and soothsayers, alchemy doesn’t work like that.”

_Really? Well, that’s a let down._

"And Leila. You've visited her village before, I guess."

"You’re right. I healed her father's bad hip as I did, and ever since then, she had been completely fascinated by me."

"Let me guess. You did it for free as well."

"Of course. What kind of an alchemist do you think I am, taking money from the destitute?" she said with a proud, near haughty smile. "I'm fine doing it to those well-off folks though. They can pay for the services I do for the poor."

_Ah, clever._

"Well," I smiled in return. "I guess I'll get some shut-eye like you suggest."

_I just hope I don't wake up with my organs missing or anything. I still get that "mad scientist" vibe from her, you know._

_Eh, it'll be fine. Thanks to Fiora's training, I am now far more sensitive to movements around me, even when I'm asleep. She would often be the one to wake me up in the morning, or in the middle of the night if it's my turn to keep watch on the bonfire. And she'd throw a pebble to my face in the process. The further our training progressed, the more often I caught it before it could land. And near the end, not a single one landed anymore._

With that confidence, I retreated back to the knight's room, throwing my body on the bed.

_Come to think of it, I haven't had dinner yet._

\------

**Felicia**

Greetings, dear readers. I am Cordelia Flameu, the court mage of Fiania. Specializing in alchemy, I can cure all sorts of ailments with my potions. As long as I can get the ingredients I need, of course.

I am also Felicia Myne, the dark mage that specializes in the feared art of necromancy. In fact, it’d be more accurate to refer to me as the latter. The former is merely a mask I wear so that I can perform my necromantic research in peace, away from those narrow-minded fools who think that necromancy is merely an evil and vile magic that has to be extinguished.

And today, I got a wonderful catch.

His name was Charles. Charles Pendleton. And apparently, he’s some noble kid from the Holy Empire. I don’t really buy that of course. But I shall talk about this matter later. For now, I would like to speak about how interesting of a person he is.

First of all, he looks to be around eleven years old. Twelve, at the very least. No sharp ears, which means he can’t be one of the youthful-looking nonhuman races. No, he has to be a human. Or a demon that is really good at disguising himself as a human. The latter makes more sense, as for a human to be this strong at such a young age is terribly unlikely, but on the other hand, the former means he’s a true genius that only comes around once in a blue moon. Not only is he really capable in magic, but his swordsmanship is no slouch either.

He really is one fascinating young man.

And to think that not only did he go out of his way to save some little girl he knew nothing about, he even decided it’s a good idea to fight a dragon, just to get the ingredient for her cure. I am not sure whether to call him a fool or a brave warrior.

Hmm, come to think of it, the ones that killed the ice witch Vera, wasn’t one of them around his age, at least, if the information I got was correct? Could it be? If he is truly amongst the family who killed her, then this is truly my lucky day. I could make him be my ally, and then, there will be nothing those Magocracy imbeciles can do to me. Not only that, I can start my trip to the Demon Continent right away. With a mage of his caliber, and my own skills, I can finally move on to the next stage of my research.

I am already sick of this kingdom to be honest. The faster I can leave, the better. Not to mention that sooner or later, they’ll figure out what I did with that old fool. Then I would no longer have the protection of the kingdom. I would be hunted down as a heretic. That would be unpleasant, especially since my zombies are weak to Light spells.

But for now, I have to obtain the dragon’s heart. I can’t let Leila die. Not when I am still far away from my ultimate goal.

And besides, it would be fascinating to see what that boy can do in a real fight. Show me, Charles Pendleton, or rather, Hugo Greenwood, of the power of the boy who defeated the great Ice Witch!


	106. Adventurers and Heroes

**Hugo**

“Lord Pendleton, I’ve finished my preparations. We’re now ready to depart.”

Hearing those words, I immediately roused up from my sleep.

Thinking about it, I didn’t get that much of a shut-eye last night. A couple of times I was woken up by Leila’s pained scream. I rushed into her room, only to find that Flameu was already there, giving another dose of her painkilling drug while comforting her. And that’s while her cauldron was still boiling. I guess she wisely knew her knight would only scare her if she sent him to do the job, and she was good enough to know when she could leave her concoction cooking on it's own safely.

_Heh, I guess there's no need for my fairy in the slightest._

Still, it reminded me all those years ago, when Erika was still a baby. She would often wake up in the middle of the night, crying so loud that I woke up as well. Renee would have to calm her down. And she never uttered a single complaint. She was the paragon of motherhood through and through.

...Yeah, yeah, I know it's weird and creepy to compare a woman you just met to your mother. But I just can't help it. I feel she can make an excellent mother in the future… if she isn't secretly a mad alchemist, that is.

After letting out a good yawn, I left the bed and changed back to the clothes Fiora gave me (after Flameu left, of course). I then left the room. To my surprise, the look of the place had completely changed. Gone were the beakers, centrifuges, and cauldron. The long table was now used as a dining table, as Flameu and Berault were having their breakfast there.

"Please, Lord Pendleton. Join us." The alchemist spoke. "There isn't much, but I assure you, my sandwiches are perfectly delicious." She added with a smile.

She pulled a chair for me, and I sat down on it. I then took one of the sandwiches placed on the plate on the table and took a bite of it. _Since they're eating it, it should be fine, right? No poison or anything. And I got my great fairy. She can heal poison with her water._

Afterwards however, I was grateful for my decision to partake in her offer, as true to her word, it was indeed delicious. And for me, who hadn’t had dinner yesterday, it was a godsend. I ended up eating most of it, to the amusement of the alchemist.

Oh, by the way, thanks to that as well, I got to see the knight’s mouth. And from my examination, he seems to be a human under all that armor—light skinned with no facial hair to speak of. He only lowers the bottom part of his helmet, just enough so he can eat Flameu’s sandwiches.

Afterwards, we each readied for our departure. Berault brought a large backpack with him, while Flameu only brought her staff, though she also wore a featureless black cloak over her robe.

_Right, Dimensional Storage._

“Lord Pendleton, may I ask you a favor?” Flameu spoke. “Would you be willing to be the one carrying Leila? As you can see, with my staff and his backpack, we don’t exactly have any free room to carry a child with us.”

I agreed. It wasn’t a big deal for me anyways. She was so light to the point that my arms didn't really tire carrying her around yesterday.

I went to her room and lifted her up. She was sleeping, and to my delight, her fever seemed to have gone down a bit. Still, I knew it didn't mean that she was recovering. It was most likely the effect of Flameu's drug, temporarily tempering her ailment.

We departed utilizing the pair of horses they rode the first time I saw them. Apparently, the black one was named Frem and the white one was named Mrey. And judging by how she smiled when she met them as she brushed their manes with her hand, and how they each licked her affectionately for it afterwards, the alchemist might just be the animal-loving type. _Another aspect of her that's contradictory to that sinister grin and laugh._

Since I had no horses on my own, I had to ride with either of them. To my surprise, the alchemist suggested that I should ride with her.

_Umm, you know this means your boobs will be pressing into my back, right?_

Judging by her mischievous smirk though, I think she _perfectly_ knew what she was doing.

Of course, I took the offer up. I would be an idiot not to.

_Marina once said that I should be wary of older women going after me. I guess she is one of them. Heh, that's one perk of being a good-looking young man._

With a small grin, I climbed up the horse, taking the hand she offered. _Lucky!_

"Oh, one more thing." She suddenly spoke. "If you would, please refrain from using my real name in public. We certainly don't need the attention right now."

_Ah, that's right. She's quite the celebrity around here. Makes sense. That's also why she's wearing that dark cloak with the hood on._

"Call me Rowan, if you would. As for Lord Berault, Ber would suffice."

\-------

We headed to the town’s eastern gate. To my surprise, we left not in the early mornings, but well around 8 to 9 o'clock, judging by where the sun was. I wasn't sure if this world had invented pocket watches actually. Not that I would want to get one. I don't want a return to my old life where I was afraid of clocks at every single minute. Had to set up an alarm clock to wake up in the morning, had to set up reminders in my phone on my office tasks and the deadlines they had, etc. It was unpleasant. I would rather have an easy-going life like this where I was not continuously being haunted by them.

"Charles! Chaaarles!"

_That voice… that's—_

"Charles! You're going out too?"

Sure enough, my instinct was correct. It was the voice of Amelie, shouting from a distance. She ran towards me, breasts bouncing wildly in the process. You know, I wonder how in this world, big-chested women never seemed to be able to find bras that could hold their chests in place. Both Renee and Helen were like that as well—voluptuous to the point that even walking normally made their breasts jiggle a little.

Or maybe it's just my perverted eyes catching things that no other people would see.

_Hold on, isn't she supposed to be mad at me?_

_Oh right, she's being her usual self. She'd get mad about one thing, and come the next morning, she had forgotten about it entirely._

"Wait, who is that? Why are you carrying a little girl with you? And who are these people? Your new party? And why are you riding with a woman like that?”

She didn’t hesitate in the slightest to bombard me with questions, as expected. And is it just me, or her tone sounds a little bit angry? Hmm, maybe she’s still mad about yesterday after all. That, or she’s jealous that I’m with another woman. Sorry, Amelie, your boobs are great and all, but I just don’t think you’re my type. Well, that, and Sherry.

I looked behind me, throwing a glance towards Flameu as I wanted her to be the one to explain it. I felt I was just going to fumble my words and make myself look even more suspicious if I tried doing it on my own.

“Is she perhaps your acquaintance, Milord?” the alchemist asked with a smirk.

_Ah, I actually never told her about them, did I?_

"Yes. We traveled together for a few months from down south," I answered. At this point, Anton and Anne had arrived on the scene as well.

"I see." Flameu turned to face the trio. "Then, please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Rowan, a humble alchemist. The girl over there is my patient. She has been struck with a mortal illness and the only way to cure it is by obtaining the heart of the dragon. And so, I’ve employed Charles and Ber here to procure it from the ice dragon living nearby.”

“A-a dragon?!” The mage took a few steps back, covering her mouth with her hand. “Y-you’re not serious, are you?”

“Oh, we are serious, 100%,” Flameu replied with a smirk. “You see, Charles here has promised that he’s strong enough to take on one. And so there is nothing to fear.”

“What?!” This time, it was Anne’s turn to explode. “You’ve got to be joking! Charles!” She threw a harsh glance at my direction. “You?! Taking on a dragon? Ha! Don’t make me laugh! You’re not some legendary warrior that can take on a dragon one to one! You’re just a C-rank whelp who happens to be skilled in magic! You have no chance whatsoever against an S-rank monster like that! And you, redhead!” Her glare now turned towards Flameu. “You’re not allowed to do this kind of thing, you know, bypassing Guild rules on giving out a quest to adventurers without their permission. And this is exactly why! You’re trying to rope a kid to do an S-rank job without caring that he’s not actually an S-rank! And even if he is, you still need dozens of S-rank adventurers to take on a dragon! What do you think a dragon is, huh? It’s one of the strongest monsters out there!”

Flameu continued to smirk, seemingly unfazed in the slightest by the girl’s arguments.

“Charles…” This time, it was Anton’s turn to speak. He wore a stern frown on his face—a rare look for him. It’s the look he would only use whenever he really feels the need to scold someone. Whenever he uses that look, not even Anne’s spicy tongue or Amelie’s brattiness can overcome his presence. “Listen to me. I know you’re strong. Stronger than any of us, perhaps. But you’re not at the level where you can fight against a dragon. And there’s no need to do so either. You’ve heard yesterday that the Emerald Exodus clan is going to have a subjugating campaign against it. Wait until they return and purchase the dragon heart you need from them.”

I shook my head. “It’s not an option, unfortunately. I don’t have the money. And neither do Ber or Rowan. We have to get it on our own.”

“It’s too late for you to go after the dragon now anyways. They departed yesterday morning. When you get there, they probably would have finished the creature anyways,” he argued back.

“Then I will take the heart from them,” I answered without flinching.

Anton’s frown deepened. “Are you suggesting that you would challenge them for it? Or steal it instead? If you do the latter, you will be kicked out from the guild for sure. And not only that, they might murder you from it. ‘Adventurers who try to steal the spoils from other adventurers are to be killed, for they are no different than common bandits.’ That is the law of adventurers that the Guild abides. And if you think you can do the former, think again. Even if they’re graceful enough to grant you a one-on-one fight with their leader, he’s an S-rank adventurer. His abilities are far beyond yours.”

“Oh, so that’s what you believe. Then let me say this. I am far stronger than you think I am. I am strong enough to win, even against an S-rank adventurer.”

I looked him in the eye as I said those words. I know that the only way to show that I wasn’t lying was to challenge him head on. I gave him a cold, confident stare—far different from the happy, smiling expression I usually wore around him.

He was the first to break eye contact.

“Then, I am disappointed in you, Charles.” Her eyes turned cold as well. “You let us fight against all those monsters that would have hurt us while you can easily take care of them. I thought we could trust you as a friend. I guess not.”

My heart skipped a beat. _He got a point. Me hiding my true ability like that… it’s selfish of me, isn’t it?_

“I have my reasons to hide it from you,” was my reply however. “And I am not obligated to protect you or Anne or Amelie. You are adventurers. You already know that it’s a dangerous and risky occupation. If any of you die, it won’t be my fault.”

I wasn’t sure why I said such harsh words. Perhaps because I remembered the other trio of adventurers that I failed to save, and the words of that man who told me that they fought bravely until the very end. Since then, I knew what it truly meant to be an adventurer.

You can’t save everyone. That was the valuable lesson Nicole taught me.

His answer?

“...Fine. Suit yourself.” He looked away, before turning back and sending a sharp glance towards Flameu. “I do hope you pay him well, alchemist.”

“Oh, but Charles here is noble enough to do it for free! In fact, he was the one who found my sick little sister on the road. And learning of her plight, he offered to help on his own! Isn’t he just great?”

Here, Flameu pressed herself into me as she rested her hands on my shoulder. At this point, I’m pretty sure she’s doing it intentionally, just so to piss them off even more.

_Yep, it’s that mischievous side of her once again._

Anton returned his glare towards me. “And you take this quest for free. You might be strong but your mentality is still of a kid. We adventurers don’t take quests for free. Especially if it’s a quest of this caliber. By doing this, you’re no longer an adventurer. You’re now pretending to be a hero. Is that what you want, Charles?”

With a smirk, I replied, “Perhaps that’s what I want.”

With these past months I had spent with adventurers, not just with these three, but with others as well, before I met them, I realized something. A lot of them are indeed vagabonds and ruffians, not that much better than common bandits.I suddenly remembered how the old master of Sherry, that bitter old woman, displayed her distaste of adventurers. And I imagine a lot of the upper class shared the same sentiment. Back then, I thought she was just being a snob. But now, I could see her point, at least a little. She’s still wrong to think that all adventurers are bad though, especially to the point of badmouthing Alan and Renee.

So, perhaps that’s what I want. I want fame and glory. I can do that as a hero too, can’t I?

Well, I’m still nowhere near strong enough to be called one though.

Anton, clearly not satisfied with my answer, turned around and started to walk away. 

“Anne, Amelie, we’re leaving.”

The two, however, clearly weren't finished with me yet.

“You jerk!” Anne shouted. “Get off your high horse, you idiot noble! So you want to play hero? Is that why you’ve been looking down on us all this time? We’re just common adventurers to you, huh? We’re not blessed with whatever talent you have with magic, so you think we’re worthless? Is that it? We have treated you well these past two months, and this is how you treat us in return?”

I had no words to say to her in return. She was right. I probably had been looking down on them unconsciously, knowing just how much stronger I am compared to them. And I do want to play the hero. I’ve been doing so ever since I climbed up that mountain to save Marina, even though I was just a ten-year old kid. Father and Mother did as well. Any sensible people would know not to defy a mage of Vera’s caliber. They would instead obey her wishes. It’s not odd for girls to be married off to wealthier, more powerful families in this world. In fact, it would be an honor. Marina would be the wife of a future ruler of the Magocracy.

But no. It’s just in our blood, I suppose. We can’t just accept the world as it is. We have to defy common sense. And those are things only heroes do.

Amelie, on the other hand, didn’t say anything. She just stared at me like a hurt puppy would. And it immediately made me feel even guiltier.

“Well, if you guys are done, then please excuse us.” Flameu finally decided to interrupt. “Like you have kindly suggested, we don’t have much time. We must rush to the dragon at once, so my sister would get the cure she desperately needs.”

With those words said, she yanked the harness on Mrey. The horse neighed and started walking once more. Noticing its partner was moving, Frem followed.

I didn’t look back at the trio as I left. Instead, I stared to the distance. _Heh, I’m pretty sure I’m having quite the melancholic expression right now._

It’s been fun, traveling with them. But this conversation we just had made me realize just how different our two worlds are. They’re not like Marina or Sherry or Fiora. If any real danger comes after me, they wouldn’t be able to fight it. They’re simply not strong enough. Thus, it would be better for them not to be involved with me any further.

I took a deep sigh. _Guess two months were enough for me to feel this much attachment to them._

But now, I had to put them aside. I was going to fight against a dragon after all.

And I think I already have a pretty good idea on how I’m going to do it.


	107. Towards The Mountain

Our destination was the Cirris Mountain, located just a few days away from the town. The village Leila came from was located near the foot of said mountain. We might be able to get there in just a day, thanks to our horses, but she must have suffered much getting all the way here from there. The blisters on her feet told everything you needed to know about her determination. And selflessness. Even when she was terribly sick herself, she still wanted Flameu to help her father and the rest of the village first before her.

I couldn’t but feel respect towards her. It’s one thing to have determination when you’re strong, but when you’re just an ordinary, powerless villager, it’s even more amazing. It reminded me of those classical books where the child protagonist had to suffer through adversity, surrounded mostly by hostile adults who refused to help her.

_If I refuse to help her, then I would lose to her._

That’s another reason why I couldn’t follow through the common sense of adventurers, like those three told me to.

We arrived at the village the next morning. To my shame, I actually fell asleep on the horse, so Flameu had to hug me with one hand from behind to keep me from falling.

And yes, I did enjoy her boobs pressing into my back. And her warmth in general.

Although, come to think of it, doesn’t this mean she hasn’t slept for two days in a row? Hey, are you sure she’s fine with that? Sure, I noticed some dark circles under her eyes, but she remained her usual, non-sleepy self. Maybe she had taken some super-caffeine or something?

And, as expected, that didn’t change when we arrived at the village.

\--------

_Oh no, this looks bad…_

The village was, at first glance, completely deserted. Not a single person was outside.

However, once we entered, the sounds of pained moans crept from the shoddy woods of the houses. Not just one or two, but pretty much everywhere.

"Lord Pendleton, remember what I've told you before." Flameu spoke with a grim expression.

"Don't worry. I know."

Just as she mentioned it, something flew by near my leg.

In an instant, I cut it into two with my sword. Or rather, knowing how small it was, my blade should've just obliterated it entirely.

It was a simple mosquito. And yet, it might be the one responsible for the plague.

I recalled Flameu’s explanation, given when we rode here.

"Crimson Wings. It is the name given to those mosquitoes. They might look near-indistinguishable from ordinary mosquitoes, but they are monsters, in every sense of the word. Born out of mutation caused by demonic mana many ages ago, they now possessed the ability to corrupt the blood of those that they drank from. That is what caused the Black Blood disease. At least, this variant of it. The one that nearly destroyed the town on the other hand was spread by coughs and rat bites. It was easier to cure however, only needing drake hearts as one of the ingredients."

Drakes, by the way, are A-rank monsters which are essentially lesser dragons.

_If we assume that the plague works the same way plagues work back in my old world, then that difference comes from the mutation of the virus/bacteria. It trades lethality for transmissibility._

Berault did the same soon after.

"So they're still here after all…" Flameu spoke with a concerned look. "My suspicions were correct. Someone, or something, must have threatened their original habitat, making them migrate all the way here. Normally, these insects only exist far deep in the wilderness, along with other dangerous monsters. And thanks to the disease being basically incurable, the insect is given an A-rank rating as a monster.”

_I’m glad the Guild is smart enough to do that. You don’t have to be a big scary creature to be dangerous after all._

"Could it be the work of the dragon?" I suggested.

"Perhaps,” she replied. “It’s irrelevant anyways. For now, we’ll just have to kill anything that resembles a mosquito around here. Later, I might be able to make a repellant of sorts for them but for now, we should rush to get the cure instead. We really don’t have much time. And so, for now, we’re going to move house to house to administer my painkiller,” Flameu ordered. “It’s all we can do for them now. After that, we shall depart to the mountain at once.”

“Berault is staying behind, right?” I asked, confirming the plan we had formed before we arrived.

“Correct," was her answer. "Lord Berault would stay here with my medicines, and he would administer them as needed. Do not fret. He knows how to do it," she added with a smile.

And so, we visited said houses one by one (no locks on their doors), with me and Berault acting as bodyguards for her against the mosquitos. Or rather, glorified mosquito swappers. 

As you would expect from a small, humble village, most of the houses weren't built with stone. But rather, wood, with straws as roofs instead of proper roof tiles. Some of the villagers actually stirred and woke up, thanking Flameu as she gave them the relief they desperately needed. Thankfully though, there weren't that many of them. Counting after we finished, there were only ten or so.

_But to think that just ten mosquitoes could do this to a village… Sheesh, this world really is a death world in that sense._

After we finished, like promised, Berault stayed behind with the little girl and her father. Their house was actually amongst the smallest in the village, consisting only of two rooms. I wondered where the mother was, but I could probably guess that she's most likely dead or something. Either from childbirth or illness. Or even from a monster attack. That's another possibility.

Yeah. For people who live like this, unfortunately, death is always around the corner.

We then departed straight away, up the mountain where the dragon resided.

\---------

We left the horses in the village. It would be far too impractical to bring them along, since there were no roads going up there.

As we climbed, I noticed that there were barely any monsters around. And there were signs of other people having traveled through the woods just recently, judging by all the broken branches and the remnants of campfire.

_Those guys really did reach this place before us, huh? I really hope they haven’t beaten the dragon before us. I dunno. I feel I’d rather fight a dragon rather than fight other adventurers. The latter can hold grudges that can bring troubles down the line._

“Hey, is it just me or is the air getting colder?”

“Hmm? I suppose it is,” Flameu replied nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at me in the process. _You know, with those clothes, I can’t help but worry if she will be unable to stand the cold._

Cirris Mountain was originally a warm-weathered mountain. However, since the frost dragon appeared, snow and ice enveloped the peak. Like a true S-rank monster, it could create its own blizzard. That is why I suspected that it might be the reason why those mosquitoes moved towards the village.

We climbed up the mountain for a good two days. On the first, as we set up our campfires, Flameu finally spoke up about her lack of sleep, and how she wished to go to sleep straight away. I asked her how she could stay up for so long, and her reply (with a proud smile) was “Just an anti-sleep drug I developed.” She then told me that she couldn’t take it forever though, as her body would break down eventually. So she had to sleep for the night. She asked me to keep watch on my own entirely, and I agreed. _She’s worked hard. Let her get her beauty sleep,_ I thought to myself.

On the second day, we finally were up high enough that we started seeing snow all around us. And since we weren’t even close to winter, it could only be caused by the frost dragon.

_Thinking about it, isn’t this similar to when I climbed up that mountain to fight Vera?_

_...No. It'll be fine. I’m much stronger enough. I won’t let Flameu die. And I have a hunch that the dragon would still be weaker than Vera, even though it could also create blizzards just like her._

And then, a few hours later, we finally found them—The guys from the Emerald Exodus.

Located on a large snowy clearing, they had built an encampment. Multiple tents were erected, to the point that it looked more like it belonged to a small army than a group of adventurers. Their numbers must be around fifty or more. 

_A base of operations before they go after the dragon, huh? I like that. They're taking this methodically, which is what they should do against a monster of that strength._

Before we knew it, a number of adventurers had surrounded us, with suspicious looks on their faces.

"Hold it right there, lady." One of them spoke to Flameu. He was a large man, easily dwarfing me and her. He was a beastman—a bearkin most likely, judging from his ears and thick beard+sideburns combo. He wore fur pants while remaining shirtless, showing off his impressive abs and chest hair. Any woman who loves muscled men would've fallen for him for sure. "This dragon has fallen under the jurisdiction of us Emerald Exodus. You're not allowed to just waltz in and expect a share of the loot."

“H-hey, Red,” the much smaller man beside him spoke. He seemed to be a Hobbit, judging by his size and his pointed ears. “You don’t recognize her? She’s that Flameu chick! You know! The one that healed the townspeople of the plague six months ago? She’s a court mage too! You can’t just speak to her like that!”

“Eh?” The bearkin glanced towards the hobbit, before looking back towards Flameu, scratching his chin. "You're really her?"

"Indeed I am," she replied with a smirk, before giving a bow. "My name is Cordelia Flameu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A chain of whispers burst forth from the crowd surrounding us. 

_"Is she really the court mage?"_

_"That can't be right, can it?"_

_"What is she doing all the way here?"_

_"To gather ingredients, duh. Haven't you heard that she's a master alchemist?"_

"So." He crossed his arms. Just like his chest, his arms were hairy as well. And like his name, every strand of said hair was red. "What does a court mage like you do here?"

"I wish to obtain the heart of a certain dragon. Yes, the very same dragon that you are after."

Another burst of whispers erupted, with some clearly expressing anger and exasperation.

"I see. If you wish to negotiate prices, then you would need to meet with our leader. Let me take you to his tent."

_He's thinking that she's going to buy from them. Bad news, big guy. We don't have any money for that._

"Oh? Is the dragon taken care of already?" She continued to speak, not even bothering to fix his erroneous assumption.

"Not yet. We're still in the process of isolating it from any other monsters in the area. We would only make a move once we're sure we won't get ambushed by reinforcements."

_That's smart. Real smart. I see now why they are high-ranking adventurers._

"I see. Then if you would, take us to him."

He gave a short glance towards me. And immediately his brows furrowed. Heh, he's probably confused why a young man like me is with her.

We followed him through the encampment, towards the largest tent in the complex—all the while being semi-followed by the crowd, since some of them did decide to go back doing their own things. I believe they were given the task of equipment preparation, as they resumed sharpening swords and patching up any defects on armors. _Another perk of being part of a clan, I suppose, having dedicated blacksmiths to do that for you._

"Please wait here for a moment,” the man said once we arrived at the front of the tent. He then entered it, leaving the two of us on our own standing somewhat awkwardly on the front.

A few minutes later, he returned, bringing the man that I certainly had met before at the guild. Umm, what was his name again?

"Well well well, to think I would be visited out of the blue by the esteemed Lady Flameu. I've heard of your exploits from the townspeople. It is truly a shame that I didn't have the chance to witness your skill at the work." He gave her a smile as he bowed towards her. “Greetings. My name is Arcturus. Arcturus Decasile, at your service.”

The man, even though he was an adventurer, wouldn’t be out of place as a noble. His greeting was polite and his bow was graceful. And that smile—that’s the one male nobles would use to charm the ladies.

However, something quite unnoble-like was also portrayed by him. I saw him, stealing glances towards Flameu’s cleavage. As he was taller than her, that meant he would be able to see an eyeful of her naked, braless chest.

_This perverted bastard!_

I wasn’t sure why I got angry at the sight. Perhaps because I felt he was disrespecting her by doing so. Even though we just met, I had gained a certain level of respect and admiration towards the alchemist, after all she did for Leila. Although, the person herself seemed to not mind in the slightest. That, or she didn’t notice. I doubt it’s the latter though, knowing how perceptive of a person she seemed to be.

“I come here to ask you of a favor,” Flameu spoke. “If you would, I would love for you to give me the dragon heart from the dragon your clan is about to fight.”

“Ah, for alchemy materials, I presume,” he replied, still keeping up that smile (which I started to find more and more annoying the longer I looked at it). “That can be arranged. I would even sell it to you lower than the market price, just because how beautiful you are, Milady.”

I nearly puked hearing that line. _Seriously? He’s now openly flirting with her? What is up with this man?_ Once again, my anger started to bubble inside my stomach.

On the other hand however, I admired his smoothness in doing it. I wanted to be able to flirt with girls just like he did.

“Apologies, but it just so happens that my personal funds would not be enough for the price you would ask. The king has been quite stingy lately unfortunately…” Flameu said with an expression of regret that I was pretty sure she was faking. “And so, I would like it if you would give it to me for free. In exchange, I would make sure that the king hears of your service to the kingdom.”

The smile on his face immediately vanished, only to be replaced by another, more sinister smile.

“...I am sorry, but I must have misheard you, Milady. For free? I cannot possibly do that, now can I? I need to pay my clan their fair share, and you surely know how expensive a dragon’s heart can be sold for in the market.”

“Please understand,” she continued her argument, unabated. “The life of a little girl, and an entire village, is at stake. I need it to brew the cure for the illness they’re having. Surely, you know of a certain species of monster called Crimson Wings, and the Black Blood disease they carry. The only way to cure that variant of the disease is the heart of a dragon, and if I do not make the cure soon, they would all die. Would you not want their blood in your hand?” she added with a smirk.

The man was clearly taken aback by Flameu’s sudden attack, with his mouth opening and closing without any words coming on. However, once again, he recovered swiftly and replied with, “I apologize. But we are adventurers. We don’t do charity. Any work we do for others must be repaid properly.”

_There it is again. It’s the same thing Anton said a few days ago when we departed._

“Although,” His smile suddenly transformed into a smirk, as he eyed her up and down with a lustful gaze. “If Milady would be willing to spend the night with me, then I might reconsider my position.”

“Arcturus!” The bearkin man suddenly yelled. “You can’t just do that!”

“It’s fine, Red,” he replied. “I’ll pay the difference with my own money.”

“I know you’re a womanizer but to try to do it with a court mage? You’re just going to bring us trouble!” he retorted.

“It’s fine. After all,” Here he turned to face Flameu once again. “I’ll make sure it would be the most wonderful experience for you, Milady.”

At this point, I was honestly considering punching him in the face. However, I waited, knowing that Flameu would surely have a flaming retort for this womanizer scum.

“Alright. That’s fine with me.”

My jaw dropped.

“However, I would request that you finish slaying the dragon right away, so tonight, we can have our fun together. As I have said before, I don’t have much time before the disease claims their lives.”

Arcturus’ smirk turned even wider as he knew he had snagged a beauty to his bed.

“Alright, boys! You heard the lady!” He yelled to the others. “Tell the hunting squads to come back at once and prepare for the fight! We’re going to take down that dragon and then we’re going to have a grand party for the night to celebrate our victory!”

And with that, the crowd disbanded, with me frozen on the spot, still not believing what I just heard.

_W-why did she… Why did she just take his offer like that?_

_Does she not care about her own dignity? To give her body to a person like him?_

In retrospect, I shouldn’t be that shocked. A woman who wore such tantalizing clothes should already be used to sexual situations. There was no way she was a virgin. She might even be the kind of woman who would go to brothels and purchase the services of a male prostitute there.

And yet, after seeing how motherly she was being with Leila, I had fallen under the spell that I presumptuously cast onto myself. I started imagining her to be just like Renee, and how she would never offer her body like that other than to her beloved husband.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Flameu’s hand.

With a smile, she said, “Well, how fortunately we are that their leader is quite the perv. This way, you don’t have to fight him or the dragon, right?”

I don’t know how to respond to that.


	108. Battle Preparations

“Arcturus, are you sure this is a good idea? The hunters still haven’t finished scouring the area for any possible ambushes from other monsters.”

“It’s fine, Red. Stop being such a worrywart. For a bear man, you sure are not ferocious enough at times.”

“Arcturus! The lives of my party are at stake here! If you’re not going to take this seriously, just because of some woman—”

“The hunting groups have slayed enough frost drakes already. If there are any remaining, then there shouldn’t be that many to the point that we would be overwhelmed. Remember, we have conquered a dungeon before with less men, and that place’s boss was also an S-rank monster.”

“But that guy wasn’t a dragon! Dragons are—”

“The peak of strength in the monster world, I know. But consider this. Why would they place dragons and non-dragons at the same rank? Because their strength isn’t that different from each other. Sure, a dragon might be stronger, but not by much. So your worry is unfounded. A dragon isn’t this unbelievable strong beast like you imagine. In fact, this fight should be easier, since we would be doing it in an open field. That dungeon, with its tight space, had far less room for maneuverability.”

The two adventurers, Arcturus and Red, were arguing away from the ears and eyes of Hugo and Flameu. Red was somewhat of the second-in-command to the whole clan. He was the leader of the Desert Bandits, an A-rank party. However, his own ability could be considered S-rank. It’s just that his subordinates were still stuck at A-rank, so the party stayed at that classification.

“Hmph, you and your cravings for women. Aren’t Sylphy and Marka enough for you?”

The two names the beastkin mentioned were part of Arcturus’ party. Sylphy was the party’s archer—a beautiful elven warrior with green clothes and long blonde hair. Marka on the other hand was the party’s rogue—a sexy black-haired tigerkin who was never seen without wearing a pair of short shorts that emphasized her butts to the world. And, just like Red suggested, they were Arcturus’ girlfriends. Even so, the man would still chase and sleep after every beautiful woman that he took interest in. He even frequented brothels and slept with the prostitutes there. To him, there was no shame in doing so. After all, his girlfriends tolerated it. Whenever they pouted out of jealousy, he would just have to grope them in their special places, whisper some sweet nothings into their ears, and they would beg for sex from him right away. Such was the sweet adventuring life that he had.

Ironically however, the clan itself bans any relationships between its members. Supposedly it’s for the sake of preventing arguments and drama that could happen. Many parties have been ruined by one guy preferring one girl, making a different girl jealous, competition between the two happens, etc, etc. In the end, they would disband and split.

Arcturus was the exemption. Mostly because he’s the one calling the shots. And also because he has mastered the art of having two girlfriends while sleeping with other women on the side with barely any repercussions.

“Heh, those two are nice for sure but being with all the time can get boring very quickly. Sylphy would always come just by me simply massaging those large breasts of hers while Marka would always ask me to play with her tail and butt every time. Those two don’t really know how to please a man, you know. But that woman, I have a hunch she’s the type that’s _really good_ in bed.” He finished with a grin.

“Which, I assume, is completely not related to you wanting a redhead in your little harem,” Red remarked. Many times he had heard his friend speaking of that desire to him—a conversation he actually found somewhat annoying, if he were to be honest.

“Hey, redheads are great, you know. There’s just something about those crimson strands that are just so attractive.”

“Alright, alright, I don’t need to hear about that again.” The beastkin sighed. “Look. I trust you as our leader. Don’t let us down just because you want to sleep with some woman.”

“Hey, she’s this kingdom’s court mage. Won’t it be good for us to have some connections with bigwigs up there?”

“Not this kingdom no.” The beastkin shook his head gravely. “Haven’t you heard? The king is an even bigger skirt chaser than you. He would bed every single woman he finds attractive, whether they’re willing or not. And that woman… I would bet 10 gold pieces that she’s part of the king’s harem. You’d think he would be happy if you steal his woman?”

“Steal?” Arcturus laughed. “Oh no. This is just a one-night thing. I know my place. We’re adventurers. The moment we start having relationships with important figures like that, that’s the moment we stop being one. Our freedom will end and we will just be lapdogs of the ruling folks.”

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, an entirely new person barged into the tent they were talking in. It was Sylphy, the beautiful, big-boobed elf Red had just brought up.

“Arcturus, the hunters have come back. And we’re now waiting for you for our strategy meeting.”

Her expression was flawless. From the outside, she looked nothing like the sweaty, needy elf she was whenever she slept with her boyfriend. She simply looked like a haughty, expressionless elf, almost fitting the stereotype to a T.

“Good,” he replied without skipping a beat. “Well, Red.” He put his hand on the bearkin’s shoulder. “I trust your advice on this one, as usual.”

\----------

**Hugo**

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Milord? You look pale.”

“...You know, I can take him on. There’s no need for you to give your body to him like that.”

The alchemist then broke out into a grin.

“Oh my, is that jealousy I sense in your words, Milord? If you want to do it with me too, then apologies, but I would have to refuse. Come back in a few years when you’re older, alright? I’m just not comfortable doing it with a boy. And besides…” She trailed off for a few moments before continuing. “It would be better this way for you, Milord. You wouldn’t draw the ire of the leader of a big adventuring clan like him. Your life as an adventurer would be much harder if you have him having a vendetta against you. They could spread bad rumors about you, and make it hard for you to get into another adventuring party. I know you’re strong but it’s always safer to do your travels in a group. You have other people to watch your back for you after all.”

“Oh, and if you worry about pregnancy, don’t worry. I am an alchemist after all. Contraceptive drugs are well within my skill to make.”

I wanted to respond to her but I simply couldn’t. Because I know what I was feeling was irrational. It was me making her out to be this saint of a person, even though she’s not.

_She’s right. It is better this way. Why do I care if an adult woman have sex with another adult man? It’s not my business. He’s certainly a decently good-looking man. No reason why she shouldn’t be welcome to the idea. After all, it would only be one time thing. He’s not asking for her to be his permanent girlfriend or anything._

Still, I still feel that it’s all wrong. Maybe it’s because of how sheltered I was in my old life. My old self would’ve probably called her a slut or something on that term, but I’ve outgrown that, haven’t I?

“So, what now?” I decided to just change the topic of the conversation.

“Now, we should take a look at the dragon itself, don’t you think?” She smirked. “Just in case.”

“Just in case for what?”

“In case these guys can’t actually defeat it on their own, of course.”

\--------

We then told the nearby adventurer that we wanted to go to the location where the dragon was. Red and Arcturus had disappeared somewhere after our meeting. Probably to discuss their fighting plans.

“You guys better not plan on killing the dragon before us. Well, not like the two of you would be able to anyways, haha.” The man laughed while putting his hands on his waist. He seemed to be a dwarf, judging by his round and stocky, short build. That, and the beard all dwarves seemed to must have.

“Oh, you wouldn’t have to worry about that,” Flameu replied with a smirk. “We would just be there as spectators, nothing more. As this country’s court mage, I would like to see what your clan is capable of after all.”

“Hmm, I see.” The man grinned. “However, if you think of recruiting us as mercenaries, young lady, think again. We don’t like being ordered around. As adventurers, we value our freedom above everything else.”

I can’t help but think that there’s a certain contradiction to that statement though. To me, being part of a large group like this, it just feels like there will always be something that chains you down, whether it’s the group’s rules or even mere peer pressure. To be truly free as an adventurer, I feel, you have to be doing it alone or with a small group.

He then told us where we would need to go. Luckily for us, it didn’t seem to be that far from where the encampment was.

We headed up the mountains as per the man’s directions. As we did, the temperature around us dropped more and more. Luckily, I could cast this spell I had invented in free time, called Warm Breeze. Like the name suggested, it generated warm air around the caster. It was a hybrid spell of fire and wind, but surprisingly, it wasn’t that difficult for me to think it up on my own.

And of course, I could cast the opposite as well. Cold Breeze. I would use it if I ever ended up in a hot region.

“I’m once again impressed by your magical prowess, Milord,” Flameu spoke after I cast the spell with a smile. "I've never known a spell like this exists before. Although, are you sure it's fine for you to continuously cast it? Won't you run out of mana?"

"It's fine," I replied with an easy-going grin. "My mana capacity is pretty good after all." _All thanks to me learning magic from a young age. The more you use magic, the more your capacity increases after all._

"Perhaps you might teach me how to cast it later? I'll pay you for your time, don't worry."

"Eh?" _Me, being a teacher?_

"Or, would you like the payment to be of a… _different_ sort, Milord?"

It was clear as day that she was teasing me as she said it. She fluttered her eyelashes excessively, and she gave that sensual look with upturned eyes that would make any healthy man's loins stir.

Oh, have I told you that she has beautiful and long eyelashes? Accompanied with her pretty emerald eyes, it would deal a fatal blow to any men who were fortunate enough to be given the privilege of seeing them flutter.

She then giggled. Damn, she must have noticed my blush.

Composing myself back, I replied with, "How about a spell exchange? You can use Dimensional Storage right? I’ve been wanting to learn that spell myself, but I’m just never able to get it right. So you teach me that and I’ll teach you my custom spell.” 

“Ah, that could be arranged. Though I was under the assumption that you were already able to cast it. It seems even the talented Lord Pendleton has some magic he’s not good at,” she added with a smirk.

We cut our chitchat as the air around us grew colder. Now there were snow actively falling from the skies, and a strong wind going against the direction where we were heading. _Judging by what that man told us, this is a sign we’re getting near to the dragon._ And indeed, as we grew closer and closer to the X, the more furious the cold wind became, until it became a full-blown blizzard.

And then, we saw it, in a distance, the silhouette of a large white creature. It was sitting at the far end of the valley we were currently on. Thanks to the elevation being higher there than here, we could get a clearer look at it than otherwise possible.

_Oh wow, that’s… That’s big. That’s really big._

The biggest monster I had fought so far was the wyverns. And they were dwarfed in size in comparison to this fully adult dragon right in front of us. Or at least, that’s what it seemed. Our vision wasn’t that clear, thanks to the weather that no doubt the dragon was creating.

_It doesn’t seem to move though. Is it sleeping or something?_

“Milord, it would be dangerous for us to go further. We should turn back now and look for a better vantage point where we could witness the fight of those adventurers.”

_Yeah, she’s right. Wouldn’t want to wake up the dragon._

We then made a beeline to the side of the valley, climbing up the rocks there to survey the area from a higher vantage point. Using my Wind Spell, I helped her in the process. And I was rewarded by multiple lovely sightings of her black lace panties as her skirt got lifted upwards.

_Mature panties really are the best… even though frilly white ones are great as well… Honestly, as long as they're tight-fitting, I'm fine with any kinds of panties...._

Once we reached the top, we could see that the fight would indeed take place inside a valley, with two tall cliffs on each side. Pros: It was large enough that there was plenty of room to dodge out of the way from the dragon's attacks. Cons: Meaning, the only direction of retreat is to go back the way we came.

“So, what now?” I glanced at Flameu. “We just wait here until they finish the job?”

“Yes,” she replied with a smirk. “We should be safe here. Relatively speaking anyways. I’m sure the dragon could just fly here and blast us with its frost breath if it so chooses. But, as long as we don’t attack it as well, it should leave us alone. Its attention would be wholly spent on the people who are currently assaulting it after all.”

“True enough.” I stated my agreement with her.

We then stayed up there for a while, making sure to survey every inch of the place as much as we could. After we found a place where we could see the battlefield relatively well, while still remaining safe, we waited until the adventurers arrived.

And it didn't take long for them to do so. One by one, the adventurers entered the valley. As expected, Arcturus was the one leading them, giving them commands as they stood before them. I couldn’t really hear what he was saying, but judging by how they split up afterwards, it was clear that they tend to give the high ground to mages and archers, while the frontline fighters stood on the low ground. _A classic formation. The latter draws aggro while the former DPS it from afar._

“Oh, it’s you people.”

One of the groups that split up met up with us. Just like I predicted, they were a group that consisted of archers, mages, and a priest. If I had to guess, the latter was only there as a precaution, in case they messed up drawing the aggro and the dragon ended up attacking their group instead.

Their leader was a blonde blue-eyed elven woman, and a beautiful one, if I do say so myself. I would not presume to know the age of an elf, but in human years, she was around mid-twenties, if I had to guess. Basically, a big-boobed elf onee-san that I certainly would not mind cuddling with. She wore a green flowing dress that showed a _generous_ amount of legs, thanks to her _incredibly_ short miniskirt. Her shoes were peculiar, also green but with wings on the sides. And she carried with her a bow, which signified her archer role.

"You really are going to stay here just to watch us do our job?" She crossed her hands with a somewhat exasperated expression. 

"Of course," Flameu replied with a smirk. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Not here. We're going to use this space. Go higher up."

"Ah, very well. We shall remove ourselves from the premises then."

And so we surrendered the spot. To think that they were actually going to use it though, that meant they would have to fire their spells and arrows through a really long range. Spells and arrows both weaken the further they are from their target, especially in a windy, snowy weather like this. Oh, and speaking of that, caught many glimpses of the elf’s green panties as her skirt fluttered. Very nice. Though kinda cliched as the color just followed the rest of her attire.

We climbed ever upwards. At this height, we really could no longer see well what’s going on all the way down there, which was a shame.

Eventually, we stopped at another point, and we watched as the mages and archers spread themselves all around the cliffs, while the knights and swordsmen stood on the large valley in the middle.

_Kinda wish I had a snack with me right now. I would ask for a popcorn but that’s obviously not a thing in this world._

I took out some hard bread from my bag though. Hard breads were the common food for adventurers. They weren’t delicious. Not in the slightest. But they could keep themselves in a relatively good quality for a decent amount of time. Still, I warmed it up a bit using my magic before munching it. Thankfully, after all these months adventuring, I was already used to eating such food.

And then, I relaxed and watched the ensuing combat.


	109. Frost Dragon

**Arcturus**

The man watched as his subordinates moved into position, with each member of his party leading their own squads of adventurers. In a clan subjugation quest like this, it would be more effective to fight that way, instead of each party sticking to their own groups. Of course, it could only be accomplished by a well-trained clan, not one that had been just formed. He had been running this joint for about five years now, and they had been in many quests together, so they certainly had many experiences under their belts—fights where the enemy was easier or harder than they had expected, fights where they were taken by surprise, etc. This was the first time they would be tackling a dragon though. But Arcturus was confident. With their numbers and skills, they should be able to pull it off.

“...You’re grinning. I don’t like that.”

His friend, Red, was standing beside him, as he too oversaw the movements of the clan. As second-in-command, he would be in charge of the frontline fighters, while Arcturus himself would be the commanding leader that oversaw every group. Of course, Red himself was a frontline fighter—a brawler to be exact, who fought in a manner so terrifyingly brutal that he started to earn himself the nickname of Red The Savage.

"What?" He turned to face his friend. "Aren't you excited? We're going to fight a dragon at last! That's the dream of every adventurer! 'Tis a deed that is told in songs and poems!"

The beastman couldn't exactly disagree with his friend. After all, he himself was excited for their upcoming fight. Back home, he had a beastwoman of high stature whom he was fond of, to the point that he could only get her hand in marriage if he proved to his folks that he was a worthy enough warrior to bed her. And one way to do that was to go on a dragonslaying quest and succeed.

He just hoped that this quest still counts, even if he needs the help of a whole adventurer clan to do it.

"Be vigilant. Do not celebrate until the beast is truly dead. And be ready to retreat as well, if the situation grows unfavorable, just like we have planned."

"I know, I know. Sheesh, for a big, strong guy, you sure are a worrywart. You know, that's why you're not popular with the ladies."

"Oh, shut your trap. You know I already have my sweetheart back home."

The two stopped their banter once they saw all of their forces were in position. They then went forward with the frontline fighters, inching closer and closer to the dragon. Their goal was simple—to get as close as they could to the monster before waking it up. They would have the pre-emptive attack, and the dragon would be wholly occupied by the fighters to not attack the mages and archers. Ideally, it wouldn't fly either, making its wings a high priority target.

Arcturus' other girlfriend, Marka, was there as well. She was an expert at fighting in close range using her dual daggers. Her role would be to hit the dragon at its weak spots as much as she could without putting herself in danger. Let the fully-armored warriors receive the attacks of the dragon.

Unfortunately for them, they didn’t get far until the dragon noticed their presence.

“Ready yourselves! It’s waking up!” Arcturus yelled, readying his longsword. He didn’t really have formal training in either of the two big sword schools, but if one were to examine his style, they would notice that he utilized a mixture of the two. Sometimes he would go on full offense, mimicking Lancelot-style, while at other times, he would be on the defensive, mimicking Galahad-style. It’s fair to say that his skill on both of them was around Adept-rank.

The dragon stirred, opening its blue eyes, scanning the threat that lay before it. Immediately the blizzard intensified. It didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest by it. It could clearly see through the harsh weather, while its opponents could not do the same.

Here, the archers and mages were readying their bows and spells. However, they didn’t fire yet. The frontline fighters had to be the one to attack first, to ensure that the dragon’s attention would be locked on to them.

“Charge!”

With that yell, Arcturus ran forward, with Red following beside him. The two became the vanguards of the frontline fighters, confident that they would be able to handle whatever attacks the dragon sent out to them. That way, the rest of their group would be able to see the way the dragon fought, lessening the chance that they would be caught off-guard by its assault.

The dragon, realizing that there were these lowly menfolk going after its life, opened by blasting the two with its ice breath. However, thanks to the way it had to lift up its head first, the attack was wholly choreographed, allowing an easy dodge for the two.

Arcturus went to the left, while Red went to the right. Arcturus then sent a series of sword slashes towards the creature, allowing Red to close in the gap as the dragon was preoccupied with blocking said slashes with its tail.

Red roared as his claws extended from his nails. Like a true bearkin, he began scraping the dragon’s scales, slashing it over and over without hesitation.

Only to find out that his brutal blows were no match against its toughness.

_Grr, not strong enough._

Knowing that he was outmatched, he quickly retreated, right before the dragon swung its tail at him.

A dragon is well-known to be impervious to physical attacks. Your best bet is to kill it using magic, and even then, the creature still resists it well enough that you need a group of magicians to constantly bombard it with spells until it perishes. 

Arcturus’ slashes suffered the same fate. He too was not strong enough to deal any significant damage to the dragon.

Even so, it was enough. The dragon’s attention was now on them. And now, the mages and archers could attack.

“Archers! Fire at will! Target the dragon!” Sylphy yelled. 

Of course, every single archer there was equipped with armor-piercing arrows, intended to be used against highly armored foe. They would have used mithril arrows… if they actually had money for such a frivolous thing.

“Mages! Blast that creature with your flames!”

The one that led the mages was a gnome mage named Talkin. He was part of Arcturus’ party, the Quiet Slayers, and, just like every one of its members, he was also an S-rank Adventurer. Like most gnomes, he was short and possessed a cute feature akin to a child. Don’t let this make you underestimate him however, as he was a Master-level Fire mage.

He raised his staff high onto the air as he began chanting for his strongest spell, Explosion. The other mages followed suit, through they chanted Advanced-level Fire spells instead, not being Master-level mages themselves.

And then, once Arcturus and Red were well out of the blast radius, the mages let loose.

The dragon was enveloped in a blizzard of flames. It cried in pain as its skin and insides were burned alive. As a frost dragon, it didn’t have the same level of flame resistance as its brothers, especially the flame ones.

As it recovered, the archers followed suit, raining their arrows on the creature, knowing that its scales should be weakened from all the spells that just hit it. It roared once again, as not one or two or three but many arrows managed to pierce its scales, injuring the flesh that laid hidden beneath it.

It wasn’t down for the count yet though. Not even close.

It then knew what had to be the one. These insects on the ground weren’t the real threat! It was the other insects who could breathe fire just like its brethren!

It then began raising his wings in an attempt to fly. However…

“Don’t let it get away! Attack it!” Arcturus yelled.

The fighters immediately swarmed towards the weakened dragon. Their goal? Dogpile on the creature, attacking its wings as much as they could so that it would be unable to fly. With great speed, Marka threw her poisoned dagger to where the dragon’s wings connected to its body. It was coated with a certain alchemical compound that would trigger paralysis. The Quiet Slayers didn’t really have an alchemist as part of their party, but a couple members of the Emerald Exodus were of that occupation. They would have coated the arrows and swords with said poison as well, but they chose to instead make a hyper-concentrated version of it, in the hopes that it would be able to pierce the extremely high poison resistance of a dragon. To produce the same poison for everyone would mean months of preparation, so Arcturus voted against that.

The dragon was angry now. These flies were becoming more and more of an annoyance. It swept its tails, swung its claws, and breathed its frost, but none of its attacks seemed to be effective. Any wounds they suffered would be near instantaneously healed by their clerics. It tried biting them as well, but they just knew to keep out from its biting range at all times. Even the blizzard it was producing off its body didn’t make them falter.

And, as it sensed that its movements were slowing, as more and more minor blows landed on his body, it started to feel fear. It knew that there was a chance it could be defeated by these flies now.

And so, it had no choice. It had to call for aid.

“Graaah!”

When it saw an opening, it let out the biggest roar that it had ever produced throughout the entire battle.

And then, the snowy ground itself shook, as one by one, frost drakes burst forth out of it.

Unbeknownst to them, all this time, they had been standing above a frost dragon's breeding nest.

The dragon was a she, and she had just laid down multiple frost drake eggs not too long ago. That's why she had moved into this mountain. Because the way frost dragon works, every time the female became pregnant from the male, she would leave in search of a new nest. And this mountain just happened to be chosen. She made the mountain snowy, buried the eggs under a deep and hard layer of snow, and then waited until they hatched.

And now, these drakes—they were a new batch that had just popped out of their eggs. Not that new, as they were around one month old or so, but like all dragons, they were already strong even though they were terribly young, especially in dragon years. And, like most frost drakes, they spent most of their time sleeping under a thick layer of snow, only coming out to hunt (the mother didn’t feed them anything). They did that until they got older, where they would actually start to sleep on the surface.

This, of course, was a knowledge most adventurers were unaware of. Not a lot of people had to fight dragons, and even less had the courage to examine how a dragon works biologically. And their scouting had been less than ideal, thanks to Arcturus telling them to cut it short so that he could sleep with Flameu tonight.

In short, this was something they were completely unprepared for.

“W-what? What is going on?”

“Drakes! There are drakes everywhere!”

The frontline fighters began to panic. This wasn’t in their plan. Not to mention that they were now flanked, with the dragon at the front and the drakes at the back.

“Retreat! Retreat!” Arcturus yelled. He knew that it was unwise to continue their fight in this condition, even though they were so close to finishing off the mother dragon.

The mages and archers were frazzled as well. They didn’t know whether they should attack the drakes or the dragon now. Thankfully, Sylphy and Tarkin were there to give them the orders they desperately needed.

“Cover their retreat!” Sylphy yelled with a calm and collected look. “Aim at the drakes that could cut off their escape path!”

“Resume firing at the dragon!” Talkin shouted. “Do not let it chase after them!”

The drakes were no slouch. Being A-ranked monsters, they were quite capable of being real threats to the frontline fighters, who themselves were A-ranks themselves. Arcturus and Red quickly moved to the left and right of the group, with the former cutting any drakes that got close with his sword while the latter used his claws and bear-like hands to punch, stab, and grapple the drakes to their death. The warriors wearing heavy armors and shields moved to the sides as well, blocking any of the drakes’ attacks from reaching their weaker compatriots, while the light-armored fighters moved forward the fastest, clearing the route of their retreat from the drakes.

It would have worked, if not for the fact that the dragon was healthier than they thought.

The moment she realized that they were running away, it lifted its wings and flew. It knew that the real threat was still the ants who had barraged her with flames and arrows.

Both the elf and the gnome’s eyes widened in horror as they realized what this meant.

“Retreat! RETREAT!”

The dragon roared, and she immediately went after one of the groups. It didn’t matter to her which one. She only knew that she wanted to rend their flesh and bones asunder.

Unfortunately, it was the elf’s archer squad whom she had chosen.

The archers immediately scattered. However, two of them were too late to react, and they were swallowed by the dragon’s frost breath, turned into solid ice statues. Another two then fell, with one actually being a cleric posted there just in case. The archer desperately fired her arrows towards the dragon, while the cleric started to chant his Barrier spell. It didn’t work. The dragon might feel some pain from the former’s attacks, but it was too furious to care. With her claws, they were rendered mere chunks of flesh as her attack connected. The cleric wasn’t able to erect his barrier in time—a weakness that most mages had.

“Katerina! Rafael!” Sylphy yelled. She knew those two people. She wouldn't say they were close friends or anything, but they were certainly companions-at-arms that had fought through many battles together before.

In tearful anger, the elf fired off her bow in succession. If arrows couldn’t pierce the dragon’s scales, then there was only one way her attacks would be able to do any significant damage. And that is, to aim down its throat right as it was about to fire off her frost breath. It was a completely reckless and foolish plan, and yet, she justified it in her head. _I have to buy the others time!_ She told herself. As their leader, she had a duty to protect them after all.

_There!_

Right as the dragon opened her mouth, she launched her arrow. It actually managed to enter its throat, landing at the ceiling of its inner mouth.

And yet, it didn’t stop. It still launched its frost breath anyways. She had expected it to scream in pain, thus cancelling its attack. She had underestimated a dragon’s veracity, and she was about to pay the price.

There was a common saying that you would see your life flash in your eyes as death came for you. And that was exactly what the elf was seeing at that very point. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, surrendering to her fate.

Only, the attack never came. Instead, a boy, his cloak flowing through the wind, came out of nowhere and somehow blocked the attack, redirecting it to the sides, allowing it to pass around them without harming a single hair in the process.

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

It was the boy that court mage came with.

“Y-you… w-why?”

The boy didn’t answer. Instead, as the frost attack dissipated, he dispelled his protective wall, firing what looked like an offensive spell towards the dragon.

“W-what… what was that?!”

She couldn’t even see the attack. She only heard a loud sound, almost like an explosion, before the dragon reeled in pain, as the invisible attack seemingly hit it right on its head.

To her surprise, she saw it pouring out. Dragon blood, flowing out from its forehead.

It roared, and it decided to flee. The boy wasn't finished however. As the dragon retreated, he fired another of the same spell. And another. And another.

And now, she could see it. He seemed to be firing what looked like a sphere of air at a speed so fast her eyes could barely perceive it.

Two of them landed—one on each wings. The dragon lost its balance and fell from the skies as a result.

For the very first time in her long life as an elf, she saw a dragon being treated like this. There was no doubt about this. Whoever this person was, he was far superior in strength than any of them were. Not even their Master-level gnome mage could compete.

_T-this boy… just who is he?_

“Get your friends out of here and run. The dragon will attack again once it heals his wound,” he told her without even looking back. He knew about the regenerative ability of a dragon. Not only that it was tough to damage, but it could heal any damages it received overtime as well. No wonder it became the top monster of the Holy Continent.

“R-right.” She could only nod. She then saw him jumping off the cliff, downwards towards the frontline fighters who were no doubt in the process of being overwhelmed by the drakes.

Wind Wall. It was a spell the boy had invented on the months of travel he had ever since he fulfilled his duty as the second Imperial Princess' hired bodyguard. By manipulating air pressure, he created a highly dense air that was fully solid. He had tested its durability on a couple of monsters on his way here, and from what he had learned, he knew that it worked similarly to a cleric’s Barrier spell. The more he focused on it, the stronger it would be. He didn’t know whether it would be able to block a dragon’s breath attack though. Yet he jumped in anyways. He couldn’t just let the elf die after all.

The boy didn’t realize it there, as he was too occupied by his own relief that his spell actually worked against a dragon, but he had just made a really cool heroic entrance—something that he had always dreamed on doing, especially when it’s done to rescue a busty damsel-in-distress like the elf. And he didn’t realize it afterwards either, as he knew he had to move fast if he was going to save the rest of these people, and to kill the dragon at the same time.

He just might be at his coolest when he doesn’t try to be cool after all.


	110. Frost Dragon Pt. 2

Down there, the battle had turned completely chaotic. The drakes overwhelmed the fighters to the point that they had no time to regroup and form a proper formation. One by one men and women succumbed to the drakes’ relentless assault as they obeyed their mother’s order. The problem was their number. There were at least more than sixty of them, outnumbering the fighters entirely.

“Aaarghhh, just die already, you stupid overgrown lizards!” Marka yelled as she stabbed another drake on its throat. The tigerkin was one of the more capable fighters, able to handle a small number of drakes on her own. Arcturus and Red were the same, with each fighting their own small groups of drakes, unable to come to aid against the others. The drakes knew instinctively that they were high priority targets, and that it would be wise to deal with them right away to minimize their own losses. Such was the intelligence of A-rank monsters.

“Uwaaahh!”

“H-help! Help!”

She cursed inwardly. The situation had gone from excellent to the absolute worst in just mere seconds. How were they supposed to know that there were these many drakes just sleeping underneath the snow like this? And since when do drakes do that anyways? She’d never heard of such behaviour before. It fits more for insects rather than drakes, which are basically miniature dragons. And no dragons would ever do something this clever, like setting up an ambush. They’re proud monsters. They would want to boast their strength as they devour their prey.

“Arcturus! Prioritize our retreat! I’ll draw their attention!” Red yelled.

“G-got it!” Arcturus replied as he slashed another one of the drakes. Three down. But there was still so much to fight. And he was still surrounded by them. Sooner or later, he would run out of stamina and then they would pounce on him for the killing blow.

In all his career as an adventurer, it was the very first time he ended up in a situation as dire as this. If his past self was told to examine the situation they were currently in, he would definitely reply with, “Those guys are dead. No way they can get out of that situation without suffering heavy losses. Well, it’s their own fault though. They didn’t properly scout the enemy and the battlefield first before engaging.” So now, he had no idea what to do. Not in the slightest. He was so preoccupied with his despair that he had forgotten entirely how the other groups that were not with him could be in a similar situation, as there was no one to keep the attention of the dragon now. He even forgot how his elf girlfriend and his gnome teammate were there. All the thoughts in his head right now were a mixture of disbelief and fear—fear for his own life, that is.

Red on the other hand was different. Raised to value honor in high esteem, he knew that it’s his job, no, duty, to ensure the survival of as many people as possible, even if it means his own death, even as his animal instinct screamed at him to flee.

As for Marka, well…

“Gah!”

The rouge screamed in pain as one of the drakes barely managed to swipe at her right leg. Even so, it left a wide bleeding gash, making her momentarily kneel down before moving back up once again. She knew she couldn’t rest. Not when she was still surrounded like this. She had tried many times to escape using her acrobatics, but the drakes were fast **and** smart enough to block every single one of her attempts.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I’m not going to die here!”

Even so, she knew that her movements were becoming slower, not just from the pain but also from the blood loss she was currently experiencing. There was no cleric nearby that could heal her, and there was no time to put on the healing salve she got on her pocket either.

And then, another blow landed. This time, it was a swing of the tail, landing right on her stomach.

She couldn’t even scream. She was sent flying away from the crowd of drakes that surrounded her, as her body barreled down the snow like a ragdoll. The drakes, naturally, gave chase, knowing that this was the perfect chance for them to kill her.

She couldn’t see. She couldn’t hear. Every inch of her body hurt. She weakly lifted herself with her arms, seeing Arcturus fighting his set of drakes.

“A-Arcturus… h-help…”

Her voice barely came out. Her voice and breath were taken away by the blood that invaded her mouth. If he had panicked less, and thought more about the others over just himself, he might have noticed her laying there. However, as he was now, he had stopped being their leader entirely. He was just another adventurer, fighting to survive another day.

Alas, it was not to be.

She could hear them—the wing flaps of the drakes coming to get her.

_H-heh, so this is it, huh? Not a bad way to go, if I do say so myself._

With a bitter grin, she resigned herself to her fate.

Only for the drakes to never come. Instead, she could hear what sounded like muffled explosions, followed by the pained roars of the monsters.

And then, she felt a warm hand embracing her, turning her around to face away from the snow.

_A-a fairy? W-why—why is a fairy here? A-am I hallucinating?_

The fairy then lifted her up from the snow. She could feel warm liquid covering her entire body. Immediately her pain lessened as her wounds closed. A ball of water also appeared in front of her. She knew what she had to do. She opened her mouth and the ball gently entered, melting inside her mouth, returning back to the texture of normal drinking water. She drank it greedily and immediately she felt her internal injuries heal as well.

_This fairy… she's—she's healing me!_

It wasn’t just her that was awed by her presence. Everyone, even the drakes, were mesmerized by the sudden appearance of the fairy.

Well, her, and her master.

“Boom Orbit!”

Hugo raised his wand to the air, and immediately, _something_ rapidly circled around him. They couldn’t figure out what that something was, just because they couldn’t keep up with its speed. It spun so fast it was as if he was surrounded by a full circle of it.

The drakes didn't know what the mage was doing. They only knew that it was a spell, and the best way to shut down a spell attack was to kill the caster right away.

And so they did, with some lunging forward with their fangs and others readying their frost breaths.

Only for them to meet their doom.

"Gyaaaahhh!"

Every single drake that charged against the mage was destroyed by the spinning spell, as it tore through their bodies like it was made out of paper. Gory chunks of their flesh flew through the air, but none touched the mage himself.

The other drakes, realizing the danger they were in, immediately opted for a retreat. Only for them to meet the same fate as the spell expanded.

The fairy let the beastgirl down. In time, she would recover on her own. But now, there were others to tend to..

Marka could only watch in disbelief as the mage resumed hunting the drakes one by one as they were nothing. Never before had she encountered a fighter this strong, and this fierce. And he looked like a mere boy too, barely out from the cusp of puberty. How could one be so young yet so talented in magic?

The drakes immediately communicated to their brethren that the mage was their highest priority, and so they stopped fighting the other adventurers and went after him exclusively. This allowed the remaining survivors to watch as the mage slaughtered the drakes as if they were mere E-rank monsters. Both Arcturus and Red were part of that crowd, with the former rendered speechless with his mouth wide open and the latter grinning in awe at the display of strength in front of him.

And so, not before long, there were no drakes left. 

The dragon? She was being kept busy by the mages, who had switched into hit-and-run tactics, barraging the dragon with quick and low-level spells. Thanks to the wounds the mage had inflicted into her, she was far more susceptible to their attacks. As a result, she had no opportunity to help her children from being slaughtered by the mage.

And of course, said mage was going to take care of her as well.

With the fairy left behind, as she went around healing the injured, he charged forward, flying upwards using his wind spell. He then landed on a cliff near the dragon, where he could get a good aim towards the beast. The dragon, of course, noticed him coming. She let out a screech as she changed her course, going straight towards the mage. She lifted her head as she charged a full-power Frost Breath. She was going all out, so it should be able to reach the mage just fine.

Without hesitation, the mage raised his wand and aimed it straight towards the creature before it could fire its attack.

“Boom Spiral!”

Like the spell he used before, he created a cannon-like compressed air in front of him before launching it at great speed. However, instead of going in circles around him, it instead fired off forward towards the dragon. And not on a straight line either. Instead, like its name suggested, it spun like a spiral.

The dragon launched its breath and it met the spell head on. She was going to just let her breath swallow it whole, but she knew better to underestimate the mage. She had experienced just how powerful the spells that impacted her body, and so she knew that there was a high chance his spell would just go through her breath, even a full-power one. And so she cut her breath short and promptly performed an evasive maneuver, by diving downwards in a sharp 90 degrees turn.

Only for the spell to hit her anyways, right at her spine. Thanks to the trajectory of the spell, it had a much higher chance of hitting a moving target than its normal, straight-line counterpart.

“Graaahhhhhgghhh!”

It roared as it fell down from the skies. The mage, who had dodged out of the way of the cold blast using a movement that no mage should be expected to do, followed suit. He aimed his wand at her once again, and barraged her with spells as he fell. This time, it was the straight line version, and having lost control of her flight, she couldn’t dodge a single one of his hits. Pain enveloped her entire body as she felt her very own body filling up with holes.

She had to abandon her pride and run away. This insect… no, this superior creature was too much for her.

The moment she hit the snow, she immediately used every single one of her remaining strength to conjure up the fiercest blizzard that she could. Using it as a cover, she then began burrowing into the snow. She couldn’t escape to the skies. She could only escape to the earth like a lowly worm.

Of course, the mage was not going to let that happen. The level of blizzard that the dragon generated… it couldn’t compare to the blizzard that his nemesis had made that fateful day. And the technique of burrowing into the snow… he was well acquainted with that as well.

And he was not going to make the same mistake.

“Magma Burst!”

He aimed his wand at where the dragon was burrowing, and he hit the jackpot. The dragon screamed as the lava pushed her out of the snow, melting it, turning it into water and then into steam near instantaneously. 

It was time for the finishing blow. Without mercy, he bombarded her with his Boom Rifle, aiming at where her brain should be located. One after one after one after one landed, piercing even her thick hard skull. He didn’t stop until the dragon stopped screaming, and her body turned into an unmoving corpse, not budging even an inch.

And thus, the dragon was dead.

...

At first, silence. The adventurers didn’t know how they should react, with some even thinking that they must have been hallucinating, and that this was all just their mind going crazy from the fear of death. After all, they had just seen a feat they thought was completely impossible. For starters, one man going against that many drakes and a dragon, and winning without breaking a sweat, that was the stuff of legends—something bards and minstrels would sing and dance to. For some of them who came from the Holy Empire, they might remember the tales of Lord Siegfried Falkenberg, the Dragonslayer. He gained said title from singlehandedly defeating a horde of Fire Dragons that attacked one of the Empire's border cities. He earned his widespread fame from it, and even to this day, traveling performers would still sing and dance to his name. But everyone also knew that he was an Imperial Knight. Those seven were supposed to be insanely strong. One could even say they were this era's heroes, protecting the Empire and its citizens from any evil that might encroach upon it.

But this? He was just a kid! A no-name C-rank adventurer! He should be much weaker than them! And yet, here they are, watching it happen right with their own eyes.

All the drakes were now dead, along with the mother dragon. They were saved. By this young man they knew nothing about.

The blizzard stopped as the influence of the dragon was lifted from the area. And, as if on cue, it snapped them out of their daze as they promptly burst into cheers, laughing and crying for the fact that they had just been saved from the creeping hands of Death.

And of course, for those who could run, they all ran towards the young mage.

“Y-you are amazing, boy! How could you do all that on your own?”

“I’ve never seen a magician fight like that before!”

“Oh thank you! Thank you so much! I’m too young to die! I don’t even have a girlfriend yet!”

The boy broke out into a smile.

\-------

**Hugo**

_I-I did it! I actually did it! I can’t believe it! To slay a dragon like that on my own, I thought it was still too much for me! Since when I have gotten this strong?_

_No. It’s not just me. The dragon was already weakened from all the arrows and magic it had received. That’s why my spells were that effective against it. Its defenses were no longer at 100%. I shouldn’t get too cocky._

_Still, with all these praises, it’s hard not to let it get into your head a little._

I could feel my face reddening from all the attention I was receiving. “H-hey, guys, it’s not all me, alright? You guys have weakened the dragon beforehand. That’s why I was able to win so easily.”

None of them really bought that excuse. One by one they thanked me, patting me in the back so many times that it started to hurt. Some of them even decided to lift me up and throw me up on the air (thankfully catching me on the way back). As I flew, I noticed the bearkin from before standing with a wide grin on his face, And Arcturus—he had a large smile of relief on his face.

"WHAT ARE YOU CHEERING HIM FOR?"

And just like that, the festivities ended.

The one who shouted was the tigerkin woman I just saved. In stark contrast with the others, she was furious. Her tail was standing up and her ears were all pointy.

“Look around you! Not all of you finished this battle alive! And you think this is any time for celebration?” The crowd was speechless as their senses returned to them. “And you!” She pointed straight at me as she shouted. “You’re the kid that came with that court mage, right? If you are this strong, then you should’ve joined the fight right away! Then this whole mess wouldn’t happen in the first place!”

She was right. I stood by until things got worse. Only then I moved to act, and by then, I wasn’t fast enough to save every single one of them.

“You’re being quite presumptuous, aren’t you, little kitten?”

The one who spoke was, to my surprise, Flameu. She was walking from the distance where our vantage point had been. I had left her there on her own as I decided to go and help the adventurers. In retrospect though, I don’t believe she joined the battle in the slightest. Or maybe she did, casting her spells from a distance without me noticing. She confidently said before that she could handle a dragon, but maybe she expected me to be on the frontline while she casts her spells or throws her poisons. That’s how alchemists are supposed to fight, right? I haven’t seen one fighting to be honest. She didn’t share the mobility I had, so no wonder she didn’t get a real chance to show off her skills. She would have to slowly descent down the cliffs while I could just jump downwards.

“It was your leader who asked us not to interfere. And so we chose not to. It was only due to the kindness of Lord Pendleton that you and your little band of adventurers were saved from certain death.”

_There it is again. Her smug smile._

“Arcturus! Is that true?!” She immediately switched the target of her rage.

“Y-yeah, that’s true,” He sheepishly answered. “They want the dragon’s heart. I can’t just give it to them, can I? You know how valuable it is in the market.”

“You lied! You told me that they didn’t want to fight, that they were relying on us to kill the dragon! You didn’t tell me that they offered to fight.” Her voice only got louder. She wasn’t there when we had our short negotiation with the man. And I assume Arcturus didn’t raise the issue on the strategy meeting they must have before they went here. And the other adventurers who saw it didn’t tell her anything either.

“W-well, it’s because if you know, you’re going to—”

“Because, our dear Arcturus here wants to sleep with Ms. Court Mage. He’ll give her the dragon heart and he told her that she had to offer her body in return.”

The chilling voice belonged to the busty elf—another woman I saved back at the fight. She had descended down the cliff with her remaining forces, and she was pretty much drilling Arcturus’ head just by her stare.

_Huh, so she knows. Maybe unlike the tiger lady, she got to learn it from someone. Don’t think she was there as well when we met with the man._

“You!” Without hesitation, the beastkin grabbed Arcturus’ collar. She was shorter than him so instead of lifting him up, she instead pulled him down. “I’ve tolerated your womanizing ways all this time. But now, not only you betrayed my trust and Slyphy’s, but you also endangered the entire clan because of it. You know how many of us have died because of you?” Her hand was shaking at this point, with tears pooling in her eyes. She then pushed him to the ground.

_...Ah, I think I get it. She must be his lover or something._

“It was a mistake for me to trust you, Arcturus,” the elf followed the beastkin’s assault. “I’m fine with you frequenting brothels, knowing how lustful human men could be to the point that two women aren’t enough. But this? This is pathetic.”

_And the elf is another lover of his too? Holy shit, this lucky bastard. Those two are gorgeous! And they actually let him play around with other women as well?_

My dislike towards the man just increased two-fold.

Suddenly, I felt a hand resting on my right shoulder.

“Lord Pendleton. Let’s leave this unsightly quarrel, shall we? We have a cure to synthesize after all.” Flameu said with a smirk.

_Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot!_

We then slipped out of the crowd as we heard the yelling and shouting continued. The other adventurers seemed to be unhappy with his decision as well, especially since some of them had lost their comrades because of it. Personally though, I wouldn’t blame him entirely for this whole mess. I didn’t have any idea that frost drakes could do that either. Still, I couldn’t help but feel that he deserved it as well, trying to make Flameu sleep with him, using the lives of the infected villagers as a bargaining chip.

Honestly, if adventurers are supposed to be selfish like him, then I would rather stop being one.


	111. Obtaining A Lead

We now stood in front of a corpse of a dead dragon. Up close, it was even more impressive than before. It easily dwarfed our sizes combined together. If I were to compare it, its size was larger than my old house. _To think that I actually managed to take down a beast like this…_

“Milord, please, let me do all the work. It’s the least I can do for not being of any help in your battle before.”

“Wait, are you sure you can cut through its scales? It’s really hard, you know.”

“Oh, I have my ways.”

Using her staff, she manifested what looked to be a bottle of liquid out of thin air, landing perfectly nicely within the grip of her left hand. Dimensional Storage, obviously. Conveniently for her, the dragon had died with its body resting sideways, allowing her easy access to its chest where its heart should be located.

“And here... we... go.”

She poured the contents of the bottle on the chest of the beast. And then…

_Shhhhhhhhhh…_

My eyes widened. _It melts! The scale layer where she poured the liquid on… it just melts!_

“This, Milord, is a special kind of acid I concocted myself, designed to corrode even the sturdiest armor. And, as you can see, it can even melt dragon scales as well. Isn't it just wonderful?"

 _I_ gulped. That _smile… am I really sure she's not some sort of a mad scientist?_

She then summoned a big knife from her storage, before gutting through the now soft and exposed flesh of the dragon. Betraying her dainty look, she tore through it like a butcher, not even caring that some of the blood went onto her clothes and even her face. And then, she reached in, deep with both hands (she had thrown the big knife to the ground now), to the point that nearly her entire arms were swallowed by the dragon’s corpse. She then gingerly pulled them out, carrying with them a giant-sized heart, around the size of a basketball. And not only that, but the thing was still beating as well. I don’t know how that works, biologically speaking, but a dragon should not obey the normal laws of biology in the first place.

“Look, Milord. The heart of a dragon. Isn’t it wonderful, how it still beats like this even though its owner is dead already?”

The way she tore through flesh with her knife like it was nothing. The way she wasn’t bothered in the slightest from bathing in dragon blood. And the way she grinned in the most ominous manner as she proudly showed off the heart to me—there was no doubt about it. She _is_ a mad alchemist, who probably enjoys dissecting animals and monsters for their body parts.

I should be more bothered by it, but for some odd reason, it… just made her become—I’m not sure what word I should use here—cooler? In my eyes? Yeah, that’s probably it.

I remembered Sherry and how she would kill monsters with her bare hands just to relieve her stress. I remembered how I hugged her, even as she was bathed in their blood. Back then, I didn’t see her as a monster. And now, with this alchemist woman, I didn’t see her as one either. I mean, if you think about it, that kind of personality only makes it easier for her to do her job. A lot of alchemists just gave out requests to adventurers to get the materials they wanted. They don’t want to get their hands dirty. But this lady, I have a hunch that she’s the type to bravely go to faraway places and fight off dangerous monsters on her own, so that she can get her materials on her own. If she can make acids that strong, she can just throw it at monsters and she can probably kill them with it.

_She’s not a bad person. She’s just a hardcore alchemist. And I kinda respect that._

“Y-yeah, that’s pretty cool, I guess." I scratched my chin. _Still pretty gross though._

Using her Dimensional Storage spell, she then made the heart vanish.

"So, Milord, what would you do with the rest of the dragon?"

"Eh? Well, we don't exactly have time to clean it up, do we? So I guess we'll just leave it here for those guys to take."

Her smile suddenly vanished into a frown.

"Those fools? You think they deserve this? After they denied us the heart without me giving my body?"

I gulped. I could sense her vindictiveness dripping with every word.

"I say they don't deserve anything. You're the one who won the fight. They should just be grateful that you have saved your lives."

Deep down however, as selfish as it was, I felt a little sense of relief, as this meant she wasn't the type of woman who would just easily sleep with anyone. She only accepted because people's lives were at stake, and I respected that.

"H-hey, I can't do that! And besides, I can't possibly carry everything back on my own," I retorted.

"Hmm, true enough…" She bit her lip, before returning to a smile. "Milord, you really are too kind. But at the very least, you should take everything from the dragon. You would find them extremely valuable in the market. In fact, an entire dragon corpse for a person would be enough for them to live comfortably without working for an entire year. Isn’t it lovely?”

“With that size though, I don’t think I’ll be able to fit everything to be honest,” I replied with a wry smile. “Isn’t pretty every part of a dragon sellable?” I learned about it from a book about adventuring I read once.

“Well then, how about this? I’ll buy everything from Milord. Every scale, every organs, every bodyparts. Then let me take care of this corpse. I can come back later and take it on my own.”

“Wait, you’re serious? I thought you didn't have any money," I replied.

“Oh, I don’t have it now. But I certainly can procure it later. So yes, you would have to trust me, Milord, to honor my word. And of course, I would need to return to the capital to obtain it, so you would be forced to wait for quite some time until I could pay you back, especially since I would be staying here for a bit. Need to make sure those mosquitoes don't bother the villagers anymore after all."

If I were strapped for cash, I would've rejected this obviously shady proposal. But I still have a decent amount of gold in my wallet, especially after completing that escort quest, so I guess it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if she scammed me out of it.

...Then again, I don’t think she’s the type to do that, judging by how she has been this far. She might have an unsettling smile from time to time, but that’s not enough reason to judge someone.

But there’s still one problem though. I have no plans on staying in this place for long. I want to resume my journey and continue headindg northeast as soon as I can. Not just because it’s the way to the Demon Continent, but also because—

“Milord, judging for your expression, could it be perhaps that you don’t trust me?” She interrupted my thoughts, with a sad expression that I was pretty sure she was faking.

“Oh no, not that. It’s just that… I want to go to the northeast as immediately as I can. I don’t have the time to detour to the capital or to wait here.”

“Oh?” See? Her sad face immediately vanished, replaced by a curious smile. “If I might ask, does Milord have some sort of an urgent business there that you have to take care of?”

“Mmm, not exactly,” I answered. “I just want to get to the World Dungeon there, you see.”

At the northeast end of the continent, near the port where one can take a ship to the Demon Continent, there’s a World Dungeon named Serene Grotto. It was a seaside cave only accessible whenever the tide was at its lowest, which made it less popular than say, the Sky Tower, since that only occurred once every month, when the moon was at its newest.

Of course, my goal there was to get to its depths and get a Dream Orb, so that I could send a message back to Sherry. And if I get an extra, I’ll also use it to send a message to Marina as well, telling her that I am fine and that she shouldn’t worry.

...And I suppose I have to apologize as well. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to do it at a long distance like that. I’ll need to go see her personally and beg her for her forgiveness. Her and Erika’s. Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll even prostrate myself before them.

For me to run away like that, it was unforgivable.

Her smile only grew as a response. “Ah, that makes sense. With the strength that you possess, you would be best doing your adventuring at dungeons like that. Would be a lot more lucrative than just doing normal quests. However, do you truly have to hurry that much? If I were to be honest, Milord, you have been the most pleasant company, and I would love to take you to the capital with me and show you around. It would be a date even. Wouldn’t you be pleased by such an arrangement?”

Here, she fluttered her long and delicate eyelashes as she placed one arm just below her boobs. I was pretty sure she was intentionally pressing said arm downwards, just so said breasts would be pushed upwards, making them more notable.

Yep, she’s flirting with me alright. Which kinda takes me off guard actually. Not that I don’t appreciate such a beautiful woman doing it with me of course.

_Wait, don’t tell me that she’s one of the shota-loving predatory onee-san that Marina warned me about (though I’m pretty sure she’s amongst their ranks as well, at least towards me)?_

_Though, in my shameful opinion, it probably won’t be that bad, being taken advantage by a beautiful older woman… W-wait, what am I thinking? I already have Sherry, you know! Sherry!_

“I’m sorry,” I answered apologetically. “The reason why I need to go there is to get myself a Dream Orb. I… have someone I really need to meet. And I don’t know where they are exactly. So I need to send them a message on where to find me.”

Her curious smile grew to its maximum smile, transforming fully into a grin.

“A Dream Orb?” She paused for a bit, biting her lip as she looked away.

“Do you know what that is?” I asked.

“Of course I do,” she replied, looking a tad offended by my question. “I can’t be a good alchemist if I don’t know all sorts of magic items, can I?” She then walked back and forth a little, seemingly trying hard to remember something, until...

“Ah, good news, Milord! I believe I have met a person in the possession of such an item.”

My heart skipped a beat while my expression brightened. “R-really?”

“It was a few months ago. She came to me, asking for my potions as she heard I was the best alchemist in the capital. Mind you, this was when I was at the royal palace, and yet, she managed to sneak through all the guards completely undetected.”

I nodded, as I listened full-force to her story.

“She was a silver-haired elf, a high elf, perhaps, judging by how long her ears were, which was another peculiar thing about her.”

Yeah, if I remembered correctly, high elves are supposed to be really rare, since most of them are cooped up inside that Forbidden Land of theirs at the far north of the continent. They were so rare to the point that there were all sorts of baseless myths about them, from how seeing one of them was said to bring you good luck to how a high elf’s beauty/handsomeness would instantly make anyone fall in love with them if they ever caught a glimpse at his/her face. However, I imagine it would also lead to terrible stuff like how slave hunters would go to elven lands and hunt for high elves, only to mistake ordinary elves with slightly longer ears as one. After all, the rarer it is, the more pricey it would be.

“So, she was the one who had the Dream Orb?” I asked.

“Yes. She came to me offering that Dream Orb in exchange of me making potions for her.”

“Wait, so did you accept it? That means you got the—”

“Do not rush, Milord. Let me finish my tale first.”

“A-alright.” Oops, got a bit too excited there.

“So, I did not end up accepting it. Why? Because the things she asked would not cost nowhere near the value of selling said orb would provide. And so I refused, telling her that the orb was too much for a payment. She insisted however, saying that she didn’t care about money.”

“So, did you—”

“No, I did not. You see, for someone to eagerly give a valuable item like that… I couldn’t help but be suspicious. What if she stole it from somewhere? If she could sneak into the palace like it was nothing, she could be a master thief for all I know, even if she carried a staff with her. I don’t want that kind of trouble later down the line. So I also insisted that she should pay in another manner.”

“And then?”

“And then, I offered her an alternative. I asked her permission for a short examination on her body. You see, Milord, I have some interest in elf biology. I want to know what makes them live for so long compared to us humans. She accepted, and then, after performing said examination, she left. I never saw her again since.”

Umm, did she just say that she performed an “examination” on her body? That could mean something terrifying or something lewd. And with that ominous smile, I’m not sure which. Judging by how she had flirted with me, she might just be one of those perverted women who like admiring other women’s bodies. 

_Well, not like it’s a bad thing of course..._

”Fortunately for you, Milord,” she continued. “I know for a fact where she most likely went. She asked me of a certain extremely rare plant that could only grow in said region. And since it’s so rare, you might have a good chance of catching up to her before she left.”

_Well, that doesn’t sound too promising. I’ll probably have to be lucky to be able to meet her in time._

_You know, I never considered myself as someone who has good luck. In fact, I often think of myself as someone plagued by misfortune. However, that’s all in the past. I am now fortunate enough to be reborn as this good-looking kid who is a genius in magic by this world’s standards. I may have suffered some calamities in the way but hey, a real life reincarnation like this can’t be ideal like in those novels where the MC would get cheat powers immediately right from the start. So I can no longer wallow in self-pity as an unlucky person. I can only move forward with determination, and change my fortune with my own hands._

_Then again, I do need the Orb, one way or another. I know Sherry said that she would be late in leaving her village, but what if she ends up leaving early anyways? And besides, who knows how far it would take for me to get there? I don’t even know where her village is. And the Demon Continent is actually larger than the Holy Continent._

_There’s one other matter that would be an obstacle, and that is language. The demons mostly used their own language, separate from us humans. I would have to learn some of it beforehand before I get there._

_Another way to do it if I spread my name around openly. My real name. That way, she will know that I'm around._

_Of course, I'll draw attention to myself that way. Am I really ready to fight against any Magocracy assassins that will come after me?_

_...Maybe I am. I just won against a dragon after all, the strongest monster on the Holy Continent._

"Milord?"

"W-what? Uh, yeah, thanks" I forced a grin. Flameu's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. “I’ll go there and try my luck. If she’s a high elf, then it shouldn’t be that hard to find her. Really long ears, silver hair, right?”

She smiled, almost to a laugh. “Correct. And she’s actually pretty short too, but not as short as a gnome. Looks young as well, like an adolescent just a few years older than you.”

_Let me guess, flat-chested?_

“And yes, she doesn’t have the same adult charm as I do. So if you’re expecting a busty elf woman like that girl you just rescued, you’d be on the wrong track, Milord.” She smirked.

... _Dammit, how did she read my mind like that?_

“Got it.” I nodded. “Though I would need for you to pay for this dragon first. I imagine after you told her the value of the orb, she would ask for quite a lot of gold for it."

She paused for a moment, looking away as she put one finger on her chin.

"That's a good point, Milord. Hmm, I suppose I'll have to rely on her after all."

_Her?_

She turned back to face me with a mischievous smirk on her face. “Milord, what do you think of paying a visit to this country’s princess?”

_...What._


	112. Hugo, The Great Adventurer

“Yes, Her Majesty Fantine Falsythe Fiania. I would like you to pay her a visit. She would be able to give you the funds you need. We’re quite good friends, you see.”

“You can’t be serious! You think I would be just allowed to waltz into the castle and meet with her like that?”

“Oh, not at the castle. You see, due to a certain condition, the princess is staying at a royal villa in the outskirts of the capital. So all you need is to bring with you my letter and the guards would let you in to meet her. You show the letter to her and she would give you the money you need. I have no doubt about it.”

I paused. Technically, it isn’t odd at all for a court mage to befriend a princess. And it isn’t that odd either for a princess to have a large sum of money available to her at all times, especially if she’s the more independent sort. But still, is it really fine for me to just stroll in and demand a meeting with a princess like that, especially to ask money from her?

...What am I talking about? I’ve spent how many months with Fiora. She’s a bona-fide princess, even though she doesn’t act like that. There’s no reason to get nervous.

“Fine,” I answered with folded arms. “I don’t really like to be involved with royalty like that, but it seems I have no choice, if I’m going to hurry and catch that elf.”

“Excellent.” She smiled. “You won't regret it. She's a nice girl, you know. I'm sure you would find her a pleasant acquaintance, Milord."

_A nice girl, huh? Well, I sure hope she isn't anything like Fiora… Give me my classic beautiful princess character, goddamnit!_

"Master! Maasteer!"

I turned around to see Great Fairy flying towards me. And behind her, the adventurers I had saved were walking towards me as well.

"I've finished healing everyone!" She announced without skipping a beat once she was right in front of me.

"Good job!" I gave her a headpat.

“Hehe, I’m still good at it after all!” She blushed as she beamed. _Ah, that’s right. She failed on healing Leila after all._

“Yeah, don’t worry. You did great this time around.” I gave her my biggest smile.

“Yaay, thank you, Master!”

With her usual innocence, she threw herself on top of me for a hug, squeezing my head between her breasts. _Ah, the softness and warmth of a spring fairy…_

She then disappeared, leaving me alone with Flameu once more.

“Milord, such a cute fairy you have there,” she remarked with a smirk. “And a Great Fairy too. That’s quite rare.”

“Yeah, I got her as a High Fairy actually.” I scratched my head with a smile. “And then she evolved.”

“Oh, really? That must mean she’s quite fond of you then.”

“Heh, I suppose she is.”

Like Marina taught me, a summon could evolve once they became well-acquainted with their summoner. Something about their summoner’s magic feeding into them or something. It’s similar to how monsters could evolve in the wild if exposed to a place with high concentration of mana, which is why the monsters living in the Demon Continent and inside dungeons tend to be stronger than the monsters living anywhere else.

“Great job, kiddo! Never seen someone fight as fierce as that before! And from a mage nonetheless!”

We were interrupted by the arrival of the adventurers, led by Arcturus and Red. It was the latter who greeted me however. With a big grin on his face, the bearkin put his large hand on my shoulder, patting it over and over to the point that it started to hurt.

“If you would, please refrain acting so impolitely towards Milord. After all, Milord belongs to the high aristocracy of the Empire. He's the son of an Earl in fact. Milord left his household at a young age to travel the world and polish his skills. And he had been generous enough to lend his help to me, a mere court mage of a vassal kingdom.” Flameu spoke, a thin smile drawn on her red lips.

 _Wait, what?_ I shot her a confused look. _Did you just say I’m a son of an Earl? H-hey, I never said that, you know!_

“W-whoa, excuse my impoliteness then.” He quickly withdrew his hand. “Uhh…” He scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, but I really don’t know how to address someone of your stature.”

"Oh, just Charles is fine." I flashed him a smile. I want to be seen as a humble noble after all.

"Lord Charles." The beautiful elf from before stepped forward. “I would like to humbly apologize for the actions of my comrades from before. It is clear that we have been very rude to you. You are in no obligation to save us and risk your life in the process, especially after how our leader treated you. You only wished to proquire a dragon’s heart to save a village in need, and yet, he forced you to offer your companion to him as payment. He truly has stepped out of the line.”

The elf bowed deeply, and in the process, her big breasts jiggled, making me redden slightly. _Damn, they really are big._

“Marka, you apologize as well." The elf then shot a glare towards the beast girl behind her.

"F-fine."

She then bowed as well. Unlike the elf, her boobs were noticeably smaller so they didn't bounce as much.

"I apologize for my outburst. If there's anyone to blame, then it would be our idiot leader."

Her ears drooped down along with her tail. Honestly, even if she can't compete with the elf in the breast department, she had her own positive points, with her cute ears and tail, not to mention her thick thighs and butt her short shorts proudly showed off.

Ah, doesn't mean I don't want to fondle miss elf's ears and boobs though.

"Don't worry about it." I flashed my smile towards the two of them. "I understand your feelings." I faced the beastkin. "I know how it feels to lose someone dear to you in this line of work. And I’m sorry, for not being able to save everyone. I am still not strong enough to do that.” I gave a wry smile.

“You can’t trick me, human! You’re no weakling! You’re much stronger than us!”

Suddenly, we were interrupted by what looked to be a male gnome grinning giddily towards my direction.

“Greetings, Lord Charles. I’m Talkin. Talkin Gemcrafter. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gave a little bow. “And as an S-rank magician, I have to declare my expert opinion that you are indeed one of the most unusual magicians I’ve ever had the fortune to meet.”

_Umm, okay…._

“Those spells,” he continued without skipping a beat. “They’re nothing like I’ve seen before. Those are Wind spells, are they not? And yet, you can use the wind to such a destructive extent. And in such an elegant manner as well. You don’t conjure a large tornado to make the dragon crash into the surrounding cliffs as I would expect you would. Instead, you somehow use the wind as if it’s a hammer, or an arrow, piercing through that beast’s scales like it was nothing. And the speed! It was simply marvelous! If I had more affinity with the Wind element, I would have begged for you to teach me your spells for sure!”

“W-well, it’s nothing, really. It’s just some custom spells I came up with myself,” I bashfully replied, scratching the back of my head with a blush. All those sudden praises quite took me off-guard.

“Nothing?! Those aren’t nothing at all!” The gnome’s eyes shone even brighter. “Those are revolutionary spells! Imagine how strong all Wind mages would be if they all could cast your spells you just did! Milord, I really, really suggest you offer your services to the Empire’s Magic Corps! O-or, you could be a teacher at the Royal Academy! You could train a new generation of wind mages! And you could always go to the Mago—"

"Calm down, little guy." Red's booming voice interrupted him. "Can't you see?" He put his bear-like hand on my shoulder once again. "Charles here wants to experience the world first. He doesn't want to be stuck in the capital with those snotty nobles. Uh, not saying that you're snotty or anything, of course."

I chuckled, giving him an approving glance.

"Hey, Charles. Uh, it's alright for me to call you that, right? I'm… really not good with stuffy honorifics like Lord or Sir."

"I told you, it's fine," I replied with a grin. "I'm an adventurer now. Not a noble."

"Well put!" He laughed, patting me on the back with such force that I felt would have sent me flying if I didn't have my feet firmly on the ground. “Hey, Charles. What do you think of joining our party? We could use a mage like you around, you know.”

_Ah, so that’s why he’s been so friendly. It’s a recruiting attempt._

“Milord,” the elf interrupted. “We would like you to join our party as well. We could also use a person like you in our group."

"We too!"

"We as well!"

"Please join us!"

One by one, every party there asked me to join them, to the point that I felt completely overwhelmed. Honestly, I would have answered yes to some of them, especially the elf, just because of the pretty girls they got, but I knew for a fact that I couldn't do that. I had my own mission after all.

Luckily however, I was soon "saved" by the beastkin woman once again.

"Stop it! How shameless could you guys be? Just because he's strong you all pile on him like that? Not to mention that some of you have just lost your friends! And you're already looking for their replacement? How heartless can you be?"

Hearing that, I couldn't help but smile. _She's a good person,_ I thought to myself. _She's kinder than how she portrays herself. Heh, she might just belong to the tsundere clan._ I chuckled to myself.

"Apologies," I answered. "But I do not have any plans to join any parties. You see, I already have my own destination I want to reach. The Demon Continent."

The crowd fell into a loud whisper as they exchanged looks with each other.

"Ha! The Demon Continent! Impressive!" It was Red who spoke, patting my shoulder yet again. "Only the strongest adventurers go there, you know! Even us are content on staying here! And besides,” His grin suddenly disappeared, replaced by a frown. “I won’t recommend anyone to go there right now.”

My ears perked up. “Huh? Why?”

“Because there are rumors of the rising tension between the human colonists there and the demons. In particular, the Demon Lord of Wisdom had been eyeing the territory of the colonists. He might just decide to attack them and then there would be war.”

...Wait, hold on, let me recall the stuff I’ve learnt from my books. I’m not careless enough to go to some place without at least a basic idea on how it’s like after all.

So, basically, a small chunk of the Demon Continent has been colonized by humans. It all started as small villages adventurers built as their base of operations there, but over the ages, it grew into actual towns and cities. They had their own self-governance, and its citizens came from all sorts of countries and places.

As for the Demon Lord of Wisdom, his real name is Balthazar Bethel Naturia. He's one of the big players in the Demon Continent, having a decently large territory that he rules with his own laws and army. In fact, it’s like he has his own kingdom there. Unlike most of the rest of the Demon Continent, the region that’s under his rule has civilization. That’s why he earns the title of the Demon Lord of Wisdom.

So, a war between the two factions would be that—a war. Just like how a human war would be. Only at one side you would have super strong adventurers—the feudal lords that governed over the human colonies, and on the other side you would have a well-organized demon army, which naturally would be far stronger than a normal human army.

“So, for now, I would suggest against it. You don’t want to be caught up in a war, do you?” Red continued, still with the same grave expression.

_Caught up in a… wait a second. If war breaks out, then there’s a chance Sherry will be caught up on it, isn’t there? Both the colonies’ and the Demon Lord’s territory are at the northern side of the Demon Continent, and you have to pass through there if you’re going to go to this continent._

_Ooh, this is bad._

“All the more reason why I should go there,” I replied. I must have quite the serious expression then as Red’s furrowed brows only grew more furrowed the moment he looked at my face. “You see, I have someone I need to meet there.”

“Someone?” he replied, scratching his red beard with a confused expression. "An acquaintance?"

"Yeah, something like that." I gave him a smile. No need to tell him more than that.

"Ah, I see. Well, I hope you can find them before things get worse there."

The rest of the adventurers seemingly withdrew their offers as well. It seemed no one really wanted to go to the Demon Continent. _Makes sense. I heard there are even tougher monsters there that would make the dragon they just fought look like a mere lizard._

"How unfortunate." The elf spoke. "If you have accepted, then we would be willing to leave the Quiet Slayers and form our own party with you, Milord. After all.” She gave a dirty glance towards Arcturus. “That man needs to learn his lesson.”

Speaking of Arcturus, I just realized that he had not spoken at all through this. He had just been standing there at the back of the crowd. I couldn’t quite read his expression though. That thin smile of his could be either his way of expressing relief or his way to accept defeat. In fact, it could even be that of resentment, as he saw his two girlfriends deciding to leave him and go after me instead.

_Heh, that’s what he gets for being a riajuu._

“Hey, Arcturus!” Red shouted. “You don’t have anything to say to Charles here?”

The man didn’t reply right away. Instead, he walked through the crowd and stood right in front of me, still with that smile of his.

And then, he put one hand near his chest before waving it downwards, bowing in the process.

"Apologies, Milord. If I had known that Miss Flameu is already in a relationship with you, I would not have been so impolite—to ask her to accompany me in bed."

_Wait, a relationship? H-hey you got it all wrong! I'm just helping her, nothing more!_

The alchemist herself didn't seem to mind though, as the corners of her lips curved in response. "Indeed you are, adventurer. Milord was quite visibly upset from that. Fortunately for you, I am not the only woman he has. He has his maid, his slave, and even the members of that B-rank party he accompanied before—all fawning over him. And why is that? Simple. He might be young but he is more of a man that you would ever be. And now, even your girlfriends are abandoning you and chasing after him instead.”

_Oi oi oi! What is she saying? And that smile! She’s absolutely loving every second of it!_

Arcturus’ lips twitched. He still kept his smile, but now it was obvious that he was deeply offended by what she just said. In fact, I felt I saw a glimpse of jealousy in his eyes as he glanced at me. 

_Welp, let's just hope this won't bite me in the ass later._

What is she doing anyways, provoking him like that? Is it revenge for how he has treated her? I looked back at her and sure enough, there was now a full-blown haughty grin on her face. Once again, she had switched into her “dark” mode, if you will.

He didn’t say anything else. He simply retreated without a word, leaving the crowd and walking back to the encampment. The walk of a defeated man.

Huh, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity after all.

Let's just hope this would be a lesson for him to be less selfish. And perverted.

After that, the adventurers disbanded as well. They immediately worked on recovering the bodies of their dead members. They won't be carrying them back to the city. Instead, they would bury them here, deep enough so that no monsters or wild animals would be able to dig them up and eat their corpse.

I decided to stay and wait, even though I should be hurrying back. I felt the dead deserved that, at the very least.

Meanwhile, Flameu asked me to bury the corpse of the dragon for safekeeping, after she cleaned off some of the scales for me (with a little sprinkle of her dissolving acid, she could loosen up some of the scales well enough without ruining it). She couldn’t take everything off the dragon in one trip after all. Afterwards, the scales she had plucked off the skin—she gave it to me. She said that I should take it and make it into an armor that I could wear. “Don’t worry. I’ll cut your payment for how much they’re worth,” she said with a smirk. I didn’t object. After all, if I could get a blacksmith and a tailor to make a vest or some other light armor that I could wear with it, that would help a lot with my physical and magical defense. It has to be something non-heavy though. Dragon scales are heavy, unlike mithril, so both the blacksmith and the tailor need to be of considerable skill. _I don’t even know where I can find them, to be honest._

“Hey, what was that all about?”

“Hmm?”

“You know, the lies you gave to those adventurers about me.”

She paused, her amused smirk surfacing once again. “Why, because it’s fun, Milord, seeing their reaction like that. Especially that man. Don’t you feel some satisfaction as well?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I didn’t like seeing him like that…” I gave her a bashful smile. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to antagonize him that way. I don’t want any trouble with him down the line.”

“Oh, that would not be a problem. He can’t touch you, Milord. You’re too strong for him. If he tries to hurt you, well, you can simply dispose of him, can you not?”

Once again, that dark glint in her eyes resurfaced.

“I mean… it’s just that…”

My words halted. I didn’t know what to say to her back.

_...You know what, maybe she’s right. What am I so afraid of? This is not Japan, where you’re supposed to remain humble all the time, even though you’re so much better than everyone else. I’m clearly better than him. Hell, I’m even better than him as a lover. I might be a pervert, but I will never cheat openly with my girlfriend like that._

“See? There’s no problem, isn’t it?”

“T-the lies are still a problem though! They’re going to think badly of me when they know the truth! I’m not an earl and I don’t have a maid or a slave girl as my entourage! And I certainly don’t have Anne or Amelie as my girlfriends!”

“Oh, but you are already lying to them, aren’t you, Hugo Greenwood?”

Her grin was as wide as a cheshire cat’s.

And my face had turned as white as a sheet.


	113. The Necromancer’s Desire

**Felicia**

“Well, it seems I’ve hit the jackpot, haven’t I?”

The boy had turned pale as the utterance of the name. There was no doubt about it. He really must be him—the second child of the Greenwood household, and one of the people responsible for Vera’s demise.

“I-I’m not—”

“No use in denying it. With the power you have displayed just now, and the reaction you just displayed, I know for sure that you’re him. Hugo Greenwood. Part of the Greenwood family who had assassinated Vera Marjoram of the Magocracy. Such a feat could only be done by powerful people, and you, Milord, you are one such person.”

_He instinctively reaches for his wand. Good. He’s not as naive as I thought._

“It’s fine. After all, I too am an enemy of the Magocracy. The enemy of my enemy is my ally, as the saying goes, isn’t it?”

_Hmm, still doesn't trust me, huh?_

"It's true. They have sent people to kill me before. You see, I came from there. Became a fugitive after I rejected their forced marriage."

_Oh? His expression just changed._

"I believe it's someone you probably are quite familiar with. Thomas Marjoram, the grandson of the person your family killed."

_And now, his eyes widened. Bingo. This little lie of mine is working after all._

"...I see. Another victim of that hobbit bastard, huh?" He smiled grimly.

"Yes, which is why you should trust me, Milord. After what they tried to do to me, I have no love for them whatsoever. In fact, I would like to make you an offer."

_Here it is. Let's not be pushy and see how he reacts first._

“You see, I too have a plan to journey to the Demon Continent. So, if you’d like, I would love to accompany you there, Milord.”

_And now, to wait for his reaction._

…

…

“Flameu, you're Felicia Myne, aren't you?"

My heart stopped.

"E-eh? W-who are—"

"The necromancer who ran away from the Magocracy many years ago. You're her, are you not?"

My legs shook. The grip on my staff tightened. Sweat poured out of my orifices.

"It's okay. I won't tell anyone. In exchange, don't tell anyone my true identity either, alright?"

And then, he smiled. It was such a charming and honest smile that my racing heart slowed down just by looking at it.

BA-DUMP

_Aah, w-what is this feeling? Why am I feeling all warm and tingly inside?_

_N-no, stop it! Think about it, Felicia! Necromancy is a dark art! Even in the Magocracy it's heavily frowned over as evil! He wouldn't approve of me doing it! And he's such a do-gooder he would either report me to the authorities or kill me himself!_

"W-why?" I croaked, almost in a whisper. "Y-you don't hate… the magic I practice?"

"Well…" He scratched his head, still with that so-adorable smile. "I don't know. I think magic isn't good or evil innately. It's how you use it that matters."

...I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"And Flameu, I don’t think you’re an evil person. The way you cared for Leila… I don’t think an evil necromancer would be able to do something like that. Well, I don’t know how a good necromancer would be though. So far, you’re more like a good alchemist to me.”

His smile had transformed into an easygoing grin, while my mind was still frozen in shock.

_This boy... Is it his kindness? Or is it his naivety? He thinks I’m a good person, just because I took care of some sickly child. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know all the despicable things I had done just to get this far._

“Oi, Charles! Can you help with the burial?”

I gasped. It was that beastman’s voice. He had snapped me out of my stupor.

“Ah, yes, coming!” the boy replied. He gave me another smile before leaving.

Just in time before he saw me collapsing to the snow.

_That smile… that innocence… that bravery… it's just like them… Aaron… Pip… Bryn… Elt…_

_Is this a dream? How can I be this fortunate all of a sudden, to meet a person like that out of the blue?_

_I want him… I want him to love me. Love me lots and lots and lots, just like Berault does with his wife._

_...No. He doesn’t deserve me. I’m dirty. Rotten to the core. Such a wonderful man deserves a wonderful woman as well. Not me, who has given up her own dignity._

_No. The only future I have is as the evil necromancer that will wage war against the world. And to drag such an innocent person like him to it… I can never do such a thing._

With a grim smile, I stood up once again.

_Ah, tears. You’ve lost the right to cry a long time ago, Felicia. For your dream world, you have decided to become a monster. And monsters do not cry, do they?_

\-------

**Hugo**

_Well, that was a surprise._

I was now going towards where Red was. They had gathered the bodies of their fallen comrades, and they wanted my help on burying it. The earth mages they had didn’t know how to make earth coffins, and the holes they conjured weren’t deep enough. So I had to do the procedure all by myself. It was going to be done not in the snow, of course, but on solid ground.

_To think that she’s actually her—the person Marina told me about all that time ago. Heh, what a funny coincidence._

_Well, she might be secretly a necromancer, but I see no reason to get all fired up about it. To be honest, the fantasy geek inside me always thought that necromancer is a pretty cool class in RPGs. Controlling corpses and skeletons to fight for your bidding and all that—pretty neat stuff._

_I know the art is heavily frowned upon in this world. Maybe because most folks who use it are just psychos who would do stuff like digging up graves or raising the corpse of their enemies' friends, families, or lovers to fight them._

_I don't think she belongs to that category though. Sure, she killed the folks who chased after her, but that's just self-defense, isn't it? And thanks to her, Marina stopped being bullied at the academy._

_...Yeah, hard to feel sorry for her._

_If she's manipulating the corpses of monsters or bad guys like bandits, then more power to her. They won't be missed._

I now saw the corpses up close. There are seven of them—with some in less-than-ideal state. I'm sure I don't need to describe what kind of state they're in, if you consider the monsters they were up against. Some are male, some are females, some are young, some are old—it doesn't matter. Death greets them all the same. Such is the perilous life of an adventurer.

I closed my eyes and gave a short prayer to the Saint, asking her to take their souls to Valhalla. I'm not a Milicis' follower by any means, but I wanted to pray for them. And so I did. I'm not some fervent atheist either after all.

The others did the same, with the clerics even giving their blessings to them.

And then, it was my turn to do my job.

"Earth Sprite! Come out and cover these corpses in earth coffins! Then bury those coffins deep into the ground!"

For the task, I decided to use my summon instead of doing it by myself. It's been a while since I called her. She might feel lonely, you know.

The Sprite appeared in a flash, manifesting from the earth as a rising lump of mud. She gave me a short, emotionless glance before performing her task. Using her ability, it was easy for her to shape her mud into coffins before hardening them. As for the burying, she simply turned the ground beneath the coffins into sinking mud, before turning it solid again.

I took a deep sigh afterwards. I felt bad for them. They couldn't even be buried in their hometowns. But that's just another risk you have to accept as an adventurer. I've asked and the clan said they came from all over the continent, and even beyond that. So it's impossible for them to return their bodies, even if they wanted to.

"Master." Suddenly, the Sprite spoke. It took me aback. She rarely ever did. "Why do you look sad?"

I smiled at her, ruffling her head. "Because I just saw those other humans die. Do you know what death means?" A fey should have no concept of death, being the immortal creatures they are.

She shook her head.

"It means you'll never be able to see them again."

A sad look swept her normally static expression.

"Master, I know why you're sad. I… don't want to never see you again either. So please, do not die."

"Oh, don't worry." I lifted her up and hugged her. "I got no plans on dying anytime soon."

"...Good."

With that one word, she vanished.

"Sir Charles, was that your summon?" The gnome mage suddenly asked with sparkling eyes. "That was a sprite, was it not? And the other one, that was a great fairy. It's my first time, you know, seeing someone summon fey creatures like that."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows. "I thought they're pretty common."

"Oh no, not at all! Summoners like you are already pretty rare as it is. But a great fairy? That's really rare. And a sprite as well? You must be beloved by the fey, Sir!" He laughed.

_Loved by the fey, huh? I don't know about that. I think he just thinks like that because he's not from the Magocracy where summoning is a lot more common. After all, the Church here kinda frowns on it, though it's not illegal like necromancy._

Afterwards, they started working on the drake corpses. Red promised me that they wouldn't touch the dragon itself. It all belonged to me and Flameu.

Arcturus wasn't around by the way. He ran away.

I wouldn't blame him. I had run away as well.

\------

I returned to Flameu soon after, and it seemed she was already finished taking off the scales that I would carry with me.

"M-Milord?! You've returned!"

And it was all too obvious that her demeanor had completely changed.

Her confident gait had completely disappeared, replaced by a nervous disposition (I shouldn't be saying this but this version of her is actually kinda cute). It's clear that me knowing her true identity bothered her.

"H-here. Your scales." She gave me a large pouch filled with them. As expected, they were quite heavy indeed. I quickly put it inside my bag.

"M-Milord…" She softly spoke afterwards. "Are you really sure you don't mind?"

"Hmm, mind what?" I smiled at her.

"Me being a necromancer, that is."

"Sure, I don't. As long as you're the good kind of necromancer, that is."

"The good kind?" She tilted her head slightly.

"You don't use it on innocent people for example. You only use it on bad guys and monsters. Umm, you can control the corpses of monsters with necromancy, right? Not just humans?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she put her left hand on the front of her mouth as she broke into a giggling fit.

_Uhh, did I say something funny?_

"Milord, you really are something, aren't you?" She wiped her tears with her index finger. "I've never met someone as nice and trusting as you before."

_H-hey, is she calling me naive?_

"So, where do you get the impression that I’m a good necromancer, huh?” She smiled. “Tell me.”

“Well…” I averted her gaze. “I just think that the way you cared for Leila. That can’t be something a bad necromancer would do. She would just let her die and resurrect her as a corpse, no? And yet, you tried so hard for her sake, to the point of staying up all night like that. And the way you comforted her, it’s really motherly as well. That gentleness… I don’t think a bad necromancer would be capable of that.”

Now that I said it out loud to her face like this, my cheeks couldn’t help but redden a little. Maybe it’s because it sounded like I was flirting with her, which I certainly wasn’t doing. I was simply stating my honest opinion, that’s all.

And then, a sight that nearly gave me a heart attack surfaced out of her.

Her face went as red as a tomato, far redder than my own. She averted my gaze, completing that “blushing schoolgirl” look that would make any man go crazy. Except that she’s not a schoolgirl but a completely full-grown adult instead.

For me, who can appreciate a beautiful woman no matter their age, it was a heavenly sigh that made my heart skip a beat.

“T-then, how about my offer from before?”

“Huh?” I raised my eyebrows. _What offer?_

“You know, me accompanying you to the Demon Continent?"

_Oh right, she did mention something like that…_

"... I'm sorry, but I already have a girl I like. In fact, that's why I'm going there in the first place—to meet her."

I sighed internally. I am not dense. I can see where it would go, if I take her along.

_She's fond of me. In that way. And if I let her tag along, sooner or later, I'll end up seduced by her and I'll betray Sherry's trust. I can't have that._

_She's a nice woman. Would certainly love to bury my face in that cleavage. But unfortunately, I already have somebody. And I am not like that Arcturus guy. I fully intend to be a respectable human being in this second life of mine._

Her reaction? Painful. It looked like I just broke her heart.

"I-I see…" Her voice audibly shook. "Y-you already have a lover, Milord." Her eyes looked away. "O-of course. I-it's not that odd. Ehe...ehehehehe…"

_Uuh, what's with that ominous laugh?_

She didn't say anything else regarding her request afterwards. She asked me to bury the dragon as well, but not as deep as the corpses, and then she told me to be on my way, after writing me a letter for the princess (she used the nearby tree to write it on). She then used what I assumed was the royal stamp on it, before giving it to me.

"Don't worry, Milord. I'll take care of the medicine. You don't have to worry a thing. You have that high elf to find after all. You have to send a word to your girlfriend after all. Aha...ahahahaha…"

_...I sure hope I haven't just sent her to the dark path by rejecting her like that._

I took the letter and then bid farewell to her, wishing her good luck in her future endeavors. I told her that it's been a pleasure to be working with her as well.

Who knows? Maybe one day we will meet again.

\----------

**Felicia**

Slowly but surely, his figure disappeared out of my sight as he descended down the snowy hill we were on.

And with it, my chance for happiness had vanished as well.

“Ha...ahahahahaha...ahahahahahahahahaha!”

“Ahahahahahahahahaha!”

I couldn’t stop myself. I laughed and I laughed and I laughed as I cried.

Ha! What was I thinking? Did I truly think that I would be fortunate enough to have some sweet young man just pop out of thin air as a lover? And even if I do, I would never deserve such a person! Not after everything I did! After all, no good men would ever want to marry a whore who, without hesitation, used her body to get around. Especially if they’re of the loyal type like him. No good man would want to marry a prostitute. It’s simply common sense.

I am unworthy of him. It’s as simple as that.

Oh, I certainly noticed how much he’s attracted to my body. Even though he’s still young, he’s already just as active as an adult man in that department. And yet, he refuses my offer, bringing his lover as the reason. He knows that if we travel together, I will end up seducing him and making him cross the line he doesn’t want to cross.

Whoever his girlfriend is, she’s a very lucky girl indeed. Unlike me, who only receives misfortune after misfortune from the wheels of fate. Yes, ever since that day—ever since that monster decides to use us commoners as test subjects for his plague…

I have lost everything. No one loves me. I have no home to return to. The only thing I have is my knowledge as a mage. My necromancy. I’ve sacrificed everything to get this far. Just a little more, just a little more until I can cheat Death itself.

And then, Paradise shall come to this world.

…

Yes, it’s better this way. I don’t want to drag him into my problems. He already has enough as it is, being the assassin of Vera and all. They would come from him sooner or later, just like they did for me.

...Heh, with that level of strength though, they won’t be able to touch him. In fact, I would like to see them try.

I suppose in a way, his existence still brings good fortune to me. His assasination might mean that the Magocracy would give up on bringing me back entirely. Those greedy fools want me to be paraded like the villain I am in their streets. Or perhaps they simply want the book I’ve stolen back. Whatever their reason is, they want me alive. And they would be hesitant to cause trouble in a vassal kingdom of the Holy Empire either.

Go forth, Hugo Greenwood, and may fortune be with you. And forget about worthless old me, who is nowhere near a good person as you thought I was.

For when we meet again, I shall be the bad necromancer that you spoke of.


	114. Marina’s Side — To Tame A Wolf

Mount Garus. It was not a particularly remarkable mountain, in any sense of the word. There were already a lot of mountains inside the Grandfort Region, and having just a bit more snow than the others wouldn’t make it special. Well, it also had a bit more monsters around, but monsters roamed all over the region, especially at the countrysides where human presence was thin and Mother Nature reigned supreme.

And yet, this mountain had become quite the place of interest for the two people who were currently on it. They had a task there that they had to do after all—a duty that they had to fulfill.

“Found them.”

A young woman, of sixteen or seventeen years of age, stood there wielding a staff on her right hand. The staff was fashioned like a tree branch, giving one a good estimate that she was some kind of an earth mage specializing in plant magic, as those types of staves tend to be of their preference. She wore a white dress with a black corset that tightly hugged her slim waist. The skirt of the dress reached down halfway up her thighs, Over the dress, she wore a fur cape and hat colored by autumn.

"You sure?"

The dark-haired man beside him was the very picture of a warrior—tall and imposing with a greatsword sheathed on his back. He wore a full set of leather armor, with some gloves and shoulder pads.

"There's no doubt about it. They have their base of operations inside the network of caves located just two _farna_ from here.”

Farna was a measurement of distance roughly equal to one kilometer.

“Whoa, that’s really close, isn’t it? Why haven’t they greeted us yet then?” The warrior man replied

“They don’t need to. They’re safe there, hidden away from the world,” the mage woman answered.

“Well, time to call for reinforcements then. If we’re careful, we can make a surprise raid on them. Capture them before they can run away.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I shall do it myself.”

The mage woman then raised her staff a few inches from the ground before tapping it to the earth. The giant tree before her immediately withered and shrank, disappearing completely just a few seconds later.

“H-hey, aren’t you being too reckless? No matter how good of a mage you might be, you can’t just waltz into their base on your own and expect to win!”

The young woman smiled. “Ah, but I do have you, don’t I?”

\---------

The argument was settled before it even really began. The young woman had the final say. She always did. The man recognized the inferiority of position that he had compared to hers. He was merely an adopted child. She on the other hand was the true heir of the Archimond noble house.

The two marched on, deeper into the snowy mountain. Two _farna_ weren’t that far, and in no time at all, they had arrived on a small valley where the entrance to the cave network the woman had mentioned should be.

And, like small valleys tend to be, it was the perfect place for the bandits to ambush any intruders that stumbled near their base.

An arrow flew through the air, landing right where the young woman’s feet would’ve been the next second.

“A’right, you two! Put your weapons on the ground if you wanna live!”

A cacophony of terrible laughs echoed all around them, as bandits equipped in full fur gear descended upon them. They all rode on top of snow wolves, monsters they somehow had domesticated.

The mage wasn’t surprised though. She had noticed the wolves when she scouted them beforehand. And neither did the warrior, as she had informed her companion beforehand of their existence.

Then again, when your bandit group was named the Snow Wolves, was it really so odd for one to expect them to come into battle riding them?

They were quickly surrounded, as thirty, no, forty bandits streamed out from the cliffs beside them.

“Oi oi, are ya deaf? Put that staff and sword down, right now! Don’t worry! We’ll keep ye alive! Just you ye can watch yer lady friend there get fucked by us one by one!”

Here, they erupted into a raptorious laugh once again. The warrior drew his sword, fully intending to fight to the last of his breath to protect the mage.

“Greetings.” The mage spoke, seemingly unfazed by the threat they just made. “My name is Marina Archimond, the granddaughter of the Earl of Grandford. As his envoy, I was given the authority to make you an offer. Surrender. Turn yourself in to the authorities of the land and you shall not be harmed.”

Another round of laughs were shared amongst the bandits. 

“Oi lady, are ye delusional? You wanna make us surrender? Just the two of ye? WHO THE HELL DO YE THINK WE ARE?”

The man who yelled seemed to be their leader. He was a big man, even bigger than the warrior. He had yellowed teeth, with three missing on the front, and probably some more on the back. He wore a fur romp with no shirt, exposing his well-chiseled hairy chest and massive abs to the world. He wielded with him a massive battleaxe that he carried with just a single hand. And, just like his personage, his mount was the biggest amongst the other wolves as well, most likely the alpha of the group.

And, to top it all off he had a pair of wolf ears on his head, along with a wolf tail jutting out from his behind.

He was indeed a wolfkin.

That explained how they could tame the wolves. Wolfkins had the ability to do that.

Most of his men were human though, with only some others being a beastmen as well.

“Let me tell ya a lesson, little girl. We aren’t just any ordinary bandit group. We are the Snow Wolves. And me? I am Fer—”

“I don’t care.”

And just like that, he was shut down by the mage from introducing himself.

“You… you arrogant bitch!” He yelled in anger. “Boys, keep your hands off her! I’ll mate with this bitch over and over until she begs for more! And only then, you guys can have her!”

Another cacophony of jeers were emitted by his subordinates. At this point, it’s almost like they’re his personal cheerleading squad.

“You’re in luck, girl! I’m at my mating season right now! So you’ll be able to taste the full girth of a glorious beastmen like—Guaahhh!”

A thorny tendril just popped out of the snow and pierced him. His wolf received the attack at its abdomen while he himself, unfortunately for him, felt it right in his furry behind.

And then, all hell broke loose.

The bandits immediately rushed to attack the mage, only to be cut down by the warrior’s greatsword. Other tendrils popped out one by one to attack the bandits, piercing them the same way the first one did to their leader. For the ones that had bows, any approaching arrows were blocked by the tendrils as well.

They had no idea that they had just walked into the mage’s trap, hook, line and sinker. Underneath the snow, her dryad familiar hid in waiting, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Using the familiar bond they possessed, she could send a message to her without any words being needed.

“R-retreat! Retreat! She’s a—aarrghhh!”

She had no mercy. After being spoken to that way, why would she?

Once the onslaught was over, the dryad digged herself out from the snow, greeting her mistress with a bright smile.

"You're right, Miss! It does work after all! I don't feel cold in the slightest!"

Using the knowledge she gained from Vera’s books, she had developed seeds that could grow even in the cold of the region. Using that knowledge, she could direct her dryad to modify the plant body she had, making her resistant to cold as well.

"Heh, you barely gave me any work to do. I thought I would be your protector but it's obvious you don't really need my help." The warrior scratched the back of his head with a grin. "I shouldn't have doubted you, Marina."

The mage simply smiled in return.

\--------

They then headed to the cave entrance where the bandits had made their lair. They kept up their guard, knowing there could still very well be some bandits remaining inside. In fact, from the intel they had received, the bandits should be 100 men strong. Like that bandit said, the Snow Wolves really was not an ordinary bandit group. They actually came from the dukedoms to the north, settling in this region somewhat recently, terrorizing the villages near the wilderness for their food and gold. They were even strong enough to destroy a local baron's army when he decided to not give in to their demands. The baron was murdered and his estate was burned to the ground, while his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The strange thing though, there were no ransom notes. In fact, they forced the villages to hide their existence from outsiders altogether. If it weren't for the warrior discovering the truth at his usual inspection, this whole mess would've been hidden away from the region's Earl.

But now, the jig was up. The Earl had sent his army to subjugate them.

And that army? The Witch of Verdant Death herself.

It was the best course of action to take. If they had brought an actual army with them, the bandits would have run away for sure. The only way to catch them and make them pay for their crimes was to do it stealthily like this, with just two persons infiltrating their territory. It was much more likely for them to underestimate what they’re up against as well. After all, they had no idea on what the witch was capable of. To them, she would just be easy prey.

"Guwaaahhh!"

One by one the remaining bandits fell, pierced by the tendrils she herself of her dryad created.The bandits thought they could ambush her, like goblins would ambush a mage in their dark, stinky caves. Unfortunately for them, she was an earth mage. And a really skilled one at that. So being in the caves like this meant she was perfectly in her element. Before she entered, she had done a thorough scout of the cave network using her Yggdrasil spell, sending in the tree’s roots all over the place. She knew the layout of the place, and the atrocities that were done inside it, as one of the roots reached the room where they kept their prisoners.

And what she saw angered her, to the point that she had no aversion in killing every single bandit in her path.

They arrived at a large chamber. And there, sitting on top of a large rock was most likely the leader of the bandits himself. In front of him were a number of other bandits, most likely his elite guards. They were all beastmen. And just like the big beastman who led the group that ambushed them outside, they all had impressive muscles, with the one sitting on the rock looking the fiercest of them all.

Their intel was correct again. The Snow Wolves—they were originally a group of beastmen bandits. They had come here all the way from the Beast Region of the Holy Continent, recruiting humans as part of their force. However, it seemed the beastmen remained the strongest part of their little band of brigand. Not surprising. After all, a beastman is naturally much stronger than a human, just by the virtue of their race. By how much depends on the type of beast they belong to.

And behind them was a steel cage, with ten or so women all kept inside with barely any clothes on them.

“So, you’re the mage that has been giving my men so much trouble.”

Their leader was big. Twice the height of the warrior, who’s already taller than the mage herself. He was a wolfkin with white fur, and his weapon of choice was the spiked knuckles he wore on both hands.

“Oh, I love that look. That fierce look of a warrior. Tell me, would you be willing to be my mate? You and I shall be unstoppable together. Truthfully, human females bore me most of the time. They are so weak and fragile, like twigs who will snap at the slightest touch. Not to mention their crying. Oh they can cry alright. How can one cry when they receive the honor of mating with me, the son of the chieftain of the Ulf Clan?”

Their intel was right about that as well. Apparently, their leader was some sort of Beastmen royalty. Or at least, he proclaimed himself to be. Each species of beastfolk had their own clans with their own leaders, and the Ulf Clan is the wolf one.

"But you—you are different. You are a fighter. And I respect that. Tell me your name, human. And I will tell mine."

At first, Marina didn’t answer. She simply stared at his eyes, not showing any signs of weakness even against someone who was double her size.

“If this is what a royal of the beast race is, then they really are no better than a bunch of animals.” was the words she chose to break the silence. Naturally, she didn’t really mean it. She had nothing against the beastkin as a whole. She simply wanted to rile up this monster that was standing before us.

The wolfman then laughed—the noise echoing across the cavern.

“Guess that’s a no then. Fine. This way is good too. For you see, back home, we have a certain custom. To obtain a girl’s hand in marriage, we have to defeat her in combat. Thus, I’ll defeat you and your partner into submission right here and now. Don’t worry. He can watch as I make you scream my name as I pound your little behind.”

With a howl, he leaped forward—a lustful glee displayed without hesitation towards the two of them. His guards all followed—some going after Marina and others going after Reinhard.

Nysa reacted by bursting forth a swarm of tendrils from the ground. Unlike the bandits from before however, they were able to defend themselves well enough from the attack, by either dodging out of the way or cutting them down with their axes—a testament of their superiority compared to the human bandits they had fought before. Still, it was enough to keep them from joining the action immediately.

Reinhard's sword clashed with the bandit leader's fists. He groaned as he immediately felt the difference in strength. He was strong, but his strength simply paled in comparison to his.

“Heh, your big sword is just for show after all. Or maybe it’s to compensate for something else, hmm?” The beastman grinned.

Thankfully for the warrior, he decided to back off instead of pushing in, all thanks to Marina who would’ve pierced him with her thorn tendril if he hadn’t dodged out of the way.

The beastman’s grin grew only bigger. He now knew for sure that the human girl was the stronger one.

He slurped. Oh, how he loved breaking strong bitches like her. Before he and his gang went here, they had caused chaos and mayhem all over the Holy Continent. How many times had he broken a female warrior or knight who had foolishly gone against them? It’s so delicious, the way they refused to surrender, even as their womanly parts gushed liquid from the pleasure he was giving them.

And this bitch—she might be the strongest of them all. Which only turned him on even more.

He took a deep, deep breath, and then...

"Awoooo!"

He decided to use his trump card right away. His Howl of Terror. By howling with all his might, he could send fear to his enemies. Not just the usual combat fear, but pure, unadulterated dread. If they don't faint from it, then their legs would turn to jelly as their whole body shakes furiously. He has never found any human that can withstand it fully. The best who did was a female paladin, and she lost her grip on her sword and slumped down to the ground as she wet herself. Oh, how satisfying it was to see her humiliate herself after she kept droning on and on about her Saint and Justice and all that crap.

The loud noise spread through the air in an instant. 

The effect was immediate. Reinhard fell to his knees as his body wouldn't stop shaking. He still kept his grip at his sword however.

As for Marina however…

_...Wait… what? She's… she's not affected at all!"_

Sure enough, she remained standing, not even flinching in the slightest.

_...Hold on! That appearance! She’s just like that dryad!_

Marina had indeed activated her transformation magic. Her skin was now wooden and her ears had grown long and sharp. And when she noticed him taking his deep breath, she put some earplugs made out of wood in her ears just in case. Not that plants could shake in fear the same way humans could in the first place.

Four thorn tendrils popped out near the beastmen—two above and two below. He managed to dodge all of them, but not without suffering a cut on his wrist. Marina didn’t let up however, as more and more tendrils went after him from all directions.

_Tch, this girl! She’s more of a monster than a human!_

More and more scratches appeared at his body as he tried so hard to get to where Marina was. Unfortunately for him, her defense was impenetrable. If he rushed in, the tendrils would get to him and pierce his body from all directions, killing him instantaneously. And yet, if he stayed like this, sooner or later, his body would take too much damage and he would slip up anyways.

For once, in a very long time, he was the one who was terrified.

“Is something the matter, o prince of the Ulf Clan?” Marina spoke, her voice dripping with venom. “Don’t you want to take me as your mate? I don’t want to marry a pup who can’t even get past a few plants.”

_That bitch! She’s playing me like a dog!_

Marina’s words were enough to make him decide to take a risk. Her companion was still paralyzed with fear, and her dryad familiar was still busy repelling his men. This would be his best chance to win over him. She’s a mage. As long as he could close the distance between them, he would win. With a single punch, he would knock the daylight out of her. And when she woke up, she would naked and chained, all ready to be his bitch.

He leaped forward with all his strength, doing a mid-air spin so he would be able to defend himself better from the tendrils. It was a gamble and he knew that. But it was a gamble he's willing to take.

The tendrils flew from all directions, intending to stop him before he could even land. Two from the ceiling—he parried them with his right hand. Two from the ground—he parried them with his left. Two from the left and right—by sheer luck, both only grazed his stomach and back, leaving a significant wound but not actually hitting his organs.

_Ha! Got ya you little—_

Only for an owlbear to appear out of thin air and slap him on his head, knocking him out in a single hit.

Seeing their leader knocked out cold, the remaining beastmen all surrendered. And they did it in their custom—by laying down on their backs and raising their hands and feet to the air like dogs who wanted a belly rub from their master.

Marina wasn’t impressed however, even though it was the most humiliating posture one could take as a beastman. Instead, she just felt disgusted. No one wants to see grown men pretending to be puppies like that.

Marina tied them up with her vines in no time at all, including their dear leader, of course. He got the extra treatment, with thicker and thornier vines than the others.

And then, Marina splashed the latter with a ball of water, waking him up while he’s in a sitting position.

“Now. Tell me. What should I do with you and your men?”

At that moment, anyone who saw her expression would no doubt think she was the genuine Witch of Verdant Death, in the flesh.


	115. Marina’s Side — To Punish A Wolf

“W-wait, please! Please forgive me!”

The beastman didn’t hesitate. The moment he woke up, he immediately prostrated and begged for Marina’s forgiveness. Well, if hitting the dirt over and over with one’s head counted as prostration. It was the only move he could make as his entire body was wrapped tight by Marina’s vines.

"D-don't kill me! I-I really am the son of the Ulf Clan chief! I have proof! I have a birthmark on my buttocks that I could—ummmhhpphh!"

Marina, not interested in the slightest in seeing any of his intimate body parts, shoved her vines into his mouth to silence him.

"Your fate will not be decided by me."

Marina then gave a glance towards Reinhard. He nodded, before running towards the end of the large room where the cage was.

It didn't take long for him to return with the prisoners. And indeed, they were in a terrible state. Most of their clothes couldn't even cover their breasts and buttocks, being torn all over, exposing the many scars they received from the beastmen's claws. Marina could only imagine the nightmare they had been through.

Even so, it was clear to her that the bandits had chosen them for their looks. Even in this state, their voluptuous body and pretty faces still shone through. That fact didn’t escape Reinhard as well, who had a light redness on his face as his hands rested conspicuously on the front of his crotch—something Marina took note.

She already expected something like that from him though. After all, she knew just how well he got along with his two wives every night. That's a tale from another time though.

"O-oh, thank you! Thank you so much for saving us!"

The one who spoke was the oldest of the group. If one had to judge, she seemed to be around her mid-thirties. She had the look of a housewife to her, with plump thighs and breasts that exuded motherhood to anyone who's fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of them.

"I-I thought we were goners! These brutes! They used us day and night without mercy! I am old and experienced enough to bear it but the young ones… they… they…" Her body shook as tears streamed down her face. "Milady, please! Kill all these animals! No, make them suffer!"

Reinhard then wrapped his hand around her to calm her down. She reacted by throwing herself onto him, crying on his broad, manly chest.

Marina had expected that really. She knew how popular Reinhard was with the womenfolkthem. He, especially the ones in the villages he had helped and rescued over the years. Him being easy on the eyes certainly helped as well. could easily have more wives and mistresses if he wanted to. And yet, he remained loyal to his two wives. It's something she could respect.

Well, she’d leave the female comforting to him. After all, she had some scum that she had to take care about.

“Hey, mutt.” Marina spoke with a cold expression towards the bandit leader as she withdrew her vines from his mouth. “Are they all the prisoners you have?”

“Y-yes, I swear!”

“That’s a lie! We’re just the lucky ones! The rest you have killed in your barbaric acts against them!” The middle-aged woman yelled.

“H-hey, how was I supposed to know that human women are so weak that they could die from mating with—urrmmphhh!” Once again, the vines returned to his talking orifice.

“I see.” Marina spoke again. “Ma’am, how about the baron’s wife and daughter? Do they survive?”

“O-oh, it’s terrible! The Madam—she took her own life! These barbarians assaulted her without mercy, while making her daughter watch! And now, the poor girl was rendered speechless! And she would refuse any water and food given to her as well!”

She then pointed at another woman in the crowd, or rather, a girl, not older than Marina. She was easily the youngest of them all. Unlike the others, her dress survived decently well. It seemed she was lucky, or rather, unlucky, as her mother took the brunt of the beastmen’s lust.

_Her eyes… they’re lifeless… even though she knows she’s being rescued, there’s no change in her expression whatsoever…_

This only angered Marina even more.

“Mutt.” She allowed the beastman to speak once more. “Tell me. Why should I spare you and your men, after all you’ve done to these women? No, not just them. You’ve killed others as well. My name is Marina Archimond, the granddaughter of this region’s Earl. As one who shares his blood, I too have the duty to be the protector of this place, of these people. Every time scum like you hurt or threaten them, that means they hurt and threaten me as well. And I do not like being hurt or threatened.”

“P-please! I-I made a mistake! I-I shouldn’t have become a bandit in the first place! I-I was the youngest son you see so my old man never cared for me!”

“I see,” Marina replied, still as coldly as ever. “It’s a bit too late to give me a sob story, is it not?”

“L-look, you humans would raid and kidnap us beastfolk as well! So what’s so wrong with us doing the same to you? Survival of the strongest, right?” He gave a nervous grin.

“Hmm, true enough.” Marina muttered, walking closer towards him. She was perfectly confident with the strength of her plants, so she wasn’t afraid he was going to suddenly break free and attack her.

“So, seeing how I’m stronger than you and all, you should have no problem doing whatever I say, correct?”

“Y-yes, I swear I would do everything you told me to from now on! I’ll be your slave! I’ll even put a collar on and bark like a dog if you want to me too! I-in fact, I’ll do it right from now! Woof woof, forgive me, Master! Woof woof I’m been such a bad pup—uorrghhmphhh!”

Marina shut him up again. Instead of feeling amused by his self-humiliation act, she only felt disgusted yet again.

“Reinhard, what do you think? Should I just dispose of them all right now?” She gave a glance towards her companion.

“W-well, it’s your choice. Lord Archimond has given you full authority, no? You can do whatever you want with them,” he replied. He was taken aback by the fierce look she had on her face. In fact, he had been taken aback by all her actions up to this point, ever since she started her scout on the bandit’s lair. It was the first time he had ever witnessed magic being used like this. He had met mages before, and even fought one or two, but not a single one came close to being even near her level.

He couldn't help but be a little afraid of her. She's certainly someone he wouldn't want to anger for sure.

"Please! Kill them, milady!” The woman shouted. “They don’t deserve mercy! Not a single bit! In fact, I want them paraded all through the villages they had raided and extorted all this time! Let us have our revenge on them!”

Marina paused for a bit, seemingly thinking about something, before turning her head towards her with a smile. “Alright. You can have your revenge.”

The beastman could only move around in vain as he tried speaking through the vines gagging his mouth.

\---------

Afterwards, Marina produced some clothes out of her Dimensional Storage to be worn by the captured women. She actually had anticipated their numbers to be more, as according to the intel Reinhard had gathered, the bandits in total had kidnapped around 30 women. And seeing how there were only ten here, that meant the rest must have perished. And if they had delayed for some backup soldiers before they went after the bandits, there would be even less villagers to rescue for sure.

As for the captured bandits, the way Marina was going to carry them back was by forcing them to walk on a line while being tied with her vines. Like slaves basically, chained to one another. And of course, she warned them that if any of them tried to escape, she would kill them without a single thought. 

This way, they descended down the mountain. And in the process, none of the beastmen tried to escape. They all knew that the mage meant every single word she said, and they could only look at her in terror, as if she was a demon lord in disguise. Even when she slept, her dryad stood watch over them (plants have no need of sleep after all), so she left no openings that they could exploit.

On the way, the captured women told their tales. At least for those who were willing to talk. The story was generally the same. The bandits came to their villages, demanded money and food, and when they couldn’t pay, they would kidnap some of the women with them. And just like their intel mentioned, they had been doing this for months. The villagers were too scared to send a message to the Earl of their plight, especially since the Earl had never really given any soldiers to guard their region before. To them, the Earl was a ruler that didn’t care about them, even though the truth was far different. He simply didn’t have any troops to spare.

It took Reinhard quite some work to coax the info of the existence and whereabouts of the bandits from them. And this whole thing only came to his attention because of a mere rumor. Thankfully, he took his job seriously as the future Earl, thus his frequent outing to the faraway villages to hear and solve their problems.

Marina didn’t try to correct their misconception. She knew it would only fall in deaf ears. Poor or not, it was still her grandfather’s job to guard her subjects.

And so she would do the task he couldn’t do. And perhaps, that way, her grandfather's name would be cleared as well.

As for the Baron, his mansion was located in the largest village in the area. It wasn’t lavish by any means. In fact, it was quite in a poor state. The Baron was almost as poor as the villagers he ruled over, with only the stipend given by the Earl supporting his middle-class lifestyle. He was never that smart or cunning of a man. He was content with his uneventful lifestyle. He was a painter and he spent all his days painting. Even though he really was not good at it.

And then, the bandits came to his village. At first, he gave them what they wanted, knowing that his meager soldiers wouldn’t be able to stand against them. But, when they increased the amount of money and food they demanded to the point that his village couldn’t pay them, he knew he had to fight them. And so he did, with his soldiers and with the militia formed by the able-bodied youths of his village.

And he lost. Terribly.

His village was burned down to the ground, with every remaining survivor killed without mercy. His wife, daughter, and even his maids were violated in front of his very eyes, simply to torture him before they killed him.

The woman Marina and Reinhard had spoken to was one of said maids. The other maids had perished, either by resisting their captors or after their body or mind couldn’t take it anymore.

As for the daughter, Reinhard tried to comfort her but she wasn’t even responding to him or anyone. She simply stared into the distance in silence.

They had broken her.

This was enough for Marina to treat her prisoners even more mercilessly. She didn’t give them any food and she would only give them water every second day—a puddle of muddy water she formed with her magic. She watched them drink it all up like the foul dogs they were. And of course, if they slowed down, she would whip them with her vines.

This, of course, made Reinhard even more afraid of her.

Once they reached the nearest village, as promised, she gave the villagers free reign on what they wanted to do with them. And so the bandit prisoners were thrown rocks and rotten eggs by the womenfolk, while the men beat them up to the inches of their lives. All Marina asked was that they wouldn’t kill any of them, as other villagers had the right to exact their revenge as well.

This way, she moved village after village for days—each time giving the prisoners to the villagers’ wrath. One by one the rescued women returned to their families. Some with happy smiles, with others with more bitter ones, as they knew they could never return to their old life after everything they had gone through. Marina couldn’t do anything for the latter. She could only pray that the adage that time heals everything was right.

And then, it was time for the final village—the village they had burned to the ground.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the most horrendous sight. Remains of charred wood were everywhere, covered in soot and ash. Nothing was left intact. They had killed and destroyed indiscriminately. Even when slavers attacked a beastkin village, they would rarely do such a thing. They would capture the beastkin to be their merchandise and loot whatever their greedy hands could get, but they wouldn’t perform wanton destruction to this level. It’s better to be a slave than to be dead, for a slave can be freed, but a dead man can never return back to the realm of the living.

When they reached the rubble of the Baron’s mansion, the Baron’s daughter fell down to her knees and broke into tears.

“Uwaaahhh!”

A terrible, heartwrenching wail spread throughout the ruined village. All this time she had bottled up her emotions, and now, it burst forth out of her in a single instant.

Reinhard immediately moved forward, but Marina sent him a look that told him to stay put. _Let her mourn on her own_ was the message she expressed.

After what felt like an eternity, her sobbing receded. Marina walked forward and put her hand on the girl's right shoulder.

“Marnie.” She called out to her. “It's now your turn. Those bandits… what do you want to do with them?"

She fell silent, unresponsive to Marina’s question.

The mage then took out what looked like a handful of seeds from her pocket. She then took the girl’s hands and put said seeds onto them.

“If you believe they should suffer the same fate as the people in this village, then I shall grant you my strength."

The girl looked down. Seeing the seeds that was placed on her hands, she looked back towards Marina, brows drawing together in confusion.

"Feed them those and they would suffer a most gruesome death."

The mage no longer had the slightest pity for them. And so what better way to put at end to them by using her experimental instant growth seeds?

She looked back at the seeds. Clutching them tightly, she stood up and began walking towards the bandit leader. 

"Ummmpphhh! Ummmpphhh!"

He, of course, was still gagged and bound, just like the rest of his comrades. He could only express himself through his tears and the horror-filled expression that colored his face, as he knew from instinct that this is it. This is his end.

And she’s not going to make it a pleasant one.

“Kneel.” Marina spoke, as her vines forced him to do so. She then withdrew her vines from his mouth, allowing him to finally speak.

“P-please! D-don’t kill me!” He shouted. Even though she had not fed him for more than a week, he was still strong enough to let out his voice like that—a testament to the durability of the beast race.

“It’s not to me you should beg. Beg to her instead,” Marina replied with an icy tone.

The beastman immediately did as he was told. He pleaded to the girl instead, putting on his sweetest, most endearing voice that he could muster.

She, however, was undeterred. She continued walking towards him with a determined, cold look, as she gripped the seeds tighter and tighter.

And then, once she was right in front of him, Marina forced the beastman’s mouth to open with her vines.

She didn’t need to be told. The girl immediately forced all the seeds inside said mouth. 

And then, Marina forced him to swallow them all.

He gasped for breath once the process was over. “W-what did you do? What did you just make me eat?”

The mage didn’t answer. Instead, she turned to the girl and said, “Marnie, avert your eyes. You might not want to see what’s coming.”

“No, I’m going to watch. He deserves to suffer for what he did to Papa,” was her reply.

The beastman, on the other hand, had gone into complete panic mode. He tried to puke out the seeds to no avail. He couldn’t really use his hands to aid him in the process, as Marina still had those tied behind his back.

“H-hey, p-please! I-I’ve learned my lesson!” He resorted to begging Marina once again. “I-I don’t want to die yet! I-I still have so many things that I want to do with my life!”

“Then, perhaps, you should have considered doing those things before you become a bandit,” was Marina’s cold reply.

“N-no, please, I’ll—urrggaaahhhhhh! Aaahhhh!”

He screamed as he wriggled around on the ground like a worm. If Marina had to guess, he must be feeling excruciating pain coming out from his stomach right now.

After all…

“Guaaahhhhhh!”

Tree branches pierced out of his stomach and chest, rupturing his internal organs and giving him the worst pain he had ever experienced his entire life.

The girl flinched, but he kept her gaze towards him.

“Y-you… you monster!” He shouted in-between his wheezing, as his lungs were already severely damaged, no longer allowing him to scream.

“It’s not over yet,” was Marina’s sole reply.

And indeed it wasn’t, as soon after, another branch came out from his throat and mouth. The tree inside him wasn’t just growing in one direction after all.

He could no longer speak. He could only send Marina a vengeful glare. To him, she was the real villain. What kind of a sadistic monster would do this to another living being? Even the worst punishment of their race could not match against what she was doing to him.

Marina didn’t care however. She had seen the same glare before, from the same filth that nearly took her sister away.

After a few seconds more, branches popped out of his nostrils, eyes, and ears, before piercing his brain, killing him at last.

The beastmen stopped moving, as blood poured out of his every orifice.

The girl stood still with her fists clenched. Anger filled her eyes. Once again, she did not flinch when she saw his eyes popped out of their sockets.

“Miss Marina, kill the others as well.”

“As you wish.”


	116. Marina’s Side — A Report To The Earl

A large bonfire, as tall as a building, shone in that deserted village for the last time.

It was a ritual—an offering—for the spirits of the dead to rest as they returned to the heavens.

Marnie watched as the flames consumed her enemies, not bothered in the slightest by the rancid smell of burned corpses permeating through the air. She knew she should feel happier since her family and village had been avenged, but all she could feel was hollowness inside her heart.

“You’re alright?” Reinhard put one hand on her shoulder.

“Mmm,” was all she replied with.

Her maid, on the other hand, was busy conversing with Marina instead.

"Thank you for the kind offer, milady, but I'm afraid I have to refuse. Miss Marnie still has her uncle, so there would be no need for us to burden your household with our presence.”

Knowing that they had lost everything, Marina offered them refuge in her grandfather’s house. She did it not just out of pity, but out of duty as well. After all, her father, the baron, technically worked under her grandfather.

"Her uncle, who is he if I might ask?" Marina asked further.

"The Viscount of Dramor. So you don't have to worry. He'll take care of us just fine." The maid gave a reassuring smile.

Marina never heard of him before, but she didn't expect to. She barely familiarized herself with the lay of the land and for her to remember every single noble out there—it's just too much to ask. Especially when it's a baron or a viscount, lower rank nobles with not much land not influence on their names.

"Hey, Marina. One sec."

The mage turned her head. It was Reinhard. He walked up to them with a serious expression on his face.

“Miss, what do you think of me accompanying you and the young lady to her uncle’s place?” He asked the maid.

“W-what? But we can’t possibly—”

“It’s fine.” He added a smile. “I have nothing better to do anyway. And I won’t sleep well if I just sent the two of you off on your own. This kingdom isn’t as safe as I want it to be, unfortunately.” He shook his head.

He was right. For the two to just travel on their own… there’s a high chance they might get captured by bandits (yet again) or mauled by monsters.

“Hey, you’re fine with this, aren’t you, Marina?” He gave her a grin.

“Of course,” she answered with her own smile. “You make a good point.” She turned to look back at the maid. “You should take his offer. He’s a reliable person, you know. He won’t let you down.”

The maid looked towards Marina, and then to Reinhard, and then back and forth between the two for a couple of times.

“A-alright, Miss… And Sir, please forgive us for imposing on your kindness even more.” She gave a bow towards the warrior.

And thus, Marina had to return to her grandfather’s house on her own.

\------

**Marina**

“Lady Marina, welcome back!”

I was greeted by a group of butlers and maids when I arrived back at Grandfather’s mansion. They all stood in a line in front of the stairs leading up to the front door. As usual, the gatekeepers rushed inside to announce my return, and with a swiftness that honestly surprised me, the servants immediately came out and organized themselves like this.

I suppose this kind of thing is a common procedure in the aristocracy, but for me, it just feels odd and even wasteful. They could be working instead of greeting me like this, you know.

Leading on the front was Annelise, the head maid of the establishment. As usual, the woman was looking younger than she actually was. She could easily pass as Henrietta’s older sister if she wanted to.

“Lady Marina, I assume that everything went smoothly there?” she asked.

I gave her a nod.

“Then how about Sir Reinhard? Where is he?”

“It’s a long story. But he’s fine. He’s just escorting someone.”

“Escorting someone?” She raised her eyebrows. She didn’t probe the matter further though. She had heard my statement that it’s a long story so this wouldn’t be the place nor time to ask for further explanation.

“Lady Marina, do you wish to take a rest first? Or do you wish to meet with Lord Archimond right away? He’s currently in the study.”

“I’ll do the latter,” I answered. “Though please prepare the baths as I would head there once I spoke with him,” I added with a smile.

“Of course, Milady.” She bowed once again. “I’ll send Henrietta to accompany you there, as usual.”

I took a few steps forward, before stopping as I remembered something else I needed to ask of her.

“How about Erika? Did she throw any tantrum while I was away?” My smile turned into a slight smirk.

“Oh, rest assured that the young lady has been very well behaved,” she replied with her own smile. “She and Lorry have gotten along excellently.”

“That’s good to hear. Though, how about Roland?”

Her smile disappeared.

“W-well, the young master has been… decently good to her.”

_That’s a lie._

Roland was the son of Reinhard and Emma, his first wife. He inherited his mother’s blonde hair and yellow eyes. In the terms of age, he was a bit older than Erika.

And he was the biggest rapscallion I had ever encountered.

Unlike Hugo, he was fond of pranks and mischief. Said pranks ranged from throwing frogs to frighten people to lifting up skirts and yelling loudly what color of panties his victim was wearing today.

Yes, that included me. When we first met, I thought he was just a cute and harmless young boy so I let down my guard. Thanks to that, the black panties I wore that day were revealed, not just to Henrietta but also to Reinhard, who was also there.

And yes, it was a terribly embarrassing accident. I would have disciplined the boy for it, but I had no right to do so. So I could only ask Reinhard to do it. As his father, it’s his job to be tough to his kid after all.

He also had a half-sister named Veronica, born out of his second mother, Rina. She was still just a baby though.

“...I see. Then tell Lady Emma I wish to speak with her later.”

Once again, I would have to ask her to raise her son better.

And no mother in the world would like that.

After our short conversation, we headed upstairs to the study straight away while the rest of the servants returned to their posts.

\--------

“Milord! Announcing the presence of Lady Marina!”

As decorum unfortunately demanded, Annelise had to do that first before I entered the room.

I saw him at the far end of the room, looking at the gardens outside through the window. The morning sunlight lit his figure, making his greying hair shine. He was wearing his work outfit, a black suit with a white undershirt. Looking at him like this, he distinguished himself clearly from the nobles I had met before. Even at his age, he still commanded respect, to the point that even I tensed up a little in his presence. It was far different than how I first met him when he was bedridden.

 _Now that I think about it, his health has been improving ever since I arrived here._ I smiled inwardly. _The herbal medicine I gave to him is working after all._

Turning around, he greeted me with a smile.

“Please, leave us, Annelise,” he commanded with a gentle tone.

“As you wish, Milord.”

The maid left without another word, bowing before closing the door behind her.

“So, I take it that all of the vermins have been exterminated?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“And you have no problem at all in the process?”

“None, Grandfather.”

“I see...” He brushed his short beard. “Then, all those nights of me worrying you’ll never return were spent for nothing after all.”

And then, he burst into a laugh, before breaking down into a coughing fit once again.

“Grandfather! Please, don’t overexert yourself!” I shouted as I approached him. _Really, why must he be like this?_

I helped him sit on the nearby chair. I assumed this was his work desk, judging by all the documents stacked on top of each other on the table. Taking a peek at the top, it was a list of numbers that seemed to be about the income his territory was receiving from the taxes.

Of course, normally, Reinhard would be the one doing all this. Well, him and Elise, his personal maid/assistant. Since he wasn’t around, I suppose Grandfather decided he wanted to do it instead.

“Well, my dear granddaughter.” He took a sip of the cup of coffee on said table. “Tell me everything. And do not spare me any of the details.”

And so I did, describing what they had inflicted upon the villagers and how I decided on the fitting punishment for them. I even told him what I did to their leader. I wasn’t going to hide it. I believed it was justified. I wasn’t in the wrong. And so what use was there to not tell him about it?

I also informed how Reinhard had gone with Marnie and her maid.

Thanks to all that information, when I finished, the sun was already high up in the sky.

“I see… For those cravens, death is the only punishment that is fitting for them. However,” He looked at me straight in the eye as he said his next words. “What you did was certainly unorthodox. Normally, for bandits, we would parade them around on the city before publicly executing them by hanging. Though for assaulting a baron and burning down a village, it wouldn't just be hanging. They would also be drawn and quartered, or even crucified. But instead, you decided not to bring them here and kill them there right away. May I ask what your reasoning was for such an action?”

His eyes narrowed. It didn’t take a genius to tell that I was being tested by him.

“Because their victims are those villagers, not the people of this city,” I answered, matter-of-factly without flinching.

“You know, it could be a great way to introduce you to the people. They would look up to you as a dispenser of justice. Then you would easily gain support amongst them. Perhaps your farming project with the Farmers’ Guild is one of them. I heard that you still have some difficulties negotiating the planting of your seeds with them.”

He was talking about the still experimental cold-resistant seeds that I had developed over the months I had stayed here. Using the knowledge I stole from Vera’s library, I could apply the same principle she had applied to the crops in her territory. Unfortunately, the seeds her books described were not of the usual kind, like wheat or potatoes. Their usage was for alchemy and herbal medicines. And around here, people needed food crops more than anything. We didn’t have a booming alchemist population around here after all. Thus, the lack of excitement from them. Not to mention how they had yet to trust me as a mage. Mages were rare around here, with most being adventurers. And the rumors about the Verdant Witch of Dead had reached their ears. They didn’t know she was me yet, but it already made them even more suspicious of any sorts of earth mages. The farmers in this region were what you would call “rugged traditionalists”. They believed that using magic was a form of cheating that would only bring misfortune later on. They believed instead of the hard work of manual labor and praying to the Saint that their crops would grow.

If a person from the Magocracy would see them, they would no doubt declare them as idiots.

And, as much as I would love to disagree, I had the same opinion. Especially when your crops’ yield was poor, both in quality and quantity. They could barely feed the mouths of the people in this region. Not that anyone would want their products, thus the export of farming goods remained practically zero.

Such was the difference in culture. And no matter how powerful of a mage I was, I couldn’t change that overnight.

“I would also prefer if you had kept them alive a little longer, just so we could interrogate them. Information about other bandit groups and the like would be useful. And if they had any connections with the Dukedom in the north. They came from there after all.”

“Do not worry, Grandfather,” I answered. “I had interrogated them thoroughly while I paraded them through every village. I only gave them water and food if they answered. And from what they told me, they didn’t have any connection with the Dukedom. Nor did they had any connections with other bandit groups. Or rather, they had assimilated every other bandit group they met into their own. At least the ones that existed in the region. However…”

“...Yes, go on.”

“It seems they have made some transactions with a certain slave-trading group. Unfortunately, they didn’t mention any names, but they did indeed make a transaction with them. They didn’t sell any of the villagers though. They instead sold the travelers and adventurers that just were unfortunately enough to trespass through their territory. I believe the slave traders only wanted non-humans, which was why the villagers were spared.”

“I see.” The earl then gave a dejected sigh.

"Do you wish for me to look more into the matter, Grandfather?”

“No, there’s no need for that.” He shook his head. “They most likely came from other regions, so even if we identified their location, there’s nothing we can do about them.”

In this kingdom, slavery was allowed as long as the slaves were acquired lawfully. Meaning, either voluntary slavery, where the person sold themselves into it (usually done by poor families), or criminals whom the local lord decided to sell into bondage. In this kingdom, each lord had their own laws for the most part, with the king only caring about the taxes they collected for him and other things like foreign relationships and security.

Thus, it would be really hard for us to prosecute those slave traders when they’re based in another noble’s territory.

“Poor Jackson… to think that his life would end this way…” The earl sighed once again, as he took another sip of his coffee.

Jackson was the name of the murdered baron—Marnie’s father. Grandfather had told me how they had somewhat of a close relationship over the years. He liked the man and his simple way of life. Most nobles he met were all conniving and worldly in one way or another, but that man was content with whatever he inherited from his parents. And Grandfather appreciated that.

"We can only hope that the poor girl's uncle will treat her well. Regrettably, I know nothing about him, only that he's a viscount in the southern part of the kingdom."

He then stood up from his chair.

“That would be enough, my dear.” He smiled. “I think you deserve a long and nice rest. Please, don’t mind all these papers and whatnot. An old man still needs some work to do so his brain doesn’t rot.”

I looked at the pile of documents on the table once more. As shameful as it was for me to admit, I was wholly unskilled in the matters of territory administration. Grandfather offered a tutor to teach me the subject, but I refused since I was already busy with my seed research.

And besides, I had no plans to really becoming his heir. That would be Reinhard. I would prefer to be seen as an advisor of sorts, especially in things relating to magic. Any nobles who are serious in developing their territory would want a mage as one of their aides. Or at least, that’s my personal opinion. There are so many things you can do with magic to help one’s territory prosper after all.

“Alright, Grandfather.” I smiled at him. “But please, do not tire yourself. I don’t want to hear you coughing like that ever again. It makes me worry, you know?” I added a little pout.

“Ha!” He laughed, showing off his perfectly white teeth. “What grandfather wouldn’t want to be worried for by her granddaughter, especially one as beautiful as you?”

“Oh, Grandfather…” I sighed. _Me? Beautiful? I don’t think I am. Beautiful is something like Emma, with her long blonde hair and golden eyes._

On that note, our meeting was over. I excused myself, heading straight to the bathing house afterward.

\--------

The bathhouse was large, located in a separate building from the main house. It wasn't that lavish compared to the other bathhouses she had been into (especially the one owned by Glinda), but it was still a bathhouse fit for a noble. Or at least, that's what I believe.

“Miss Marina!”

When I arrived, I was immediately greeted by my personal maid, Henrietta. And by “greeted”, I mean her throwing herself at me for a strong and tight hug.

“Ooh, I missed you so much, Miss! Can you believe how boring things are here without you around?” She giggled as she released me, though still keeping both of her hands on my shoulders. The girl was only a bit shorter than me, so she could do it with ease.

“So, Miss, you want a bath, don’t you? I can tell that straight away. No offense but you don’t smell as nice as you usually are after all.”

My smile disappeared. “...You don’t have to say that, you know.” _Really, she knows just how much I’m particular with my hygiene._

“A-ah, Miss, sorry if I offended you. I-it’s just a little joke, that’s all.” She quickly returned in a panic.

Afterward, she quickly guided me towards the changing room, where she undressed me in a flash. Now without any clothes, I moved on into the baths proper.

The water, of course, was perfectly warm. And it was scented as well, just the way I wanted it to.

I entered without hesitation, feeling my muscles relaxing as more and more of my body went under the water.

“Want a massage, Miss?”

“Yes, that would be nice.”

The girl’s massages were actually pretty good, so I didn’t hesitate to accept her offer.

_Aah, this is pleasant indeed._

Just when I thought I could just drift off and let her touch carry me to dreamland…

“Lady Marina. I am glad that you have returned safely from your trip.”

It was Emma. And behind her was Rina. Reinhard’s two wives. Just like me, they were fully naked, and they were accompanied by their own attendants each.

I expected to have our talk later, as we had our lunch, but I suppose it had to happen now.

I sighed inwardly. _So much for my relaxing bath time..._


	117. Marina’s Side — Clash

Emma and Rina—Reinhard’s two wives. Just like how their backgrounds contrasted, so did their personalities as well. The former was calm, serious, and mature, while the latter was more childish and naive. Appearance-wise, they differed as well, with the former having a more “refined” beauty, fitting of her noble heritage, while the latter having a more down-to-earth attractiveness—the sort of beauty you would find in barmaids or cowherds.

Reinhard had both worlds covered, it seemed.

Emma proudly walked forward, not caring in the slightest that all of her naked skin was exposed to the world. Rina on the other hand was noticeably shyer, covering her breasts with one hand and her womanhood with the other. The two entered the water as well, taking the side opposite of mine.

Emma was the first to make her move.

“Lady Marina, if I might so rudely inquire, was your task on subjugating those bandits a successful one?”

Her tone was neutral, and she uttered it with a smile, and yet, I couldn’t help but sense a bit of hostility mixed in with her question as well.

“Yes, it was,” I answered with a smile. “They really are no problem whatsoever for a skilled mage like me.”

And for some reason, I wanted to fire back at her a little as well.

“I’m pleased to hear that,” she returned. “Although, may I enquire where my dear husband might be? He hasn’t made a visit to our chambers all morning and we know whenever he returns from his long trips, he would always come to us first before doing anything else.”

“It would be some time until he returns, unfortunately,” I told her matter-of-factly. “He has another duty he has to attend to.” I decided not to go into details right away. Just because I wasn’t in the mood to do so.

“Oh?” Her cherry red lips pursed. “Another duty? Then shouldn’t you still be out there accompanying him?”

“That won’t be necessary. It’s just an escort mission, that’s all. And besides, I have other duties that I need to attend to here.”

“Those plants of yours, I assume?”

“Yes. I am nearly at a breakthrough. Once my seeds are perfect, then I would be able to start sharing it with the farmers in the region.”

Our conversation took a little breather there, as her sight fixated on me, seemingly drilling into my skull.

Well, might as well bring _that_ up now.

“Lady Emma.” I broke the silence. “Once again, I would like to humbly ask for your disciplinary actions towards your son. I’ve heard from Annelise that he had been bothering Erika again, and I simply could not just bear to see my poor little sister being bothered by him.”

The lady responded by raising her eyebrows.

“That’s curious. From what I’ve heard, it’s your Erika that needs to be disciplined. Yesterday, she pushed my dear son into a mud pile. Can you believe it, for a little lady like her to behave so uncouthly?”

_...I see. This is going to be even more difficult than I thought._

“Erika wouldn’t do any harm to your son if she hasn’t been provoked. I’m sure of that.”

“Oh? Are you insinuating that it’s my son’s fault that he returned crying with mud all over his clothes and hair?”

“Yes. He must have teased her again and she has enough of it. So she retaliates. It’s as simple as that.”

Of course, I have no plans on backing down. I know how Erika is. She is a gentle child that won’t hurt a fly. And it’s my duty as her older sister to have her back when she’s done nothing wrong, even if that means insulting a mother and her son.

She, unfortunately, had the same idea.

“Very well.” Her tone had gotten much colder than before. “I shall speak to Roland about the matter. However…”

Suddenly, she stood up, water falling off her skin. The baths here were shallow so you had to sit down if the water was going to reach your shoulders.

“Lady Marina, you might be Lord Archimond’s granddaughter, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want in this household. My husband is still the rightful heir to his title and Lord Archimond still hasn’t changed his mind in the matter. So I would suggest you to be more careful with your words and actions from now on.”

_Ah, so it’s just as I feared._

I stood up as well, locking my eyes straight at hers.

“Do not worry, Lady Emma,” I replied. “I have no intention of taking your husband’s place. I am ill-suited for the position after all.”

“Good. Then, if you would excuse me…”

The lady then turned around and walked out of the water, with her maid immediately drying her dripping body with the towel she had brought.

“Rina, are you coming?” She gave a glance towards her companion.

“Y-yes, just a sec.”

The other woman then made her way through the water to my side of the bath before whispering, “P-please don’t be mad at her. Emma is just upset that Reinhard hasn’t returned. She has been worried sick about him, you see.”

“Don’t worry,” I whispered back with a smile. “I understand.” _A wife’s worry. I remember Mother acting the same way whenever Father went in his occasional month-long monster hunting trips._

Unlike Emma, Rina was much kinder towards me. I suppose because unlike Emma, she didn’t care about the threat to Reinhard’s status as Grandfather’s heir. Or perhaps it’s just because of the difference between their personality. I never could get along with other hardheaded people like myself after all.

The two soon left, allowing me to enjoy the baths as I should once again. And I’m glad they did, even though they must have cut their baths short in the process (they didn’t even get their bodies scrubbed). I couldn’t relax as much when they’re around, especially around Emma.

I asked Henrietta to massage me again, and then, before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.

\-------

**Henrietta**

_Aah, they clashed again. Really, both Miss Marina and Madam Emma are so stubborn._

_Well, at the very least, I got to see them facing each other while dripping wet and naked! Hehe! I don’t think they realize it, but they’re really attractive when they’re in at that state. The way the droplets just trailed down their smooth skin, going down their breasts, butts, and thighs, it’s simply a heavenly sight to watch. Noble ladies are simply the best!_

_That’s why I’m so happy to be able to serve Miss Marina! I can be the one to help her change, giving me an eyeful of her beautiful body every day! I get to wash her clothes too, which means I get to sniff her panties!_

_Of course, Madam Rina is beautiful too! Her boobs are easily the biggest amongst the three! And they always bounce every time she walks, especially when she’s naked like this! Not that Miss Marina and Madam Emma’s boobs don’t bounce as well of course._

"Henrietta, please resume the massage."

"A-ah right, Miss. Sorry about that."

And so, I returned to my work, making sure that Milady's muscles were all nice and relaxed.

_And then, when she falls asleep like she often does…_

_Boing Boing~♥_

I stifled my grin. _Just a little though. Don't want to get caught after all._

\--------

**Marina**

Once I woke up, I ordered Henrietta to finish up quickly as I was starting to feel hungry. If I had to guess, it must be around one to two o’clock in the afternoon by now. She washed and scrubbed my body with great speed and expertise before drying it with a towel. I would do it myself if not for the fact that she would give me the saddest puppy eyes look whenever I told her I could do her job by myself. I suppose she feels the need to be useful, which is a perfectly understandable feeling to have.

Afterward, she dressed me up in a clean dress before leading me to the dining room to have lunch. As expected, lunch hour was over already and I had to dine by myself.

Well, until a certain someone decided to join in on the fun.

"Big Sis! You're back!'

Without hesitation, Erika ran from the door right into my lap, climbing and hugging me as tightly as she could. I noticed Lorry on the distance, smiling as she closed the door. It seemed she decided that her presence would just be a bother to us.

"Oh Big Sis, I miss you so much." She buried her face in my bosom.

"Oh, come on, Erika, it's been only two weeks. You can't miss me that much, can you?" I smiled as I patted her head.

“Two weeks are too long! I don’t wanna be separated from you ever again!” He hugged me even tighter.

I kept up my smile but internally, I let out a sigh. Ever since that incident with the kidnappers, she had been like this. She never wanted to leave my side.

“Take me with you, Sis! I can help! I can now use magic too!”

“Really?” I lifted her to look at her straight in the eyes. “That’s good news, isn’t it? So you can now cast Fireball, right?”

“Yep! All thanks to you, Sis!”

“That’s wonderful! I should reward youfor that! Oh, I know! How about some candy? Tomorrow, I’ll take you to town and you can choose whichever candy you want!”

Judging by her bright expression, she must be really proud of this accomplishment. Even though compared to me and Hugo, she was terribly late in doing so. I could cast Fireball when I was four, while Hugo, the genius that he was, could already do it at two. Two years old! Isn’t that just amazing?

It won’t be good for her self-esteem if I start comparing her to him though. Every one of us is talented in different fields. Not everyone can be as good as Hugo in magic. Maybe she can be a skilled swordswoman in the future (though she seems to have no interest in the subject). Or maybe something else not related to fighting, like being an artist or a singer, or even a writer. Though I imagine Grandfather would probably not be thrilled if she ended up taking any of those “lower-class” work.

Personally, I don’t mind. As long as she can live happily, she can be whatever she wants.

Or maybe, just maybe, she can be the one to inherit Grandfather’s title. Countess Erika. She’s pretty good at math to my surprise, knowing her boisterous personality. You need that skill to be able to manage the finances of your territory, I imagine.

Me? I’m never that good at it. Nor would I be interested in spending hours sitting on a desk, crunching numbers like Grandfather or Reinhard or Elise.

Technically, you can hire a bookkeeper to do the work for you, but I suppose Grandfather doesn’t trust strangers to manage his territory’s finances.

“Sis, I wanna learn the next spell already! Maybe Water Ball! That’s just like Fireball but watery, right?”

Water Ball is the Beginner-level Water spell where you just summon a ball of water out of thin air. It’s not supposed to be used in an offensive manner in the slightest. It’s usually used to generate drinking or bathing water, so it’s merely a utility spell.

“Teehee, I suppose it is. Alright! Big Sis will teach you that! But after lunch first. Big Sis is starving!”

We then ate together, sitting side by side with each other on the long table. As usual, I had to tell her to eat her vegetables. I made sure to tell Lorry to do the same as well in my absence.

Afterward, we headed to the usual place we performed our lessons.

\----------

The gardens of Grandfather’s mansion were somewhat barren-looking, at least compared to the garden I saw back at Glinda’s mansion. Thanks to the cold climate, there wasn’t much fresh greenery to be seen. Not to mention that the place’s size itself was a major limiting factor on what kind of plants or decorations could be planted.

Well, it's a lot better now though. All thanks to Nysa, who had decided to make it her home. As a dryad, she preferred to sleep outside amongst nature.

"Masteeerr! Miss Erikaaaa!"

_And speak of the devil._

The dryad was standing on a short, grassy hill, waving her hands. It seemed she intentionally put herself in that clearing to be directly under the sun. Dryads, like plants, could generate energy via sunlight. When we arrived in the morning, she asked for my permission to go to the garden straight away. I gave it of course. She didn't need to speak with Grandfather after all.

Erika ran forward to her embrace with a smile. The girl had gotten along quite well with the dryad. At first, she was scared of her not being quite human, but she quickly got over that, once Nysa showed to her that she was just as gentle as me.

“Hehe, are you that happy to see me again, Miss Erika?” The dryad returned with her own smile. “I thought you’d be happier to see Master.”

“Of course I’m happier to see Big Sis! But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy seeing you back as well!”

“Alright, that’s enough, Erika,” I said after I climbed the small hill. “Time to start your lesson. You can play with Nysa all you want later.”

As usual, when I’m teaching her, I put on my teacher persona, so I had to be a little sterner with her. Just like when I did it with Hugo all those years ago.

“Yep! You better listen to your big sister alright!” The dryad giggled as she released Erika from her arms. She then turned to face me and said, “You’re using this spot, right? Then I’ll go rest somewhere else.”

And so she left. By burrowing under the ground. Even Erika was no longer phased by that at this point.

Like she had requested, the lesson would be on Water Ball. I began by teaching her the chant for the spell and drawing the shape of the mana flow on the ground. Since it’s a beginner spell, it’s a really simple shape, just a circle with multiple half-circles jutting out of it. The big circle signified the shape of the water the spell was to generate, while the small half-circles signified the element to be generated.

Unfortunately, just like with the Fireball spell, even that level of simplicity was too much for her.

She quickly memorized the chant, but the problem was in her mana shaping process. Something that came second nature to me was a monumental task for the poor girl. Sensing the mana flow she was attempting to control by placing my hand near her wrist, I knew that the problem still persisted. She simply couldn’t keep the shape of her mana consistent. It shook and trembled, with the half-circles moving back and forth and even phasing in and out of existence.

After her thirtieth attempt, with not a single drop of water coming out, she kicked a nearby stone in frustration.

Only for it to land right on somebody else’s head.

“H-hey! What was that for?”

It was Roland, the naughty kid I spoke about before. He wore a white button-up shirt and blue shorts with black suspenders. He had an angelic face, no doubt inherited from his mother. If not for his attitude, he would be one lovable child for sure.

A small redness had appeared on his forehead and his hand was busy rubbing the spot.

“Oh, it’s you,” Erika said in a cold tone. “Go away. I’m learning magic today and I don’t have any time to waste on you.”

I couldn’t help but smirk a little. She put her hands on her waist while giving the grumpiest look possible, but it only made her look even cuter.

As for the boy though, yeah, he should leave.

"Hello there, Miss Marina!" He waved his hand at me with a smile. "You're back! How was it? Did you do anything naughty with Father?"

And here we go again.

You see, this kid actually thinks that I should be his mother, meaning, Reinhard's wife. When we first met, he outright asked "Would you be my mother?" right to my face without skipping a beat.

And then, every time we meet, he would ask the same question, even begging it on a few occasions. I wasn't fooled by his acting however.

I gave him my own cold stare, before replying, "Erika's right. We're in the middle of a lesson here. So please leave."

"Hmm, magic lesson, huh? I wanna watch then!" He sat down on the ground with a grin on his face.

I sighed. I couldn't object to that.

"Fine. But stay out of the way, alright? Magic can be dangerous, you know." I gave him a serious look.

"Alright, Miss Marina!"

And so our lesson continued, with him watching on the sidelines. I gave him the occasional glances, making sure that he wasn’t up to any mischief. I hoped he would just leave from boredom, but to my surprise, he decided to stay. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying our lesson. I don’t know why though. He already said he wanted to be a swordsman like his father, saying stuff like how magic is lame and uncool and all that—all childish and unreasonable reasons. Fitting for a child, I suppose.

Eventually, Erika managed to create her first Water Ball. Only that it was nowhere near the size it’s supposed to.

“Good job!” I patted her shoulder with a smile. “Now you’re getting the hang of it! Keep up your training and in no time, you’d be able to cast it properly for sure!”

"Hey, that's not nice. Lying to your little sister like that."

It was Roland. He had decided to disturb us once again.

He stood up with a jump. "That was lame, Erika. Even I could do better than that."

Naturally, this sent her to a rage.

"You can do better?! You can't even cast magic in the slightest!" She yelled back.

His grin immediately grew wider.

“You don’t believe me? Then let me show you my magic.”

He then reached forward with his right hand, aiming at the tree near us.

“O Spirit of Wind! Sweep my enemies from their feet! Wind Blast!"

A gust of wind fired off from the palm of said hand.

Only that it didn't go towards the tree. Instead, the blast veered towards us.

Lifting the hem of our dresses.

"Oo green! That’s nice, Miss Marina! The red bow is a nice touch as well! As for you, Erika, white panties with bunnies again? That’s boring. Why won’t you wear something different for once?”

When the wind receded, both Erika and I were naturally sending our death glares towards him.

_...This little brat! That’s it! I don’t care what Emma says! If I have to be the one to teach him his lesson, then so be it!_


	118. Marina’s Side — The Jealous Wife

“Hehe, you like that?” He rubbed his nose with his finger, smiling proudly in the process. “Magic is easy! I don’t get why you’re so bad at it, Erika! I got that book just a week ago and I’m already this good at it! And I don’t even want to be a mage!”

“Pervert!” Erika yelled as tears formed in her eyes. Her expression was that of a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Perhaps more on the former.

As for me though, I had the same expression. Only that I had far more of the latter compared to the former.

I walked forward without a word, and then…

SLAP

I slapped the little brat, right on his right cheek.

He froze, seemingly shocked that I would actually do such a thing to him.

And then, he started to cry as well.

“U-uwaaahhhh! Y-you can’t do that! You’re not even my mother yet!”

“Lady Marina! How dare you?!”

As if Fate was having a laugh, it seemed I had been caught in the act by the boy’s mother, who stormed into the scene as if I just murdered her child. I didn't even notice that she was there, watching from the distance. At least, not until it was already too late. Even though she was wearing her usual white poofy-sleeved shirt, red ankle-length skirt, and a large feather hat colored similarly to the latter. Not exactly the most inconspicuous attire.

I cursed under my breath. I should've known something like this could happen. I let my temper get the better of me.

Still sobbing, the boy ran to his mother and hugged her. She immediately kneeled down and hugged him back.

"Uwaahhh! Miss Marina is mean to me!"

"Shh, don't worry. Mother will take care of her. So wipe your tears. You're your father's son, aren't you? Be brave and don't show your weakness to the enemy."

_Did she just call me an enemy?_

She then walked over to my direction, put on her most angry expression, and said, "How dare you hit my son like that? Who do you think you are? Just because you're the Earl's granddaughter doesn't mean you're above us in stature!"

"I did it for a good reason," I replied coldly. "He had done something inexcusable. He intentionally used a wind spell to lift Erika's and my dress."

"So? Do you think that gives you the right to hit my child?"

"It gives me the right to discipline him since you yourself seem to be unable to do so."

I’m not going to back off, even though I know provoking her like this would just make things worse. I have my own pride to consider. And Erika’s pride as well. I am not going to let some snot-nosed kid bully her.

“Oh? So you think you know better how to raise my son? Don’t tell me you actually are aiming to be my husband’s third wife? Just so you know that I will never—”

Suddenly, she paused mid-sentence, as something seemingly had latched onto her mind.

“R-right. You! If you’re going to hit my child like that, then I would only allow it if you become Reinhard’s third wife!”

I raised my eyebrows at this sudden shift. Until I realized what she was doing.

_She wants me to marry her husband so that his position as Grandfather’s heir would remain secure._

I am surprised. And impressed. It seems that even in her anger, she still keeps a clear head. She’s willing to sacrifice her own pride—as I am sure she doesn’t want me to be anywhere near her dear Reinhard if she can help it—just so the future of her husband is guaranteed.

“Yeah! Please marry Father, Miss Marina! He’s fond of you, you know!”

The kid had seemingly recovered fully, now back to his usual, cheerful self as if he hadn’t been crying just five minutes ago. _Don’t tell me that he’s faking all that._

“I do not want to hit your child,” I replied to Emma, looking her straight in the eye to show that I wasn’t lying. “But I do want him to stop doing this kind of action to me or Erika. And you should agree with me in the matter, for a boy who grows up thinking this kind of thing is acceptable would grow up to become an irresponsible womanizer who will play around with every woman he fancies. Do you want that to be his future?”

“...Impressive." She folded her arms under her chest, giving me a defiant, almost sneering look. "So you believe that just because he’s a little prankster who likes lifting skirts, he’ll grow up to be an irresponsible adult. You **do** know he'll grow up from this phase, sooner or later. nd Once he’s ten, I’ll send him off to the most prestigious boarding school where he would be taught to be a perfect gentleman. So it’s fine for him to fool around like this for a bit. Kids his age need it after all. And that’s Reinhard speaking.”

“I doubt Reinhard approves of him being a mischievous little runt like this though.” I fired back.

“Watch your tongue. I won’t accept you or anyone else calling my little angel a “runt” like that.”

_...Oops. Perhaps that’s a bit too much._

“Very well then. If you think there’s no problem whatsoever with him acting like that, then I assume you would have no problem with me doing this.”

With a flick of my wand, I cast a Wind spell, just like the one he did. Only this time it was a bit more powerful. And the wind would surge out right underneath his mother’s skirt.

It was enough to lift her long skirt all the way upwards, revealing to the world her undergarments, just like how mine and Erika’s had been revealed.

This wasn’t done out of any perverted intentions. I simply wanted to show her how embarrassing it was for a lady to have her private region being exposed like that.

When the wind died down, the lady’s face had turned pure crimson. I chuckled a little. _See? She’s just as embarrassed as I am. Or even more so._

And then, her hand flew right towards my face for a slap.

Too bad that my vine caught it in mid-air.

“See? You’re really embarrassed, aren’t you? So please understand why I want him to stop. The maids might not complain about it, knowing your status as this household’s madam, but I will. I am Marina Archimond, the granddaughter of Philip Archimond. So I have the same status as you are, Lady Emma.”

With those words, the woman could only turn around in anger, dragging her son with him.

Once they were gone, I let out a deep sigh.

_Well, this will only worsen our relationship._

After our little dramatic confrontation, Henrietta arrived to inform me that Grandfather had summoned me. I told her I would be there at once. Erika on the other hand opted to return to her room. She was in no mood to use the rest of the day to play in the garden, it seemed, especially after what just happened.

\-----------

**Henrietta**

Wow, that was amazing! To think I would miss such a lovely sight if I had arrived just a few moments later. This must be my lucky day!

I don't know exactly what happened, but it seems Young Master had lifted Miss Marina's skirt with his magic. She wouldn't know Young Master was capable of such a feat since I believe he only learned it 5 days ago, judging by when he started going on a rampage lifting the skirts of us maids. I was also one of his victims, but I didn't really mind. A cute boy like him can peek at my panties anytime he wants~♥

I have to applaud his bravery. Sure, I saw Miss Marina's panties already when I helped her change, but seeing her all flustered like that when her skirt was blown upwards, it was a divine sight. Aah, Miss Marina. Why are you so lovely?

But then, something even better happened. Miss Emma's skirt got lifted as well, and it's by Miss Marina too! I never got a chance to see her undergarments, so you can just imagine my excitement.

And my oh my, it was an even lovelier sight. She wore long white stockings and garterbelt. Her panties were sheer lace, colored white as well. It was an extremely erotic sight, especially since the panties showed a generous amount of her butt. No doubt she would wear them whenever she wanted to seduce Master Reinhard. But to think she would wear them in broad daylight as well… oh, how lewd!

...Alright, enough of that for now. I already got the image stored nicely in my mind. I can fantasize about it later. Now, I need to give Miss Marina her message.

\-------

**Marina**

I headed back to the study with Henrietta leading the way. Once she finished escorting me, she excused herself, citing that she would need to clean up my bedroom.

When I entered the room, I noticed that Grandfather was still busy with the documents. Only that this time around, he had Elise standing beside him as his assistant. The maid wasn’t present when I first met him, which meant he probably had dismissed her so that we could have a completely private discussion. It was somewhat of a sensitive matter after all.

“Ah, you’re here.” He greeted me with a smile. “Good news. I just received a letter from a friend and he said he knew a merchant who possessed that Dream Orb thing you wanted.”

My eyes widened.

“She is already making her way here. However, she expects to be paid handsomely for the item plus the fee of coming all the way out here."

"H-how much?" I stuttered.

"The letter doesn't mention the price, unfortunately." He shook his head. "However, the merchant would accept favors as payment."

"Favors?"

"Most likely a letter of introduction to His Majesty." Grandfather sighed. "Any merchants worth their salt would want to build connections with a kingdom's royal family."

"Can you do that, Grandfather? If you can't, then there's no need to—"

"Hah! Who do you think I am?" He laughed. "I never go back down on my promise, especially after your excellent work on those bandits. I'll write this merchant a letter that will take them to His Majesty directly. I still have some pulls in court after all."

If a heart could grow wings and fly away, then mine would've done so already.

_Finally! I can talk to Hugo again!_

\------------

The following days went like a blur, as my excitement continued to linger on, even though I knew the merchant wasn’t going to arrive for at least two months, and maybe more. She was apparently a wandering merchant of the Hobbit race who had recently set up shop at the city of Trine, which was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Amereria. She specialized in magical items, so it wouldn’t be odd for her to obtain the Dream Orb. Especially since The Bottomless Chasm was nearby—a World Dungeon where such items would be able to be found.

After the incident, Emma refused to talk or even look at me while Roland continued his mischievous ways, though he stopped whenever I was present. It seemed my slap had actually scared him, at least for the moment.

After around two weeks, Reinhard finally returned. He reported that Marie had been delivered safely to her uncle's place. And from the short time he was treated to his hospitality, he seemed to be a decent enough guy, at least according to his gut feeling. Let's just hope that gut feeling of his is correct, or I'll feel really guilty of not taking in the poor girl instead.

And of course, since he returned, the noises returned as well. What noises you might ask?

\---------

“O-oh, Reinhard! More! More! Thrust even deeper inside me!"

"N-not fair, Emma! I want him inside me too! Stop hogging him all for yourself!"

I paused in my tracks. Once again, those outrageous sounds reached my ears.

I had just finished my seed research, which I performed in a small greenhouse constructed specifically for me at the gardens. On my way back to my room, I had to pass in front of Reinhard's room. And so, I could hear what's going on inside, even if I didn't want to.

And what I heard, as shameful as it was to admit, turned me on terribly.

_Squeeze~♥_

My legs instinctively crossed themselves as I felt a familiar twinge down there. 

_Really, to think that the normally prim and proper woman would act like this in bed…_

_But I suppose that's how a harmonious family is supposed to be. Mother was like that as well._

_...I'm jealous. I want to have a lover and do all that stuff with him as well._

_But for now, I have to settle with my hands instead._

\---------

Returning back to my room, I threw myself onto the bed and immediately began to massage my girlhood through my panties.

I imagined myself being hugged from behind by a man—his hands reaching forward and groping my breasts, as he whispered sweet nothings into my ears.

“Uuuhhhh… aahhnnn...”

I buried my face in my pillow as I became more and more aroused. I didn’t want any moans to escape outside the room. Not that I’m much of a moaner to begin with. I’m pretty good at stifling my own moans.

I then imagined the man going underneath my skirt, licking at my already soaking girlhood without hesitation. I begged him to go slower but he wouldn’t listen.

“Aaahhhnn...haaaahhhmmm..hhaaahhh…”

My fingers moved faster and faster as I came closer and closer into my climax. And then…

"Aaahhhh!"

_Splish~♥_

_Splosh~♥_

_Splish splosh~♥_

My fingers could feel my green panties significantly dampen as liquid spilled over from my girlhood.

It was shameful yet satisfying at the same time.

After I finished, I took a big relieved sigh. I hugged my pillow and drifted off into dreamland, as I would always get sleepy after I had my orgasm. In my mind, I imagined I was hugging my darling after we had our playtime together. I would lean on his chest and enjoy the sound of his heartbeat as I fell asleep.

I sighed again. When will I get the gentleman I always dreamed of? I don't need him to be a perfect one, since I'm not perfect myself. I just want a good-looking man with a good head on his shoulders that can understand me and my problems—someone that I can open my heart to.

Do I even deserve such a man?

\------

**Reinhard**

"Dear, we need to talk."

The next morning, right after Reinhard woke up, Emma sprung her attack.

The two were still naked, cuddling together on their bed. Only Rina remained asleep. Emma had woken up first and she had woken up her husband by licking and whispering to his ear. She had no need for Rina to join in their conversation however so she let her remain that way.

She knew this was the most opportune moment to talk about the subject she was going to bring up. When they were displaying everything to each other like this, when their intimacy was at its peak, she could easily make him listen more to her point of view. After all, she knew how much her dear husband couldn’t resist her body.

“It’s about Marina. You see, dearie, when you were away, that girl actually dared to hit our son. Please, say something to her. She won’t listen to me. You’re the Earl’s heir. Even if she’s his granddaughter, she has no right to your title and inheritance. She’s boorish and uneducated, not fit to be a Countess in the slightest.”

As she said those words, she rested her body on his broad chest, pressing her breasts in the process. She knew just how much he loved those two mounds of fat.

"She hit Roland?" His expression was that of disbelief. "Surely there's a good reason why she would do such a thing. Perhaps he had been bothering her little sister a bit too much?"

To Emma's chagrin, her husband held a high opinion on the interloper. She didn't know why. She might be good at magic but that doesn't mean anything if her personality and looks are bad. The former is obvious, with that attitude of hers. As for the latter, average at best.

"H-he only did a little harmless prank on her." Her voice wavered. "Certainly nothing bad enough that warrants such a reaction."

"And what prank is that?" His eyes narrowed.

"H-he lifted her skirt."

Emma had turned meek under the commanding glare of her husband. She was about to lie but she knew very well how much he hated liars. And she didn't want him to hate her!

Reinhard sighed. “Then she’s justified in doing so. Really, Emma, you should stop spoiling Roland too much. I’ve told you before that him doing something like that is unacceptable. Roland needs to learn how to treat girls better, even at a young age. No, in fact, it’s something that should be taught early on. You know how much harder it is to change a child’s habits the older he gets.”

This was what Emma feared. Once again, her husband took Marina’s side.

Noticing her souring expression, he continued, “Emma, Marina, and Erika are as much part of this household as anyone else. You need to give them the respect they deserve.”

“Hmph! What is it with you and her? Don’t tell me that you’ve taken a liking on her or something!”

Hearing that, Reinhard chuckled, before pulling his wife even closer to his embrace.

“Don’t worry, Emma. You’ll always be my No.1 woman. You don’t have to worry about Marina or anyone else taking your position, alright?”

Reinhard knew just how the mind of his adorable wife worked. When she got pouty like this, it simply meant she wanted more attention for him. She must have missed him terribly, and she took that anger towards Marina.

A woman is a jealous creature. It’s something every man should learn, especially those who plan to have more than one sweetheart.

Emma’s poutiness immediately vanished, before she assaulted his lips with her own.

And thus, they were late to breakfast that morning.


	119. Interlude — The Two Royal Perverts

Arthurstaad. The capital of the Holy Empire. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was the center of the Holy Continent or even the center of the world itself. It was the most populous city in the world and it possessed culture and wealth unrivaled by any other nations out there. At its very center, there stood a tall and proud castle, overlooking the entire city as its protector. It was the Diamond Palace—the place where the imperial family resided. It earned that title for the way the architecture sparkled and glistened under the sunlight, thanks to the special stone it was built from. Its size was massive, to the point that you could divide it into two. The Outer Palace and the Inner Palace. The Outer Palace was where most of the palace’s residents worked and lived. Nobles and knights could be seen all over this section of the palace, dressed lavishly to show off their wealth. The Inner Palace on the other hand was reserved for the royal family and those they trusted. The number of people you could find there decreased significantly, as it was forbidden to everyone but a very few to step one’s foot there. And the punishment for trespassing was death.

Thanks to those two facts, it wasn’t odd in the slightest for it to be regarded to be the world’s largest and most beautiful royal palace.

Within its walls, however, it was another matter entirely. The beauty that outsiders would witness from the outside—it hid an ugliness that had corrupted the millennia-old empire. Those who lived in it were monsters of lies and deceit, fighting against each other to gain power and influence day and night. It got so bad that even the servants had to be trained in combat, just so they could protect the lords and ladies they served from the others.

It was a suffocating and hellish environment, where you could barely trust anyone.

And yet, it was an environment where _she_ thrived.

Rinea Rhea Pendragon, the First Imperial Princess of The Holy Empire of Milicis.

\--------

“So, she survived after all. Impressive.”

“Yes, Milady. My reports said that she had taken shelter within the Galahad Order as one of its students.”

“As for the assassins?”

“The Guild hasn’t given an official report. However, our own sources said that some of them perished in her hand, while others had switched sides, choosing to serve her instead.”

“Switched sides? Clever. That little monster would not hesitate to end their lives so the moment they knew they would lose, they spared themselves her blade by surrendering instead. I wonder though, my dear Fiora. You are not so foolish to believe that traitors like them could be trusted, right?”

This conversation was done out of in the open, right inside one of the many gardens the palace possessed. It was the Rose Garden, the favorite flower of the princess. Naturally, it existed at the inner palace, and away from any prying ears or eyes. That’s why they were comfortable enough discussing such a sensitive subject there.

“Persuade those assassins to betray her. If they’re unwilling, kill them.”

“Of course, Milady.”

The maid bowed deeply at her mistress’ command.

She was an attractive woman in her late thirties, possessing short lavender hair. Like a proper maid, she wore a maid’s outfit that was colored light crimson, customized with a leather corset that hugged her slim waist. It emphasized her large bust even more than they were already emphasized by her tight-fitting dress. Her eyes were emerald green, though of a duller side.

Her mistress, on the other hand, was on another level entirely.

Her maid turned outright homely in front of her presence. Such was the level of beauty that she possessed. Her silver hair flowed like a serene waterfall down her shoulders, complemented _beautifully_ by the azure dress she wore. Her skin was fair but not pale, and her figure was perfectly proportioned without a single flaw. The people of the capital called her the Diamond Princess, and many even believed that she was the most beautiful princess that had ever lived.

She was currently seated at a pure white table under a gazebo—a private spot where she could enjoy her tea while being surrounded by the flowers she was fond of. Of course, like a proper maid, the other woman remained standing. You could see the large knife sheathed behind her, signifying that she was also the princess’ bodyguard.

The princess took a sip of her tea, as for a short moment, she took in the sights. As usual, the gardeners made sure that every single rose was flawless. They even employed several Earth mages to ensure that the roses never wilted, even in the winter.

It was a picturesque sight—a fairylike beauty from those old folktales sipping tea while being surrounded by roses, served by her dutiful maid. It would be a crime—no, a sin—to disturb such a sight.

And then, that picture was destroyed completely by the arrival of one man.

“Well well well, this seems to be quite the nice tea party you have here, my little sister. Mind if I join?”

He was none other than Sigmund Freya Pendragon, the Imperial Prince of the Holy Empire. Just like his sister, he was blessed with a handsome look that could make any woman graced by his presence swoon and faint. He possessed the same hair color as his sister and he had the same level of charisma as well, judging by how many noble ladies and maids he had bedded. His nickname was the Silver Prince, and he was the leading candidate to be the next Emperor, once his father retired on his position.

He smiled at her as he took his seat uninvited. Any other woman would have fallen for his charms right then and there. The First Princess remained unaffected however.

“Were you perhaps talking about our dear Fiora, my darling?” He continued smiling as the maid poured his cup with tea.

“Oh? Eavesdropping again? That’s not a very nice thing to do, my older brother,” she replied with her own smile.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t possibly _dare_ to do something as abhorrent as that.” He gave her a disappointed look. “It is simply… a guess. You two are talking on your own and usually, the topic would be our dear little sister.”

“Hmph, then you’ve guessed correctly.”

“She made it, didn’t she?”

“Oh yes, just like you predicted.”

“Ha, I knew it! That girl is too tough to just die to a bunch of assassins!”

“How odd. You seem happy, even though this would jeopardize our plans.”

The two had made a temporary truce. Until their little sister was taken care of, they wouldn’t make any moves against each other. Thanks to the equal position they had, it was unwise for them to fight each other for the throne right away. The brother had the majority support of the nobility, while the sister held the merchant class—thus, the economy of the empire—in her fingers, thanks to her company.

“Since she’s joining those sword-loving guys, maybe she’ll abandon this whole game in the first place. She’ll become a wandering swordswoman instead, slaying dragons left and right. That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it, my dear sister?” He grinned.

The princess took note that she had never told him of Fiora’s newly gained association with the Order, meaning, he had his own network of spies. As expected, of course.

“How naive. That little brute would never just give up like that. Most likely, she intended to become a swordsman so strong she could just waltz into this palace and kill everyone that blocks her path to the throne.”

“Ha! She has to be the Legendary Hero himself to do that! No way a person can win against the Seven on her own!”

The Seven he was talking about was, of course, the Seven Imperial Knights of the Empire.

“Then she would seek out allies—allies that might be strong enough to even topple the Seven.”

“Like those mages across the ocean?”

“That’s a possibility. But she isn’t dumb. She knows if she asks for help from the Magocracy, she will only become their puppet. And she will never want such a position, not with that hardheaded personality of hers.”

The two paused for a bit. The princess took another sip of her tea while the prince simply played around with his cup, seemingly entertaining himself with his reflection there.

The prince was the one to break the silence.

“Have you heard? Someone assassinated Vera Marjoram.”

“Of course I have,” the princess fired back with an annoyed expression. She didn’t enjoy being underestimated by her brother like that. “The Greenwood Family. The father and mother died while the brother and sister survived. That mage must be a fool to be taken down by them. How could you lose to someone who decided it’s a good idea to bring a young boy with them to assassinate someone? No matter how much of a genius he is in combat, it’s a weak point she could easily abuse.”

“You mean like using him as a hostage?”

“Something like that could work. Or just killing him first, sending his parents to a rage. Then they would make mistakes. And then, use those mistakes to kill them next.”

“Wow, how cold. They should start calling you the Ice Princess instead.” Her brother chuckled.

Naturally, she gave him another offended look.

“So, what would be our next plan for her?” The prince spoke again.

“Let’s see… since sending assassins won’t work, then I suppose we’ll have to use her instead.”

“Her?” The prince replied with a curious look.

“Yes, her.” She smirked. “Surely you can figure out who I am talking about.”

“...Ah, of course! Her!” He snapped his finger. “How could I forget? The cool and mysterious knight herself! Lady Gloria Fitzgerald!"

"I've called her here by the way," the princess continued. "She should arrive soon enough. But for now, let's talk about something else, shall we?" Her smile suddenly turned into a smirk. "The new maid. How was she?"

"Ah, not holding back in the slightest, are we?" He grinned as well. "You know, you should stop being this blunt. Imagine what our subjects would think if they know their beloved princess is a pervert."

"It's the same with you, dear brother. What would they think if they know how much you've slept around?"

"Hey, everyone already knows I'm popular with the ladies," he said with a proud look. "But you… you're supposed to be the pure and perfect princess. Not somebody who would command her maids to warm her bed at night."

It was indeed true, what he said. She had slept with nearly every attractive maid that belonged to her faction. Of course, she only did it after she made sure the maid was trustworthy, which meant no contact with other factions in the palace, especially her brother's. And Primela, her most loyal maid, would always hide on the corner of the room watching.

And naturally, she had slept with Primela many times as well. Even though she was already in her thirties, her body was still attractive enough for her to hold interest.

"As for your question," the prince continued. "She was alright, I suppose."

"Oh? Does she not satisfy you? From what I saw of her, she was a pretty cute girl. I thought since you prefer inexperienced girls, you would be more fond of her. What’s her name again? Teila or something?”

"Her body didn't do it for me, unfortunately.” He ignored her question. “Her body was on the sensitive side, sure, and her innocence was certainly charming, but she was still young so her hips were small and her breasts were just average. Though her nipples were cute, especially the way they stood up just because I played with her a little.”

"Her nipples?" A twinkle appeared in her eye.

“Heh, if you have to ask, they’re a lovely shade of pink, with a dash of redness as well.”

“Ah, that sounds wonderful,” the princess replied. “Though personally, I prefer cherry red on a field of white snow.”

“Should I lend her to you then?” He smirked.

“Mmm, that would be unnecessary. I still have some other maids of my own that I would like to sleep with.”

Ever since they reached puberty, the two were already preying on the palace maids. Make no mistake. A lot of the maids who worked there were daughters of low to mid-rank nobles, sent by their parents to serve so that they could curry favors with the imperial family. The prince was even more ravenous, going after noble ladies and prostitutes alike outside the palace. Well, the princess would do the same whenever the circumstances allowed her to. She had slept with the daughters of some merchants she was associated with.

They were a pair of young lecherous philanderers. And they were proud of it.

Blackmail? No one dared to do that. They knew going against the imperial prince and princess meant death. If not that, financial ruin. They had taken out a handful of nobles and merchants who had gone quite uppity in that manner. And even if the rumor got out, it wasn’t something they couldn’t live with. After all, it was common for the high-ranking nobles of the Empire to have uncommon sexual proclivities, with some being even more degenerate than they were. And they naturally kept track of that information as well.

The Empire had been the richest and most prosperous country in the entire world for hundreds of years. And with wealth came decadence, just like the empires of Earth. That decadence even transformed into a status symbol in time. For example, eyebrows would be raised if a nobleman refuses to take mistresses. His manhood would be questioned, even by the wife herself. She was already taught to expect her future husband to have another woman or two he would sleep with ever since she was a child.

The Empire might be holy in name, but it’s certainly not holy in practice.

Their lewd talk continued for some time until a butler came to them, announcing the arrival of the Imperial Knight.

“Good. Sent her in then,” the princess replied.

Soon after, another person entered the scene. This time, it was another woman, donning a full imperial knight armor except for the helmet. As this was the inner palace, she wasn’t allowed to carry her sword and shield. Even as one of the Seven, she hadn’t earned that privilege yet. Her hair was long and blonde, with a braid on one side. She was another beautiful personage, though, of course, her beauty still couldn’t compare with the princess’.

“Welcome, Lady Fitzgerald.” The princess greeted her with a smile. “Apologies for making you walk here from the outer palace, but we have a request I’d like to make to you in private.”

The knight immediately kneeled in front of the two, facing her head to the grass underneath her. Decorum demanded her to do this, or else she would be executed for her insolency.

“Of course, Your Royal Highness,” she replied.

“We would like you to send a message to our dear little sister, Fiora. I want you to do it personally. You used to be her tutor, so I believe she will listen to you. Unfortunately, we have somewhat… drifted apart over the years, after the terrible death of her mother. So she wouldn’t listen to us.”

“...Very well, Your Royal Highness. I shall make sure to deliver your message. Though I would have to ask for approval from His Imperial Majesty first before I could leave the palace.”

The law dictated that The Seven were bound to the emperor and the emperor alone. No one else had the right to rule them around, not even his wife or children. Of course, in practice, it’s a different matter entirely. The knights still had to respect his relatives, or else they would be seen as disrespecting the Emperor, so they ended up taking orders from them anyways. As long as said order didn’t clash with the Emperor’s orders, then they would be allowed to fulfill them.

“Of course.” The princess smiled. “See Father after this. He would approve for sure. As for the message, Primela will explain further. Primela, accompany her to Father..”

“Of course, Milady.” The maid bowed.

The knight bowed as well, before standing up and excusing herself with another bow. It’s only natural that you have to do a lot of bowing in front of the most powerful royal family in the world.

Once the two were out of sight, the prince let out a whistle.

“I really want to make her squeal.”

“Not Primela, I assume. She’s mine and mine only.” The princess pouted.

The prince chuckled. “Heh, of course not. I’m not interested in the elderly.” 

“You know she’s not that much younger than Primela, right?”

“Really? Now that’s a surprise.”

He took another sip of his tea. Finding that the cup was empty, he raised his right upwards, signaling to his attendant to show herself.

The bushes nearby shook, and a girl came out from it. Unlike Primela, her maid dress was the short version, with the skirt ending halfway up her thighs, revealing a _generous_ amount of her smooth legs and stockings. She had short dark hair and red eyes.

Naturally, the prince wouldn’t be walking around without his own maid/bodyguard. In fact, each of them still had more servants and bodyguards standing nearby. They simply had ordered them to give them privacy, so they didn’t show themselves.

The prince didn’t need to say anything. The girl immediately refilled his cup.

“Ah, so you brought Zenetia along as well,” the princess commented as she sipped her own tea.

“Of course! I can’t do anything without her help!” He grinned. The maid didn’t respond to the praise however.

The two continued their talk for a while, steering back to a lewder topic once again.

Planning the assassination of their own half-sister seemed to be only another conversation topic to them, equal to an argument about which color of nipples are the best. Such was the level of ruthlessness that they possessed.

Then again, for the hell that was the Diamond Palace, par for the course.


	120. Meeting The Princess

**Hugo**

I descended the mountain at high speed, utilizing my Wind Step spell to its fullest. As a result, I didn’t meet with any of the adventurers. I didn’t take the route I took when I first climbed up as well, since going back to the village would mean a detour. I trusted Flameu that she would take care of them, so there was no need for me to go there.

I had to make my trip to the capital as fast as I could, so I could meet this princess, get the money I would need, and then head north to find the elf.

I just hope she is still around.

I reached the foot of the mountain in just one day and returned to Keirnes in another. I stocked up on more supplies as I usually did every time I was going to go somewhere far. The capital was said to be seven days from here on a carriage, so I didn’t wait until the next day to get on one. I took the nighttime carriage that would take me directly there. And to my relief, the carriage did go as fast as it promised. I departed at night, and I arrived on the day.

Misfon was naturally bigger than Keirnes, being the capital of the kingdom and all. I didn’t spend much time in the city proper itself though as I headed straight to the outskirts where the princess’ residence should be. To my surprise, however, it wasn’t easy for me to pinpoint the place, as unlike Flameu’s house, no one even knew the princess had such a place. They all expected her to be living at the castle located in the center of the city.

_Makes sense, I suppose. They won’t be announcing such a private matter to the citizens._

Still, it didn’t take me long to find the place. I simply looked for the biggest, most guarded place in the area. That’s where a princess would be staying, right?

\----------

_So, I should just walk into the front gate and give the guard there the letter Flameu had given to me, right?_

Once I found the place, I couldn’t help but feel a tad nervous. Just because if I messed this up, I might just end up being branded a criminal who wanted to assassinate the princess or something. Sure, they probably won’t be able to capture me, but that doesn’t mean I want to become a fugitive again.

The mansion was large, surrounded in four sides by a tall wall designed to keep any might-be intruders out. The building was a three-story construction—wider than it is tall. It is surrounded by a well-kept garden filled with all sorts of flowers, no doubt the kind of thing a princess would be a fan of.

Oh, I’m surveying the entire thing from the skies by the way. I just hope no one notices my completely not-suspicious presence up here.

_I could just sneak in. But of course, that would be a bad idea._

Since the sun was already going down, I decided not to make my move until the next day. Or rather, the next day after that, as I needed my fancy adventuring clothes to be washed first by the inn I was staying at. I figured I should really look like a fashionable noble when I made my visit, just so I would draw less suspicion.

_And besides, I haven't washed that thing properly in quite some time. Soap is nowhere as easy to find as it was in my old world. Not to mention my own laziness, who usually just sprayed the thing with water and called it a day..._

At first, I thought to use one of the many laundry services that existed in the city. But to take care of high-quality clothes like the one I wore, I wouldn’t trust them with a ten-feet pole. Not just because of how they were most likely not skilled enough to wash my clothes properly, but also because they might just decide to steal them. Yeah, I’d rather not be troubled by that.

And so, I decided to go to the best inn the city had to offer. It was called the Golden Eagle and it was clearly intended to be perused by wealthy merchants and nobles who visited the city. Not an adventurer like me. So when I came in and asked for a room, I got quite a few eyebrows from the staff.

_Oof, one gold for one night. That’s pretty painful._

_At least the laundry is free._

I stayed there for one night, giving my clothes to be washed right after I checked in so it would be ready at noon the next day. For the morning, I had my breakfast there. It was expensive but God it was so delicious. Afterward, I just spent the hours in my room, enjoying how fluffy and comfortable the bed was.

After lunch, with the best clothes on my personage, I headed back to the mansion straight away.

\--------

“Halt! State your business!”

As expected, the guards standing on the front immediately moved in as if I was an enemy.

There were ten of them, each wearing a set of armor with spears as their weapon of choice.

First things first. I gave them a bow, by holding my right hand to my right chest, moving it downwards with a slight twirl before the rest of my body followed. Fiora taught me this actually—a specific way nobles were supposed to bow. It's different than the bowing movement done by the servants since their bow is to signify obedience to their employers, while this bow is to signify respect to the other party. Doing it well is necessary if you don't want to be considered as a rude and uncouth person.

These guards are most likely part of this kingdom's knighthood, so giving them this bow is proper.

"Greetings. My name is Charles Pendleton. I come here to meet with Her Royal Highness, for I bring an urgent message from Lady Flameu. It is of a personal nature, only for her ears only."

This is necessary to gain entrance, or else they would just ask for the letter and tell me to leave.

"I bring with me this letter from her. I hope it would be satisfactory."

I took out the letter from my coat pocket, handing it over to the guard closest to me—a middle-aged man with a bushy black stache. He took it as if I was handing a sheet of poison, glancing at me back and forth multiple times as if he expected me to have a sinister smirk on my face.

He then opened it, skimmed through it for a few moments before raising his eyebrows, and stared at me even harder.

_Uuh, I guess I should use my best smile here. Yep._

"Stop it, kid. Your disgusting smile won't work here."

_D-disgusting? H-hey, I've rehearsed that smile many times, you know!_

"Hmph, you think we would believe that a whelp like you is hired by Lady Flameu as her bodyguard?" He began playing with his stache.

_...Oh right, the news of my dragon killing hasn't arrived here yet. I rushed my way here after all._

"Sir, there's a royal seal on the letter! There's a high possibility he might be telling the truth!" One of the other guards suddenly spoke up.

"Nonsense! This brat must have faked it! Or steal it from the actual messenger!"

_Goddamn, this old man is stubborn._

"Just so you know, I'm a Master-level Wind mage. If I so choose, I could take on every single one of you here without breaking a sweat. And I would if you do not let me go through. I intend to deliver Lady Flameu's message, whether you guys allow me to or not."

I put on a cold and offended expression as if I was talking to a bunch of meddling buffoons who didn't know who they were speaking to. Which they were if I were to be brutally honest.

"You brat! That's it! You're going to the dungeons! Right now!"

_...Welp, so much for my diplomatic effort._

"Wind Blast!"

Without hesitation, I drew my wand and made a circular motion with it. In an instant, every single guard who surrounded me was blown away by my spell, throwing them down to the ground. It was not a lethal spell in the slightest. It was simply intended to show my superiority compared to them. There was no reason to go on a killing spree against “enemies” of their level after all.

“I could do this over and over until I reach the princess,” I exclaimed with a small grin. “And you guys won’t even be able to touch a single strand of my hair.”

“Why, you!” The old man was the first to stand up. “Charge, men! Protect the princess with your lives!”

Only he did the charge, however, as his other men chose to merely exchange fearful glances with each other, knowing just how much stronger I was compared to them.

_Guess I have to play a bit more with this old man._

“Wind Blast!”

Another spell, and this time, I sent him flying upwards a good twenty meters onto the air, flipping him upside down in the process.

And of course, once he was about to hit the ground, I softened his landing with another wind spell, flipping him again so he landed on his back.

"See? I'm not lying about my prowess. I am more than qualified to serve Lady Flameu. In fact, in a few days, maybe a week, you probably will hear that I've just slain a dragon on my own. So please. If I'm a bad guy, you people would've already been dead by now."

The old man could only look at me with a defiant, yet defeated look.

.------------

Afterward, his subordinates immediately apologized to me profusely. It seemed they were far readier to accept my word compared to their captain. They then offered to accompany me inside. Well, “offered” might not be the right word. I am pretty sure they would take no for an answer. Even if they said they believed in me, they still wanted to make sure I was no threat to their beloved princess. One of them also hurried inside with the letter to inform the princess of my appearance.

As for the old man, he was still stubborn enough to not apologize. And as he “guarded’ me as well, it was clear as day he was ready to cut me the moment I made any suspicious moves.

I admire his grit, really. At the very least, the princess has an absolutely loyal retainer on her side. Even if he’s not that bright.

I was escorted to the drawing room where I was told to wait. The place didn’t have a throne room or anything, so it’s really more like if I was visiting an ordinary noblewoman.

It didn’t take long until a guard told me that she was ready. I was then escorted once again to a different room. Or rather, a different place, since the princess deemed it fit to receive me in the gardens instead.

And then, from a distance, I saw her, perusing the lilies and crysthantiums on the flower bed in front of her.

And immediately I knew I was getting the kind of princess I wanted.

She had long, luscious golden locks that went down all the way to her waist. As for her dress, it was pure white, displaying the purity such a person must possess. She also wore a silver crown, matching perfectly with her white garb.

In short, she was beautiful.

_This is it! This is the demure and beautiful princess all those fantasy stories have!_

[ ](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/752507648229900381/760652584796815380/30-4f2b9248c02e253f702534ae9c8f2dc9a78ae188d11d17e221bb75f8b809842c3.png)

_Crunch._ My boots stepped on a handful of dried leaves. Noticing my presence, she turned and greeted me with the most gorgeous smile I had ever witnessed.

“Sir Pendleton.” She spoke straight to me. “I should begin by begging for your apology. Please forgive the rudeness of my knights. They are simply too wary for their own good.”

She then gave a bow, which I did not expect for a princess to do, knowing the difference between our status.

I’m not complaining though. It gave me the perfect opportunity to get an eyeful of her cleavage.

“Barton. Please, leave us.” She sent an annoyed look to the old man.

“B-but Your Highness…”

“I shall be fine. I’ve read the letter. If Lady Flameu trusts him, then I shall do the same.”

To my surprise, she was capable of displaying such a fierce look. I guess to be a good princess, you have to possess the capability to command your subjects like this.”

“O-of course, Your Highness.”

The old man gave his bow, along with his men, before leaving the immediate premises. I know for a fact they must be hiding nearby though, watching me like an eagle watches its prey.

Still, it finally allows me to relax a bit. Especially since this princess doesn’t seem to be the stiff type.

“Milord.” She spoke again, back to her lovely smile. “Shall we have our talk as we make our rounds through the gardens?”

“Of course.” I gave her my own smile as I bowed. “After you, Milady”.

_Damn, I’m starting to feel like a proper noble now._

\---------

We strolled around the gardens in a casual pace as we had our chatter. Ignoring the fact that I was conversing with a beautiful princess, which in itself was already heavenly enough, the cool breeze and lovely scent were enough to make it a pleasant experience. It's winter and yet, the flowers didn't seem to be wilting in the slightest. Magic must be at the works.

"Lord Pendleton, is Lady Flameu doing fine?" She was the first one to speak.

"Don't worry!" I smiled. "She's perfectly fine! In fact, she should be busy saving a village from a plague right now!"

"Oh, truly?" Her eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands together in the most princess-like manner. "That's wonderful! They're in good hands—I'm sure of it! After all, she was the one who cured my illness!"

My ears perked. "Your illness, Your Highness?"

"Yes!" She smiled. Ah, what a wonderful sight. "You see, my legs used to—ah, I shouldn't bother you with this, should I? You can't stay for long, right?"

"Oh no, please, continue! I'm very much interested in what you have to tell, Milady!"

She covered her mouth and giggled—a choir from the heavens themselves. "Before she came, I was… unable to walk. My legs were too weak to support my body. It was something I was born with, and neither the priests nor the alchemists were able to do anything about it. I could only spend my days in a wheelchair, being pushed around by my attendants.”

_...Well, this conversation just suddenly turns grim. And a wheelchair? That already exists in this world? I shouldn’t be surprised though. It shouldn’t be that hard to invent._

“But then, she arrived. She was Father’s court mage, as you would’ve known. And she offered to take a look on my condition. At first, she failed to cure it as well, but she didn’t give up. She kept coming back again and again with new potions and medicines. I didn’t know why she insisted so much in curing me. Father already gave up on me a long time ago, giving me this place away from the castle just so he couldn’t see me around. A “filthy invalid”, he said. He sent my mother to the gallows for it.”

My heart sank. “W-wait, you’re serious?” I said in disbelief.

With a bitter smile, she replied, “Yes. My father… he’s never that good of a person.”

She looked away as her feet stopped. I halted my stride as well.

“But enough about him.” She clapped her hands again as she resumed her walk, giving me a forced smile in the process. “Let’s return to Lady Flameu, shall we? I simply want to say just how much of an amazing person she is and how much I am indebted to her.”

_Heh, she really has won over her, hasn’t she?_

I continued my walk as well, as she resumed her talk.

“She tried again and again for months, until one day, she succeeded. She came up with a medicine that gave the strength my legs desperately needed.”

_Wow, to think that she’s able to cure what I assume to be an inherited genetic defect. That’s magic for you, I guess. Though since no other alchemists could do it, that means she really is a master alchemist, even though she’s also a necromancer in secret as well._

_...Wait, don’t tell me that she used some dark arts to make the cure?_

I gave a short glance towards her legs. I couldn’t see them naturally since they were under her dress, but they seemed to be functioning just fine.

_...Yeah. Does it really matter? If it works, it works._

“And now, thanks to her, I can walk around like this.” Her smile brightened, once again giving me that angelic visage I saw at the start of our meeting.

“So please.” She suddenly stopped, turning swiftly that her dress twirled around. “Ask me anything. I shall grant you whatever you need, Milord.”

_Then I want your panties please!—_ was something I would ask if I was a shameless light novel protagonist.

"The letter… did it not say any numbers?"

"Numbers?" She tilted her head oh-so-cutely.

_Seriously? She didn't tell her how much money she should give me? Mind you, I didn't get to read the letter since it's sealed and I wasn't going to ruin it by unsealing it._

"What did it say then?' I asked again.

"It only said how much of an important person you are and how I should give you any help that I can provide."

_Yep. That means I can ask for any amount of gold I want. Even more that what that dragon carcass is worth._

_...Should I lie and ask for more? Just in case the high elf would play hard and refuse to give me the orb. And I can certainly use more gold to stay in fancy inns like last night anytime I want. That was a wonderful experience._

_I already know how much the carcass is worth. At least, if I’m going by the estimation Flameu gave me._

I looked back at her pure and naive expression. She completely trusted me. That, I could tell with ease. Would it be right to deceive such a person?


	121. To The North

_No, I can’t trick her. That won’t be right. I’ll give her the number Flameu told me and that’s that. I’ll be betraying both her trust and Flameu’s if I lie to her._

With that reasoning in mind, I decided to tell her the truth.

“You misunderstand, Your Highness. I come here simply to ask for compensation."

"Compensation?" She tilted her head again.

I then told her how I ended up slaying a dragon with the alchemist and how afterward, she offered to buy the carcass from me with the condition that she, the princess, was to be the one to pay me.

"Oh, you slew a dragon, Milord?" She clasped her hands together in awe as her eyes sparkled. "That's amazing!"

_Good! Good! Tell me how cool and awesome I am for beating a dragon on my own!_

"I wish you could stay for tea so you could regale me with your tale." She gave me a shy smile that is so innocent yet so attractive at the same time. "I would truly love to hear about your heroic deeds. But I know you're in a hurry, so I won't hold you back."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" I promptly replied with my own smile. "I have some time to spare!"

"Really?" Her smile brightened. "That would be wonderful!"

As if on cue, our steps took us to a clearing with a small bench.

"Ah, perfect! Why don't we rest here for a bit? I won't ask for all the details. I just want to know how you fought off such a beast on your own."

The princess's mood had visibly increased, with her eyes now constantly sparkling and her steps having an extra bounce of them. I'm starting to wonder if she's actually a big fan of those stories with dragon-slaying and all that hero stuff.

She took her seat first, with me sitting right beside her. The bench was quite small so we had to sit right next to each other. My old self would be all nervous with this arrangement ("oh God I'm sitting so close to a cute girl I could almost smell her!" type of deal), but after traveling with a bunch of them, I am already desensitized to such matters. _One step closer to become the cool and suave guy I always wanted to be._

I began telling her about my fight. At first, I was going to be humble, but as she became more and more enraptured into my story, I couldn't help but exaggerate and embellish my story a little.

"I was _this_ close to being bitten by its jaws, but I dodged just at the last second. I had to hold on to the wounded elf, even if it cost me my life."

"A-and then?" The princess' fists were clenched together near her chest as sweat trailed down her forehead.

"With tears in her eyes, she said, 'O Lord Pendleton! Please leave me behind! You don't need to burden yourself with me!' But of course, I refused, saying, 'I can't just abandon a fair maiden in need, can I?'"

...Okay, that was a _lot_ of embellishment. But I can't help it. Seeing her so excited, it made me want to ham it up as much as I could.

When I finished, she clapped loudly with tears of excitement in her eyes. "That was wonderful! To think that Miss Flameu would be lucky enough to have a brave warrior such as you as her companion!”

_“Miss” Flameu? I guess she really is close to her._

“I’m not exactly her companion though,” I quickly corrected her, just so I could avert future misunderstandings. “As I’ve said, I was just helping her out so she could cure that village. I’m an adventurer. I have no intention of staying here and becoming her bodyguard.”

“A-ah, I see.”

Her bright smile noticeably dimmed as she shifted her eyes ever-so-slightly downwards. _Oh dammit, I just killed her excitement, didn’t I?_

“Well…” Her eyes locked back to mine again as she forced another smile. “I should reimburse you the fund Miss Flameu had promised. How much was it?”

“She said an entire dragon could sell from around 100 to 150 gold coins, depending on where you sell them," I answered her truthfully.

"Then, I shall give you two-hundred."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Her bright smile returned. "The extra fifty is your payment, Sir Adventurer, for telling me such an exciting story."

Afterward, she stood up and called for by. her guards. The old man from before and a handful of other soldiers quickly appeared from the bushes. _Wow, they’re pretty decent at stealth, all things considered. Especially since they wore all those heavy armors._

“Call Sebastian. Tell him to prepare a payment of 200 gold pieces to him.”

“W-what?! But—”

“Silence! He has done a great deed with Lady Flameu, and we are not going to pay his kindness with less.”

She shut him down like it was nothing, as the normally ladylike princess turned fierce all of a sudden. I’m not complaining though. I prefer princesses that have a bit of a backbone over completely meek ones. 

Probably not to the extent of Fiora though.

The old man could only obey, and he immediately scampered off, leaving only his subordinates to guard us.

"Sorry about that." She returned to her sweet self as she clapped her hands. "He can be quite the stubborn old man sometimes."

Afterward, we retreated back inside and to the study, where this Sebastian person was already ready with a bag of gold in his hand. He was the head butler of the premises. And just like the old man, he too eyed me from top to bottom in a distrustful and frankly insulting manner. And that glasses of his certainly didn’t help.

Still, he handed me the bag without a single word of complaint. Unlike the old man, it seemed he was intelligent enough to know he wasn't going to make the stubborn princess budge.

I gave him my thanks, merely for the sake of formality. I was then escorted outside by the knights, with the princess following along, as she insisted on seeing me leave.

Once we were at the gates, she walked up to me and said, "Milord, I shall pray for your good fortune. And if you are ever in the capital again, please, feel free to pay us a visit. I shall be delighted to hear your stories again."

"Of course, Milady." I gave her a smile and a bow.

_Heh, to think that just a while ago, her eyes were all shining like a little girl… I see now that she tries to be a proper princess in public, even if it doesn't quite fit her personality._

"I also wish good fortune for you, Milady. Your company this afternoon has been most enjoyable. I shall never forget the charming smile you possess for the rest of my life."

_Is that how you do it? Being a suave noble to the ladies? Keep on smiling and being respectful while adding little pick-up lines like that._

Immediately a flash of crimson appeared on her cheeks. 

_Yep, I think I did a pretty good job._

"Oh, you are too kind, Milord," was her only reply.

To finish my pretend play, I took her hand and kissed it, causing her blush to grow even more.

Afterward, I finally left the place for real. With the money safely stored in my bag, I could immediately make my way northwest towards Silheim, which was the largest town in the region. There, I would start asking around for where the high elf might be.

All in all, I think my first meeting with a real princess went pretty well.

Before that though, I should make a visit to the city’s largest bookstore.

I need to do my research on a certain plant first.

\----------

**Felicia**

_Well, he’s gone now…_

_I suppose I should wrap my business here quickly as well. Even if I have to wait for a bit until the heart is usable for the cure, I still have to prepare my workshop at that village._

I left the mountain soon after, taking a different route than the one those adventurers were planning to take. They actually offered to give me company, but I refused. Not just because I don’t like them (or rather, their leader), but because they weren’t going to make a stop at the village. That place was nameless, by the way, simply because of how insignificant it was to the rest of the kingdom.

It took me another two days to climb back down the mountain. Just the right amount of time for the dragon heart to be ready. It needed to harden a little so it would be usable in my potion, or else it wouldn’t react properly with the reagents I had concocted.

When I arrived back at the village, ignoring the expected eerieness from the silence enveloping the place, I immediately made my way towards Leila’s house. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t use it as my makeshift laboratory, seeing how small the entire place was.

When I arrived, I was greeted by the sight of my black knight, Sir Berault, standing in the front of the house. As usual, he remained unmoved with his sword stabbing the earth he stood on, almost like a perfect statue.

Only when he heard my arrival that he turned his head.

“Milady.”

“How was she?”

“Her condition is worsening. Along with the other people of this village.”

“Is she sleeping right now?”

“Yes, Milady.”

“Good. Then there’s no need for me to wake her up. We shall start our preparations right away. We don’t have much time.”

“The dragon heart, Milady?”

“Of course I’ve got it, all thanks to him.” I let out a grin. “It should be ready now. So we can start working right away. I trust you’ve decided on a good place to set up my laboratory?”

“Yes, Milady. The house of the village chief should be spacious enough for our purposes, though barely.”

“Very well then. We shall head there at once."

\----------

We entered the house without knocking or unlocking the door. There's no point in doing either. No one would reply to the former while on the subject of the latter, no house in this village had a lock installed on its front door. Such was the trusting nature of a tiny village.

Although, I still made my way to the bedroom, where the chief and his wife were sleeping. They were still alive, thankfully enough. The old man even managed to open his eyes for a bit when he noticed me staring down over him.

"Oooh, L-Lady Flameu… Y-you're here… P-please… save my wife…"

Even at death's door, the people here still cared more about their loved ones than themselves.

"Shh," I gripped his pale, wrinkled hands and gave him a comforting smile. "Sleep now. Save your strength. I shall do as you ask."

Afterward, downstairs, in the decently large living room, I summoned my tools from my dimensional storage, after Berault moved all the furniture to the side.

And then, I began to work.

First, I filled the cauldron with water using magic and heated it until it boiled by lighting up a coal furnace I had placed underneath. Then, I took out the reagent I had made before, a specific one used for dragon-based ingredients, and poured the entire small bottle into it. I quickly stirred the water using my staff, pouring my mana at the process. This is how you do alchemy. That's why non-mages can't do it by the way, since you need to be able to perform Mana manipulation the same way mages can. Only after the mixture stabilized, I moved on to the next step.

Second, I brought out the heart, placing it down on my working table. It was perfectly still, unlike when I first obtained them. And it was exactly how I wanted it to be since that meant the heart was ready to be processed.

Then, I took out a vial and sprinkled its contents all over it. It was necessary or else the blood would escape the heart when I cut it, which would ruin the entire ingredient. Afterward, I took out a large knife, and with it, I cut it into multiple tiny pieces, all roughly the same size as each other. If I didn't do this, it wouldn't blend properly into the mixture.

And then, I dropped them all down into the cauldron, causing a mass of bubbles to appear on the water surface. _Good. This means the synthesis is proceeding as expected._

It was just the start of my work. The cure was still ways away, through many difficult steps that took me many sleepless nights to devise. These people were lucky the plague had hit Keirnes first, or else I wouldn’t know how to make their cure. The lives lost to said plague were to never return, sacrificed for me to be able to formulate the cure.

Such was the limits of alchemy. Thousands of illnesses, yet so few were curable.

The only true solution was to transcend death itself. And that’s what my necromancy is going to achieve.

I don’t care how long it takes, and how many corpses I have to perform my research with. One day, I will achieve my dream. I will surpass all the necromancers throughout history and become the very first human to achieve immortality. And then, I shall spread that blessing to the entire world.

And the fools who stand in my way? Sacrifices for the greater good.

\------

**Hugo**

It took me 11 days of travel to reach Silheim. Once again, I opted to use my Wind Step instead of taking a carriage or buying a horse, even though I very much had the money to afford both (though I still couldn’t quite do the latter).

And since I was heading north, the air naturally began to grow cold. It was winter after all. Back at the south, it was still pretty chilly but there wasn’t any snowfall except for up at the mountain. But here? The snow rained freely almost every night.

_I wonder if that rare plant can survive in a weather like this._

The northern region was filled with forests. So much so that a lot of the kingdom’s income and trade came from the logging activities taking place there. Unfortunately however, forests are a dangerous place to be in this world, since monsters thrived there. That’s why there are also a decent number of adventurers who use the region as their base of operations as jobs to act as guards for loggers are common. And most of the time, they don’t even need to do anything other than just standing around.

My plan was to go to the Adventurers’ Guild there and ask around for the high elf. I could even post a request asking for her information. You could do that with the Guild. Sooner or later, an adventurer should bump into her, and then I would know where she currently was.

Hmm? How long would I stay if I don’t get anything on her? Now that’s a good question. Maybe a week? Two weeks? Or even a month? I’m still not sure if I were to be honest.

Oh, I can also try to find out where the plant she’s looking for is located. I believe the name Flameu mentioned was “The Silver Creepingbell”. It’s a really rare plant to the point that not many even knows it exists. I had to buy the thickest, most expensive encyclopedia on plants just to find its information. And what I got was terribly unsatisfactory. It only said that you could only find it deep inside forests, and how it was really rare. Like, what? That doesn’t help me at all, does it? I already know all of that!

I can post a request for it on the Guild as well, but I think it’s easier to ask around for the high elf instead. If she’s looking all around the region for it, then she should be seen by other adventurers going into the forests. With her unique appearance, they should remember meeting her clearly.

The town of Silheim was in many ways similar to Keirnes. Both were frontier towns and both had quite a decent number of adventurers around. Silheim however was just a little bit smaller. And a lot colder, at least in this time of a year. And wood was the dominant building material, a display on how cheap wooden planks must be in a region whose well-known for its logging.

As I walked through the wooden gate, I was soon greeted by the sight of woodworkers, transforming logs of wood into said planks. The tools they used weren’t that different from the tools a woodworker would use back in my old world, though obviously, they didn’t have any electrical stuff. They still had saws, axes, chisels, etc. I imagine this town was used as the place where the industry processes the raw wood into usable form. Or rather, the town grew organically from it as a result.

I made my way to the town’s Adventurer Guild. Since it was in the middle of the day, the place was pretty empty, giving me the ability to make the beeline straight to one of the receptionists. Of course, since I was making a request, I headed to a different receptionist than the one adventurers would use.

“I’m here to post a request,” I said to her. “I want to find someone.”

She didn’t respond immediately. The middle-aged woman was busy reading her book.

“Umm, hello?”

“Wait a sec. I’m right at the good part here.”

_Seriously? Where’s your professionalism, lady?_

Thankfully, it didn’t take long until she closed her book and turned her lazy eyes towards me. With a sigh, she said, “Alright. Your description please.”


	122. The Necromancer and The Bard

**Felicia**

“Oh thank you! Thank you so much for saving us!”

One by one, the villagers gave me their thanks. It was a natural thing for them to do, for I had saved themselves and their village from extinction.

And yet, I wasn’t satisfied. My smile for them was barely a genuine one.

For I didn’t manage to save every single one of them.

“Milady…”

I turned around. Berault was there. If he had his helmet open, he probably would have a worried expression on his face.

"How is she?"

"She's fallen asleep."

"I see…"

_"Why?! Why didn't you save him? Why didn't you save Father?!"_

"You've tried your best, Milady. Please do not blame yourself."

"My best, huh?" I gave a wry smile. "This… this isn't my best. Not in the slightest."

Everyone made it out alive, except for one.

Leila's father.

He had passed in his sleep right as I was putting the finishing touches on the cure.

I… had broken my promise to her.

\-------

It was time for his funeral.

The entire village had gathered on the small graveyard on the village outskirts. They were dressed in their best outfit, which meant the least worn and ragged clothes they had. They were standing on a line, watching as the men in front of them shoveled dirt down the hole.

I stood at the front, with Leila linking her small hand with mine. Tears were streaming down her face, a natural reaction to seeing her father being buried right in front of her.

_"Father, wake up! Miss Flameu's finished her cure!"_

Beside the hole was the village elder. He was acting as the priest, giving prayers to the Saint as more and more dirt covered the coffin.

_"Father? Father? Come on, wake up, Father!'_

As a proud user of the dark arts, I naturally didn't believe in the Saint's teachings. However, it didn't mean I was against this. If it brought comfort to them, then all the better for them.

_"Father? Father! W-why? Why aren't you waking up, Father?!"_

Suddenly, Leila buried her face into my skirt—her hands wrapping around my waist.

The coffin had disappeared entirely. You could only see dirt being piled more and more into the hole.

_"M-Miss Flameu? W-why isn't Father waking up?"_

I could hear her muffled cry as my dress dampened more and more from her tears.

I could only pat her head to comfort her. I didn't deserve to hug her after my failure.

Before I knew it, my eyes grew watery as well.

_"W-what's with that look? F-Father, h-he's fine, right? You've promised! I'm fine now so Father ought to be fine as well!"_

What am I crying for? Am I sad that her father’s gone? Or have I taken pity on her, who is now an orphan? Or am I crying for myself, for failing at my task?

_“No! You lie! Father’s not… Father’s not… but he can’t… You’ve promised! You’ve said you’re going to cure him! Then why—why is he...u-uuuwaaahhhhhhh!”_

I think… I think I know why I am crying.

She’s just like me now—a victim of humanity’s brittleness and fragility. A little wound, from a creature so pathetically small, had erased the only family she had left.

Her mother too was a victim of that unfortunate fact. She had died from giving birth to her—an all too common occurrence amongst people like them. Imagine, being so weak that you die from giving birth to new life. Pathetic.

The burial was now finished, and it was time for the village elder to make his speech.

It was the usual, trite stuff. He was a good, kind man, and everyone here would miss his presence greatly. He also prayed to the Saint to accept him to her paradise. I couldn’t help but give a small snide laugh. Heaven and the afterlife are just things humans invented to comfort themselves of their inevitable death. After all, humans had the least lifespan compared to every other intelligent race.

To my surprise, however, he announced that he would take care of Leila. As she had no one to provide for her, I naturally felt relieved, knowing that she wouldn’t just be abandoned. Oh, I’ve seen them. Babies abandoned in alleyways. Usually, they either came from prostitutes who had gotten pregnant from their clients (the fools forgot their contraceptives), or the poor who couldn’t afford to raise another baby (I’m not sure if it’s better than them selling the baby to slavers). The orphanages, something good that the Church actually does, would take them in, if they aren’t full themselves, that is.

I stared at the elder. He seemed to be a decent man. Unlike that pig that took me in when I lost everything that day. So Leila would be in good hands.

After the elder was finished, one by one, the villagers came forward, placing flowers on top of the unmarked grave. There weren’t any stonemason around that could fashion a gravestone for him, not that they normally had gravestones on their graves. It’s a lavishness they could not afford. As for the coffin, they were lucky that they had some lumberjacks that could work on it. And of course, they did it for free. If there’s something this village had in abundance, it’s their charity to each other.

Some of the villagers came near us, giving kind and caring words to Leila in the hopes of comforting her. However, she refused to even look at her, as she continued to hug me as tightly as she could.

We remained like that for a good while, as one by one the villagers left the burial grounds. Perhaps they believed they should give us some privacy. Or perhaps they simply had somewhere else to be. After all, life went on for them, even without one of their fellow villagers. The village elder was the last to leave, as he was gravely concerned about Leila’s current state of mind. He kept sending worried glances towards us, while timidly keeping his distance, too afraid to disturb our moment. So, I gave him a nod, telling him to leave her to me. Only after then, he left the premises.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Leila released me, before making her way to her father’s grave.

She knelt, took out her flower from her pocket, and placed it on top of the grave.

And then, she clasped her hands and began to pray.

“O Lady Milicis, please send my father to the same heaven my mother went to. I don’t want him to be lonely up there.”

I stood there in silence, not realizing that my tears were streaming down my face. My entire body shook, with my right hand which was gripping my staff shaking the hardest.

She was me. I was looking at my young, grieving self. I was right there, kneeling in the front of their graves, tears in my eyes.

_...No. I can't just leave her like this._

_...I have to do it. Even if it's risky._

_I have to bring her father back._

Without hesitation, I threw my staff away and rushed up to her, hugging her from behind.

_I will not let her heart break. I will not._

\-----------

**Hugo**

“Haah…”

I let out a sigh as I stared absentmindedly towards the far end of the room. My right hand moved on its own, stirring the half-empty glass on the table.

I was currently sitting in a pub, drinking a glass of warm milk after I had my lunch. And I was pretty much the only one. Everyone else here seemed to be drinking this pub’s specialty, which is its beer. Being in the north like this, and with the cold weather, it’s pretty much customary for both the locals and the adventurers to drink strong alcohol, just to keep themselves warm. It’s the same back in my old world, like Russians and their fondness for vodka.

Still, I did not partake in that tradition. Why? Because I… never really liked drinking beer in the first place. I always thought that it’s a stupid thing for people to go into those after-work parties and get drunk. I always skipped them, giving weak reasons like, “Oh, I got something else to do for the night!” even though I didn’t really have anything other than playing video games on my computer. As you might have guessed, I despised socializing, and going for drinks with your co-workers is the peak example of that.

No wonder I never had any friends.

In my mind, I cited scientific facts like how alcohol is bad for your heart, brain, and whatever other organs it affected. But I knew deep down, I was just too scared to open up to people.

And so, here I am, drinking milk like a kid. Well, I _am_ still a kid in appearance. So no one gave me dirty looks or anything. Though technically, there’s no legal age on when you’re allowed to drink alcohol in this world. I’ve seen one or two young adventurers like me chugging their mugs. They didn’t last long though, to the laughter of their older companions.

It had been one month since I arrived in this town, and yet, I hadn't gotten any fruitful leads on that high elf. At first, I was overjoyed that there were indeed sightings of such a person. In fact, her presence had been somewhat of a rumor in the region for the past few months. “The Little Snow Fairy,” they said. The fairy part probably comes from her diminutive stature (even though she’s an elf), and the snow part probably comes from her silver hair. They say that you will be blessed with good fortune if you ever see her on the road. And that came from the fact that a couple of adventurers had been saved by her. Apparently she was this amazing mage but at the same time, she’s strong enough to use her staff as a melee weapon? Now that smells like embellishment to me.

Then again, that might be the truth. Who knows what a high elf is capable of? They’re a really long-lived race after all, so it wouldn’t be odd for one to be able to master both the martial arts and the magical arts.

Still, for an elf to go all physical… that’s not very elf-like, is it?

Unfortunately, the one thing information I desired, that is, her location, I couldn’t find anything concrete in that department. People who claimed to see her only saw her months ago, so naturally, I couldn’t just go out there and assume she was still in the area. I need a fresh lead, like two or three days ago. Hell, I’ll take a week ago even. I tried going to the nearest sighting spots, but I didn’t get anything, just as I predicted. And before I knew it, a month had passed.

Still, since the most recent sighting was from a month ago, I could assume in good faith that she was still around. I just need to get lucky enough with my search to find her.

"Umm, excuse me?"

I was broken out of my reverie by a soft, unmistakably female voice.

I looked to the side and saw an elven girl standing in front of me.

_Oh wow, she's cute._

She had short blonde hair that didn't reach her shoulders. She wore a blue and white tunic underneath her dark blue short cloak. Under that, she wore a pair of brown trousers. If in human age, she should be around fifteen years old or so.

_Decently sized chest… and those tight pants of hers are really nice…_

Hey, don’t blame me. She’s an elf, and no elves so far that I’ve seen are unattractive.

"Are you perhaps Sir Charles Pendleton, the Divine Tempest?" She clasped her hands together with a beaming smile on her face.

_Wait, how does she know my name? And Divine Tempest? What kind of a nickname is that?_

"Well…" I scratched my face with my finger. "That's my name alright. Dunno about the Divine Tempest part though."

"Oh, that's perfect!" Without hesitation, she snatched my hands and grabbed them tightly with hers. "I'm Sari! A bard! And I would love to have an interview with you, Sir Pendleton!"

"A-an interview?" _What is this girl talking about?_

"I beg of you! Your act of heroism truly inspires my muse! I need to know the story from the person himself!"

"Uh, it's not that big a deal really. I was just—"

"Please!" She gripped my hands even closer as her face inched uncomfortably near mine. She was now leaning forward towards me, probably giving quite the nice view of her butt to the eyes behind her.

_Well, this is troublesome. The news has no doubt spread and now this bard wants me in her tales. I don't really need the attention though and accepting her request will be detrimental to that goal._

I sighed inwardly. _Sorry, cute elf girl, but I have to refuse your request._

"I'm sorry." I stood up as I gave her an apologetic smile. "I don't want people to get the wrong idea. I'm not some hero like in your stories. I'm just an adventurer, that's all."

With those words, I left the poor girl, yanking my hands off hers in quite the forceful manner in the process, unfortunately.

Once outside, I promptly used Wind Step to fly over behind the building, just in case she decided to chase after me.

_Eventually, her tales would reach the ears of the Magocracy. I’d rather not be assassinated in my sleep, thank you very much._

_And Charles Pendleton is my fake name anyway. If I’m going to be famous, then I’m going to use my real name._

\-----------

**Sari**

Little did Hugo know that his actions only fueled the flame of passion burning inside the bard’s heart even more.

_Uwaah, so cool!_

_That's it! That's exactly how a hero should be! My instincts were right! He is the perfect material for my new ballad!_

_If he doesn't want to answer me, then I just have to do my research on my own! Hehe! I'm going to make you a hero, Sir Pendleton, whether you want to or not!_

The elf was indeed a wandering bard, going all across the continent, singing in pubs and taverns while collecting heroic and wondrous tales from all over to be written as ballads. She didn’t do it to make money. It was her hobby. She did it out of the joy of discovering and spreading said tales. She even considered herself a “tale-hunter”, as she would never be satisfied with just processing rumors and hearsays for her songs. She wanted to know and understand her tales intimately, which was why she came all the way from the capital just to seek out Hugo.

Of course, the tale of him being responsible for killing the frost dragon on his own quickly spread around. His name—well, his fake name at the very least—was now talked about heavily in both Keirnes and Misfon, as stories adventurers told each other as they drank and even amongst the nobility who are now aware how a really strong adventurer had just made his entrance into their kingdom. And naturally, people started giving nicknames to him as well, with “Divine Tempest” ending up being the most prominent one, knowing that he was apparently a powerful wind mage.

Hugo wouldn’t realize the extent of his popularity until a bit later though.

\-----------

**Felicia**

"You came."

In the dark, I could barely see her tiny silhouetted figure, dimly lit by the half-moon shining on the night sky.

There was no mistaking it. It was Leila.

“Have you really… have you really brought Father back?”

Her voice was filled with anxiety and nervousness. A normal thing, considering the condition we’re currently meeting it. The village cemetery was dark and I had requested her not to bring any light with her.

After all, this meeting must be done in the utmost secrecy.

“Of course,” I replied with a smile. “However, there’s a promise you have to make before I can let you see him.”

“I don’t care what it is! I’ll promise! Just bring back Father to me!”

The poor girl’s eyes were swollen red. She must have been crying. It had been a month since her father’s death, and yet, her grief was still as fresh as falling snow.

“Very well then.” I pat her head. “John, you can come out now.”

The sound of bushes moving could be heard as he approached.

And then, there he was, standing in all his glory. Wearing a simple shirt and trousers, he was indistinguishable from his old self. In fact, he looked less bony than when I visited him.

“F-Father? I-is that? Is that really you?”

Naturally, the girl couldn’t believe her eyes. The man in front of her could only be her father. And yet, he was supposed to be dead. She saw his burial with her own two eyes.

“Of course, dearie.” A warm smile was drawn on his face. “Come to Father.” He stretched his long arms wide open.

“F-Father… Father!”

Hearing him speak, any doubts she might have in her mind disappear into the night wind. She ran towards him and jumped into his embrace.

_Another successful creation of mine._

The person she was currently hugging—that’s one of my Perfect Zombies. Created after many years of research in the dark arts of necromancy, I was now capable of creating a zombie so humanlike that no one would be able to tell the difference so easily. And they’re resistant to that pesky Turn Undead spell as well, so they’re excellent as fighters against any priests who conceitedly think my creations are heretical abominations that should be turned to ash.

It wasn’t easy, making one of them. It took a lot of preparations beforehand. However, the result was well worth it. Look at how happy she is.

Even if that happiness is a lie.

I can’t bring back the dead. I am the one controlling that zombie. Using a fraction of my own soul, I can create a puppet with the capability of mimicking basic human interaction. It is easy for me to make one that will act as her father.

This is my atonement to her. No, not just that. I am not that selfless. I show her this for another reason as well.

“Leila?” I spoke as sweetly as I could. “What do you think about becoming my apprentice?”


	123. A Happy Accident

**Hugo**

"Boom Cannon!"

The deer bellowed as it charged right towards me with its massive antlers.

Naturally, it was far too slow to hit me before my spell hit, piercing a giant hole in its body before it fell down to the snow unconscious.

“O, oh thank you! Thank you so much!”

The one who spoke was a blonde girl dressed in white. With that staff and those robes, it was a safe bet to guess that she was a cleric. She was currently bowing profusely towards my direction.

Usually, I would be happy from this turn of events, but now, I could only sigh in response.

_Once again, another day goes to waste._

_Another two weeks have gone by, and I’m still going around this blasted region, looking for that high elf._

_This time, I thought I was finally going to catch her. The info I got told me they saw her just three weeks ago in this forest, and yet, after traipsing around for three nights here, I got nothing._

_Another failure._

“Hey, you’re that Divine Tempest kid, aren’t you?”

I was brought back to reality by one of the adventurers I just saved.

They were a four-man party, consisting of a cleric, two frontline warriors, and a mage. And I had just saved them from a Tyrant Deer, an A-rank monster that roamed this area often. They probably had gotten too deep into the forest. Or they had just overestimated their own strength.

I had saved guys like them a couple of times, as I trekked around the wilderness looking for that elf. Maybe not everyone really needed my help in retrospect, but thanks to my experience, I could tell when one was being cornered by an enemy. And these bunch certainly were in that category, as their mage had been knocked out by the deer’s kick while their formation had been completely destroyed.

“Thanks a lot, kid! You really are as strong as they say!” The man grinned. He was one of the frontline warriors, a middle-aged man wielding a giant lance as his weapon of choice.

I would normally be enjoying his praise, but I was currently in quite the sour mood, so I could only muster a dishonest, forced smile in return. And I didn’t like how more and more people seemed to recognize me out of the blue. _If they can find me, then any Magocracy assassins who go after me should be able to find me as well._

“Hey, did you really slay a dragon all by yourself?”

The next one who spoke was the other warrior in the party. Unlike the man, he was younger, maybe around fifteen years of age. His weapon of choice was a broadsword.

“That’s amazing! I have no idea how you can do that! Compared to you, our mage is just downright worthless, unfortunately,” he said with a grin.

_Worthless?_

I looked at said mage. Sure enough, she was still unconscious, with the cleric going there to heal her. The wound didn’t seem to be fatal though, thankfully for them.

“Hey, how about it? How about you join our party?” The boy resumed with his cheerful demeanor. Noticing my gaze, he continued, “Oh, don’t worry about her. We’ll just kick her out after this mission. No need to—”

“I’m sorry, but I have no interest in joining any parties in the moment.”

Before I realized it, I had replied to him with a cold, almost hostile tone.

I think I know why. The way he spoke of their mage… it doesn’t sit well with me at all.

I know it’s too naive to expect that a party would last forever. Adventurers join and break up with each other all the time. But the way he spoke of her? After they had fought together side by side? Does it give him any right to dismiss her as worthless just because she’s a little weak? Not to mention that it’s his job as a frontliner to protect her from any attacks. Seeing how she’s out cold like that, that means he has failed in his role.

Of course, I didn’t say any of that to him. It’s not my place to do so. And besides, I don’t want to start making other adventurers dislike me. I can just imagine them thinking that I’m arrogant or stuck-up, especially since they know how much stronger I am compared to them.

The kid’s grin disappeared. “Oh, I see. That’s a shame. Guess we’re stuck with her then.” He gave a wry smile.

I cut our conversation afterward, excusing myself before I flew away using my Wind Step.

I felt bad for the mage girl. But there’s nothing I can do for her. If she doesn’t want to be treated that way by them, then either get stronger or just leave and get another party. That’s just the reality of how adventurers are. A weak chain could end up costing the entire party their lives, so it’s understandable why they would want to kick out weaklings and replace them with someone stronger.

\---------

Right as the sun sank over the horizon (I am not stupid enough to think that searching around at night in a pitch-black forest is a good idea), I returned back to Feila. It was a small town on the northern regions which acted as the base of operations for the many logging companies in the area. Like I’ve said before, thanks to the abundance of forests, and the high quality of wood it produces, it has become one of the kingdom’s main exports to the rest of the continent. And since forests are naturally filled with many dangerous monsters, adventurers flock into the town as well, as they have jobs to guard the loggers from them, as well as things like scouting an area to look for future logging spots and then clearing it afterwards from said monsters.

I decided to move to this small town for a bit, giving a search at the surrounding forests as carefully as I could. Multiple sightings of the elf were reported from this area, so I figure I should give this place more attention than the others.

I headed back to the local branch of the Guild. As usual, I would check up on any info regarding the elf twice a day. Once at the morning and another at night after I returned from my outings.

“Well well well! Look who’s back! Mr. Divine Wind himself! And judging by that expression, you didn't find her again, huh?"

The one who greeted me was the receptionist of the guild. If I had to describe her with one phrase, it would be "beautiful big-boobed elf onee-san". Yep, she's an elf, alright. In fact, there are quite a number of elves in this region. Makes sense considering their homeland is to the west of here.

"Yeah, I didn't." I gave her a wry smile. "Got any info on her?"

"Nope." She kept her smile. _Really, would it hurt her to display some symphaty for once?_ "How about the request I gave you though? Got the goods?"

“Hmph.” I placed a small sack on the table. “Here they are. Ten Tyrant Deer hearts, right?”

Even though my goal was to find the elf, it didn’t mean I couldn’t take some quests on the side. Sure, I am rich now, but I will stop being rich once I spend it on the Orb.

“Thank you very much.” She cheerfully took it off the table. “Here’s your payment.”

This quest was actually an A-rank quest, but after knowing the tales of my prowess, she gave it to me anyways, since no one else was taking it.

“Oh, tomorrow is Luxus, right? Why don’t you and I have a date together? I know a great place for a meal in this town!”

Luxus is one of the days that existed in this world. Just like back on Earth, we also have seven days, with one day used as a weekly holiday. But they are all named after elementals, instead— Fire, Water, etc. The days are as follows:

  1. Luxus. Light Day. The equivalent of Sunday. Also called the Day of Holiness. The Saint has a teaching that wants her followers to have a rest day once every week, and so this day was born.
  2. Ignius. Fire Day. The equivalent of Monday.
  3. Aquus. Water Day. The equivalent of Tuesday.
  4. Terrus. Earth Day. The equivalent of Wednesday.
  5. Ventus. Wind Day. The equivalent of Thursday.
  6. Gelus. Ice Day. The equivalent of Friday.
  7. Tonitrus. Thunder Day. The equivalent of Saturday.



As you can see, every element is represented, except for Darkness. Because that element is frowned upon by the Church. They say it belongs to the demons.

By the way, I was born in Ventus, so funnily enough, it fits with my affinity towards the wind. And Marina was born in Terrus, while Erika was born in Luxus. Marina is obviously really skilled with earth magic, but I’m not sure if Erika is good at light magic.

“Uh, sorry, but I’d rather spend my time searching than wasting it with you to be honest,” I answered frankly. Normally, I would be averse on refusing the offer of a date from such a beautiful woman, but to be frank, she kinda scares me a little. I guess it’s because she has that cougar aura to her, you know. And I’ve seen before how she likes to tease and flirt with young adventurers near my age. And seeing how she’s an elf, who knows how old she really is?

That, and she’s starting to grate on my nerves just by how cheerful she always acts, even when giving me bad news relating to the elf.

“Aww, that’s a shame.” She gave a short disappointment reaction (which I’m sure is fake) before returning back to her usual smile. “You see, it’s hard for a lady my age to get any dates. So I have to settle for young men like you. Hmph, can you believe it?”

_That’s a lie though. She’s popular amongst the adventurers here. How could she not be, when she has such a hot body? Not to mention that she’s an elf? Having one as your girlfriend is like winning the lottery. An elf doesn’t grow old or fat. She keeps her beauty forever._

I took the coins she gave and put it into my coin pouch. And then, without any other words to her, I left the building, heading straight to the nearby tavern where I would have my dinner.

\--------

"Whoa, is that really him? The Divine Wind fella?"

I sighed again. Ever since the rumors spread, every time I made an appearance in public, I would get people talking about me like this. And not just other adventurers. Even the people who live here started to talk about me.

"He's so young! Surely, that can't be him!"

The ones who were currently speaking not-so-subtly were a group of adventurers sitting near my table. And they were all too obviously stealing glances towards my direction. They seemed to be a female-only party, which was not that odd, if I were to be honest. Having mixed genders in a party increased the chance of sexual harassment occuring, so some women (and men) preferred to keep with their own. Though personally, I don’t think an all female group is a good thing. I’ve seen it back at college and at work. They quickly fell apart into drama and infighting. And women are scarier at fighting other women than men. Have you read all those shoujo manga with the bullying?

Still, that might just be my misognyitsic opinion though.

"Haven't you heard? He's a genius mage! He's the son of some bigwig noble at the Empire but he ran away just so he could become an adventurer! The Empire's Magic Corps even wanted him but he refused his offer!"

"Then he's not very bright, is he? Why would he throw away all that privilege?"

"Because he's in love, silly! He's searching for this elf girl day and night.”

“Ooh, an unrequited love? That’s so romantic!”

“See? Not to mention that he’s a prince too!”

“But you said he’s the son of a Duke.”

“Same thing!”

_Haaahhh…_

I could only respond by taking another swig of my drink (which was another glass of warm milk). Really, there’s no point in correcting them, especially since the misinformation only worked in my favor. And rumors like that always evolved on their own. People didn’t really want to hear or talk about the truth. They only wanted something exciting as a topic of conversation. It’s like that too back in my old world. Rumors spread like widlfires, with each iteration growing more and more wild until it had barely any truth in them whatsoever.

“My oh my, you’re getting popular more and more every day, aren’t you, boy?”

I was pushed out of my thoughts by the tavern’s waitress. Or rather, the tavern owner’s wife. She was a pudgy 40-year old woman, wearing a simple faded long-sleeved shirt with a dark pleatless long skirt. She had a cap on her head where she stored her hair in a bun and rosy cheeks that always accompanied her smile.

“‘The Divine Tempest’. Really, never expected such an important person to be one of our frequent patrons.”

She put a plate of food on my table. Chicken soup. Meat is naturally far more expensive in this world, so even if I said “chicken soup”, the chicken was barely even there. Most of the soup’s contents were the vegetables and the potatoes, all diced up nicely so you could swallow them while you drank the water. Even so, this was already the most expensive dish in this place.

Well, nothing that I can’t afford, of course.

“You know, maybe the old man should give you a discount. You being here are attracting customers. They all want to have a look on the young man who beat a dragon on his own,” she said with a grin.

“Maybe he should,” I replied with my own.

That was just some polite banter. My mood was still terrible, and I was in no condition to be having a conversation with overweight waitresses after hearing a bunch of people saying things that are wildly untrue about me.

“Well, good luck on your search, young man.” She patted me on the shoulder with her large gloved hands. “And don’t look so glum. I don’t wanna see that grimace on your face. You’re much more handsome when you smile after all.”

I did as she told. It was the only way for the noisy woman to leave me alone.

I’ve only started visiting this place for a week, and yet, she’s already this friendly towards me. I probably remind her of her son or something.

I quickly finished my meal, ignoring any stares or comments that the other patrons gave to me. And then, I returned straight to my inn.

\-----------

Its name was The Oaken Hospitality—a five-story building made out of wood. Legends said it was built by elves in ages past, thus the wooden construction. There apparently used to be a more prominent elven population in this region of the kingdom, but little by little, their numbers dwindled until humans became the dominant race.

No, don't ask me how it happened. I only knew as much as the innkeeper told me. She loved bragging about her inn at any visitors that happened to stay.

I entered the building and made my way upstairs. My room was on the top floor, unfortunately. I could use my Wind Step, but the last time I used it, the innkeeper went mad at me for it. There was a strict "no magic" rule in the establishment. Probably because she didn't want the supposedly historical building to burn down or something.

As I climbed up the stairs from the fourth floor to the fifth however…

"It's you! Oooh I can't believe it! We meet again at last!"

It was the elven bard I met two weeks ago. And she was standing right on top of the small stairs I was going up on.

_Oh great, why is she here?_

"Oh please give me an inter—kyah!"

In her rush to run downstairs towards me, she tripped.

And she fell right on top of me.

I quickly reacted by creating a burst of wind behind us to soften our landings. Thanks to that, I wasn't injured in the slightest, even though I landed head first into the wooden floor of the fourth floor.

In retrospect, I probably could've dodged out of the way. But, in a split second I saw her flying towards me, I realized our point of contact would be my face and her crotch.

That was enough for my perverted mind to stop my feet from moving.

"Ooh I'm sor—Kyah!"

She let out another yelp as she no doubt felt a certain sensation between her nether regions, for my mouth and nose were pressing right into her girlhood, with the only thing separating them being the tight leather pants she was wearing and whatever panties she wore underneath.

It was only natural for her to react that way.

"Aahnn, p-please d-don't breathe…."

_Well now, how am I supposed to stay alive if I don’t breathe?_

_Just think of this as your punishment, alright? For following me around and being a nuisance._

_And besides, I’ve always wanted to do this to a girl. Just like those accidental pervert protagonists in those anime I often watched. And it’s even better that I’m doing this to a pretty elf like her._

_...Sorry. I tend to get a bit more perverted whenever I get cranky like this. And relieving that pervertedness is one way for me to relax._

The elf continued to shudder and moan as I teased her flower with my breath. Other than her reaction, I was also enjoying the scent she had down there. It was the scent of elf sweat, trapped inside the fabric of her pants—no doubt coming from her thighs rubbing and pressing together all day long. And like everything elf, it wasn't a bad odor in the slightest. It's musky in a way that only turned me on even more.

"Haaahh… I-I can’t… stand up… haahnnn… p-please stop or I will… ahhhmmmmnnn!"

_...Oh crap she’s grinding her crotch into me now! H-hey, who says you can get carried away? I’m not doing this kind of thing with a stranger, you know!_

_Rub… rub… rub… rub…~♥_

This time, it was me who started to panic. I tried to push her off, but to no avail. She was now full on pleasuring herself. Onto me. Out in the open.

“Hah… hah… hah… ah!”

_Splish~♥_

_Splosh~♥_

_Splish~♥ Splosh~♥_

_She did it…_

_She actually did it…_

_I can feel it… her warmth spreading…_

_Sorry Sherry… I wanted to do this to you first, but it seems I ended up doing it with this random elf girl instead…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, the novel is fully up to date here at last!


	124. Reunion

“I’msosorryi’msosorryi’msosorrypleaseforgiveme!”

With her sanity restored (and horniness abated), the elf promptly stood up and profusely apologized to me over and over again.

All I could notice however was the wet patch on her crotch, a definitive proof that what just happened wasn’t just a perverted delusion of mine.

I stood up, dusted my clothes, and put on a fake frown, just to scare her off. I’m not actually mad at all for what she did. But let’s pretend otherwise.

And then, I heard steps going upwards from the stairs down below. It was the innkeeper. No doubt the noise of our fall had alerted her to our location

“Hey, what’s going on here?!” She immediately switched into her interrogation mode, putting her hands on her waist.

“N-nothing! Nothing at all! I just slipped, t-that’s all!” The elf quickly answered.

“Slipped, huh?” she replied, eyeing her suspiciously. “So that’s what the noise was… Well, do be careful. The stairs here are quite steep and I don’t want to be held liable to any injuries you might get if you fall from them.”

Her gaze turned to me for a few moments, before she decided to leave the way she came from.

Yeah, the lady never liked adventurers that much in the first place. And after knowing about my moniker, she only grew more suspicious towards me. She probably thought I was the one who spread all those rumors about myself or something. In her narrowminded mind, she probably believed there was no way I could’ve taken on a dragon on my own, and thus, she dubbed me a liar.

Or maybe she’s just being cranky old self.

Once the innkeeper left, the elf promptly resumed her apologies once more. I responded with a heavily exaggerated sigh and by folding my hands under my chest. “She’s right. You really do need to be more careful. What if I wasn’t ready with my wind spell? I could’ve suffered a concussion now. I might even die from that.”

Hearing those words, she went even deeper into her panic mode, as tears started to form in her eyes.

“O-oh please, don’t hurt me! I just got too excited when I saw you again and I lost my footing!"

_Hurt her? What? Does she think I’m a bad guy or something?_

_Heh, it's pretty fun to tease her like this though._

"You think just an apology would be enough?" I continued to press her. "I nearly died back there, you know."

Hearing that, her eyes only grew even more watery.

"M-money? Do you want money? I-I don't have much. Look! Here are all the coins I have!" She brought out her purse and opened in. Sure enough, there were only a handful of silver coins inside. A perfectly miserable sight.

I continued my frown, still finding her reaction to be amusing.

"N-no? Then, don't tell me that you—" She suddenly yelped as she took a few steps backward, wrapping her arms around herself. "M-my body. You want my body, don't you?"

_...Eh?_

"I-I've heard the rumors. Even though you're young, you're already a womanizer. You got a maid, a slave, and even the court mage herself in your harem. A-and now you want me in it as well!"

_Wait, hold on, what kind of rumors have she been hearing?_

"W-well, it can't be helped. After what I did to you, I could only offer my body to you. To think I would lose my virtue this way…"

_What the— She's taking off her cloak! Oi oi oi even after that, you're still horny?!_

Honestly, I might have taken her up in her offer, if not for my unblemished commitment to Sherry. She's quite the looker after all. And what kind of a guy wouldn't want to do it with an elf?

“Look,” I sighed. “I have no interest in your body. I just want you to leave me alone, alright?” I sent her a stern look.

“L-leave you alone? W-why?”

“Because you’re nosy. That’s why.”

“W-what? Nosy? B-but I’m not—”

I decided to end our conversation there, by walking past her towards the stairs.

“Mr. Pendleton! Please! I just want to hear about your tales and exploits!”

I did not respond.

***

The next few days went by the same way as before, meaning, a rumor of a sighting reached my ear, I went to the location, I swept through said location, and then I returned to the small town empty-handed. At the very least, I seemed to slowly narrow the location where she could be. In an attempt to be some third-rate detective, I had marked all the places where she had been spotted in my map, and so far, the pattern showed that the sightings concentrated around this area. That’s why I hadn’t moved on to a different town or village. Statistically speaking, I had the biggest chance of finding her if I kept my search here.

_Aah, if only she’s more of a normal adventurer…_

After my investigation, I knew the girl never even got registered in the Guild, nor did she belong to any form of adventuring party. And she never returned back to town either, somehow content on spending months on the wilderness on her own. She must be some sort of a crazy survivalist. Not that odd in retrospect, considering she’s an elf and all—living with nature and all that.

Still, that made my job even harder, as she could practically be anywhere out there. And with no information on where I could find the flower she’s looking for as well, I’m pretty much throwing the dice every time I went out there. Not to mention the fact that as more days passed, the worse the weather became. The winds became stronger and colder, and more and more snow started to pile up. And out there, blizzards started to ravage the forests, making the visibility awfully poor for any adventurers who were foolish enough to go there. Not to mention the monsters would grow more ferocious as well, especially monsters like Frost Bears and Tyrant Deers from before who thrived in the cold.

I had no idea how she could survive out there, on her own, without ever going back here for supplies. Even I wasn’t strong enough to fight against the blizzards. I could create cyclones to protect myself from them, but it only lasted temporarily while the blizzards would last for much, much longer. I would run myself dry if I kept spamming them. And without them, I could barely see anything.

_Damn it, should I just forget this whole elf business? I’m not going to stay here until spring!_

***

After yet another unfruitful day of searching and wandering, I rested my laurels in my usual tavern, tucking myself at the most inconspicuous corner that no one would bother stealing a glance at. These days, the excitement about me had died down a bit. Such was the nature of rumors and gossips. They didn’t stay for very long in the public consciousness, which was perfectly fine by me.

With a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of pork sausage on my table (another expensive expenditure, if I might add), I was confident I would be able to relax and enjoy myself for the night. I even took out a book to read. And no, it wasn’t some trashy fiction book. I am educating myself, for I need to prepare for my trip to the Demon Continent. The dominant language there is different, and I am not going to be like those ignorant tourists who came to Japan and expecting us to speak English to cater to them.

_Sure I’m glad I decide to spend some time going to the bookstores at the capital just to buy this book._

It was titled “An Introductory to the Demon Tongue”. It wasn’t that big, and the author seemed to have painstakingly made sure that the readers would be to understand every single explanation he put in there. In fact, it read like the author was a giant fanboy of demonic culture in general. He kept praising how diverse and exciting they were, and how we as humans could learn a lot from them.

_Geez, I wonder how this book didn’t get labeled as heresy by the Church…_

Still, thanks to that, I was able to pick up the language pretty quickly. If I had to describe how it was, I’d say it reminded me quite a bit of the German language back at Earth. Kinda funny, since the human language on the other hand is pretty similar to English. So this is some English vs Germany type thing, like in the two World Wars.

I was so engrossed in said book, that I didn’t notice a group of people heading towards me.

“Charles! You’re Charles, aren’t you?”

With my eyebrows raised, I put my book down.

Only to see my old companions, the Flaming Arrows, standing beside my table.

“Charles! Long time no see!”

_Huh. They’re here?_

The one who spoke so cheerfully was naturally Amelie. The other two, that being Anne and Anton, only looked at me with a neutral expression on their faces. Well, for the former, it’s more like a scowl than anything.

“You did it! You really slew that dragon, didn’t you?” She giggled. “I knew you’d be able to do it! I never had any doubt in the slightest!”

_Well, this is awkward. We kinda separated in quite the bad terms after all._

And so, what happened afterward took me by surprise.

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have said those words to you back then.” Anton bowed as deeply as he could.

_Uh, alright?_

After he straightened himself back up, he continued, “You know your strength better than I am. I shouldn’t have been so presumptuous to tell you what to do.”

_Oo-kay, this is only getting even more awkward. I don’t really care what he said to me back then, but he’s making it out to be a big deal._

“Don't worry! I don't mind in the slightest!" I quickly interrupted him with a smile. “You’re only concerned about me, right? I think it’s a pretty natural thing to say to anyone who’s crazy enough to fight against a dragon on his own. So, what are you guys doing here?" I quickly changed the topic.

“Doing quests. What else?” Anton replied, now with a little smile. “In winter, the demand for adventurers for guard and monster extermination duties increase, so you’ll see more and more adventurers flocking to this part of the country.”

_Ah, that makes sense. The winter makes the monsters more ferocious after all. The herbivores will die off or hibernate during the winter, so the carnivores would decide to attack humans instead. Monsters have fewer self-preservation instincts built onto them, so they would survive this way._

“Ah, I see,” I replied with my own little girl. “Well, good luck to you guys. As you might’ve heard, I’m busy searching for a certain elf. So I’m not taking up any prolonged quests for the moment. If you ever see her, make sure to tell me, alright?”

“...So the rumors are true. That you are chasing after another girl.”

Anne finally decided to speak. Without hesitation, she walked and stood right beside me, glaring with that emerald eyes of hers.

“I thought you already have a girlfriend, huh? So how come you’re going all around looking for this elf girl?” She put her hands on her waist.

I rolled my eyes. _Oh great, she gets the wrong idea. Just like many others._

“Who says I’m looking for her for that reason?” I replied with an annoyed frown. “I need something she has. A Dream Orb. I want to buy that off her hands so I can send a message with it.”

“Hmph, as if I would believe that excuse, you womanizer!” was her chosen reply.

_Sheesh, what a stubborn girl. You’d be cuter if you were less stubborn, you know. Then maybe you’ll actually get a guy to be your boyfriend so you’d stop nagging me like this._

“That’s enough, Anne,” Anton spoke with his authoritarian tone. “His business is his own. We have no right to ask him about it if he doesn’t want to answer.”

_Yea, that’s right. Listen to your leader for once._

“Charles. Are you never going to join us again?”

It was Amelie who spoke. With a fluttering of her long eyelashes and the watering of her eyes, I nearly told her otherwise.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.” I gave her a regretful smile. “I really need to meet that elf. Or else I’ve wasted my efforts these past two months. Honestly, I might end up just leaving if I don’t get to her soon. I don’t think I’m going to continue my search once spring comes.”

“And you, Amelie. We’ve talked about this before. He won’t travel with us again. It’s only a mere coincidence that we took the same job all those months ago.” Anton scolded her next.

She retreated with a sigh before giving me a bitter smile. _She probably thinks me more like her dream hero after the news of me slaying that dragon came to her ears. Heh, she just doesn’t know how much of a weakling I really am. Bravery is not a function of strength after all._

"Oh, and sorry for us interrupting your dinner." Anton then spoke with a bashful smile. "Amelie here insisted that we should come and pay you a visit once we knew you're here."

_Yeah, I can imagine her doing that, whining to him until he relented._

"Well, I suppose we shall take our leave."

Knowing that their presence wasn’t exactly welcome, Anton, being the one with the most sensible head among the three, decided that they should depart. I felt bad for feeling this, but he was right. I was in the middle of my reading and they had took me out of it. And I **hate** being interrupted like that.

Before they could do so however, they were stopped by a certain sound.

The strings of a harp being plucked.

_That day he climbed the mountain, (7)_

_His company the wise witch,_

_For a cure he sought in need,_

_A stranger he prayed to live._

It was the harp of a bard. She had made her entrance, and now, she was playing her instrument, all the while accompanying it with her voice.

And she was an all-too-familiar face.

_With might and magic he fought,_

_A dragon most powerful,_

_The cold did not bother him,_

_For his wind is far more fierce._

...Yep, she’s singing about me, alright.

_The dragon laid in defeat,_

_Its heart plundered, taken,_

_The witch made her curatives,_

_The stranger returned from Abyss._

The crowd, who had become silent as she began to play, barraged her with applause. It seemed her performance pleased them, even though the words didn’t exactly rhyme with each other ( _I thought a ballad is supposed to have that rhyme at the end of each word)_.

Still, I couldn’t exactly blame them. It didn’t matter if the lyrics were subpar, when her harpplaying and her voice were that good.

She was actually a talented bard after all.

Even so, I’d better look away and pretend that I’m not here. Or rather, I should sneak out before she did something dumb like calling me out or something.

“Well well well, aren’t you happy?” Anne huffed, giving me that glare again. “They’re now making songs of you, O Great Divine Tempest.” She wasn’t holding back in the slightest. The mocking, venomous tone of her voice made it all too clear that she wasn’t happy with my sudden rise in popularity.

“Why are you so mad about it anyways?” I responded with a questioning look. “It’s not like I asked her to make songs about me. She did it on her own. I don’t even want this publicity.”

_That’s not entirely true. I do want to be famous. Just not now. And I don’t think my fame would contribute positively in my search of that high elf. What if she thinks I’m a bad guy? She’ll be scared since she knows she’ll be outclassed by me in strength._

“Because you—aaarghhh, forget it!”

Instead of answering, she stormed off.

I could only sigh like a disappointed parent at her reaction.

_Ah, puberty. She’s just like Hanako. Come to think of it, her stopping being cute started when she’s around her age._

Anton sighed as well, shaking his head.

“Well, we’ll be taking our leave.”

Giving me a nod, with a short wave from Amelie, the two left as well.

To my relief, I heard the elf bard switching to a different song. She hadn’t noticed me yet, it seems.

I soon left as well, employing my utmost stealth as I swerved through the back of the room, ignoring the eyes that just realized I was the main character of that song they just heard.

Thank God I had paid for my meal beforehand

***

Another two weeks had passed since then. Thanks to the bard’s performances, my popularity around here rised again, to my chagrin. I even got Ms. Receptionist teasing me for it, singing the lyrics whenever she could make me hear it.

I didn’t meet Anton and the others again. They probably had taken a guard job from one of the logging companies. Naturally, that would force them to stay in one of their sites until their contract was over.

At least, that’s what I believed, until one cold and snowy night, I saw Anton and Amelie inside the Guild.

And the latter was yelling and crying at Ms. Receptionist.

“Y-you can’t be saying we should just abandon her!” Amelie shouted as she banged her fists onto the table.

“I’m saying there’s no adventurer around that is capable to take your request,” she replied with a cold and dispassionate look. “The Merkel Forest? In a blizzard like this? I’ll only give such a request to S-rank adventurers. And in case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t any around.”

“That’s stupid! Merkel Forest only has A-rank monsters at the very most!”

“The blizzard bumps it up to S-rank. With that poor visibility, you know how easy it is to be ambushed by monsters.”

“I don’t care! Just accept the request!”

It was immediately clear to me that Amelie was terribly upset about something. What that thing was however, I had no idea at the moment.

The older woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she seemingly nursed a terrible headache.

“Hey, everyone!” She suddenly shouted. “Does anyone here want to do a rescue mission to Merkel Forest?”

No one responded.

_A rescue mission? In this weather? And in that forest?_

Merkel Forest was known to be the toughest forest in the entire immediate region. It’s filled with A-rank monsters that would end the lives of any unprepared adventurers. Combine that with the blizzard that’s currently happening right now, no wonder not a single adventurer there replied. It would be suicide to go out there in this weather. Even an S-rank adventurer might not be willing to do it. And I wouldn’t blame them.

_And why is she demanding a rescue mission again? And where’s Anne?_

_…_

_...Oh no._

_...Don’t tell me that she’s—_

I promptly walked up towards the two. In the corner of my eyes, I noticed the unmistakable pained look in Anton’s face as he looked away.

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

Amelie was the first to turn towards me.

And then…

“C-Charles… U-Uwaaahhhhh!”

Before I knew it, she already threw herself onto me, hugging me as tightly as she could as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

“I-It’s Anne! She’s… she’s still out there in the forest!”

And thus, my fear became reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shitty poem. The last time I wrote one was back when I was still in high school, for my language class.


	125. The Cold Trail

Amelie then told me everything, from how they had taken a monster extermination job at the forest, how they ended up being surrounded by a pack of snow wolves before they could go back once the blizzard started, and how that led to them being separated from Anne, who had sacrificed herself to attract the attention of the wolves. They would’ve gotten back for her, if not for the blizzard. Anton, like the good leader that he was, decided it was too risky. He was tough enough to go against Amelie’s wish, who would’ve left him if he hadn’t slapped some sense into her. Literally.

_He really is the big brother of the party._

When she finished, she naturally begged me to save her. Even Anton did the same, bowing as far as his back allowed him to in the process.

They both knew their only chance was with me, who was much, much stronger than any other adventurers here.

I simply nodded and said, "Point me on the map where you last saw her."

\-------

_Wow, this weather really is bad…_

When I went back outside, the blizzard had gotten worse than before. And the blizzard in the forest should be even worse than this. Even without the monsters, if Anne couldn't find a warm place to take shelter, she would catch hypothermia and die.

_I have to go quickly before that happens._

I promptly returned back to my inn to change into my heaviest winter clothes. By the way, I purchased them back at Silheim. I knew winter was coming so it would be prudent of me to get some proper winter gear, especially after learning how cold the weather could get in this region at that time of the year. They were made from the fur of Frost Bears, keeping your body warmth inside and the cold air outside.

I also took with me another set of clothes for Anne, given to me by those two. I didn’t forget snagging some food and drink. Wine would be really great to warm somebody up. Well, I could just use my fairy’s water for that as well.

Why was I doing this, you might ask? Heh, it’s not like you don’t already know about me and my hero complex.

...No, it’s just not that. I also can’t bear to see them lose someone dear to them.

After all, I know perfectly well how painful that can be.

They died in this weather too, in the cold. And I’d be damned if I’m going to let anyone else die if I can’t help it.

...She’d be fine. She’s too stubborn and vulgar to be dying to a bunch of monsters and the cold. If I had to guess, she’d probably be hiding in a cave somewhere, warming herself up with a fire she had started herself. She was the ranger of the party, after all, possessing the best survival skills compared to the other two. She would know how to keep herself safe in a situation like this.

I darted downstairs and to the outside. After giving my marked map a quick read, comparing it with the compass I had (over the months traveling alone I had gotten _really_ good at combining the two efficiently), I swiftly headed towards the direction the two showed, leaving the town not even a minute later.

I looked towards the skies as I rapidly flew with my Wind Step spell. _Hmm, I wonder if I can move those dark clouds away with a tornado spell._

_No, I shouldn’t do it here. I might end up making the blizzard even stronger at her place if I end up pushing more snow clouds there._

I never actually thought of manipulating the weather in this manner before. Would my tornado spell even be strong enough to win against the strong wind this blizzard produces? Though thinking scientifically, if I could just tell the clouds to go away, then this nasty weather should stop, unlike a magical blizzard created by another mage’s spell.

\---------

I soon arrived near the forest. As I thought, the snowstorm was even worse there. Even with my warm getup, if I hadn’t been casting my warm air spell, I would still feel terribly cold.

Still, it wasn’t the coldest blizzard I had experienced.

“Air Sunder!”

I aimed my wand to the skies, firing off my cyclone spell in an attempt to disperse the clouds in the area.

Only to find that before it could reach that height, the spell had weakened considerably to the point that it had barely any effect on those thick, dark mass.

_Crap. It’s not strong enough. And I never bothered to learn a proper Master-level Cyclone spell either. Do I really have to do this while under this strong of a blizzard? The visibility is already bad enough at night. Combine that with the snow and you can basically see nothing except for objects mere centimeters from your face. Those two could only make it back because of Amelie and her fire spell._

_Think Hugo. Is there really no way to make your cyclone spell stronger?_

_…_

_...Hold on. Think about a tornado. How would you make one, scientifically speaking? You combine a lot of hot and cold air together and then have a strong wind to mix them up. I already have an abundance of cold air right now and I can certainly create a strong wind. All I need is the hot air, and I can create that too, can’t I?_

I smirked.

“Warm Breeze!”

I lifted my wand upwards and generated as much warm air as I could around myself. Modifying the temperature to be higher was an easy task. I simply had to make the fire part of the hybrid spell stronger.

_Oh right, you can’t store the hot air out in the open without it being cooled off by the blizzard._

I gave myself a slap on the head, before conjuring my earth sprite with the command of creating an enclosure around myself that would protect against the frost winds.

Once she appeared, she promptly did as I told her, creating a large and round mud structure that surrounded us like a dome.

“Master, do you need protection from the cold?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“Not at all,” I replied with a confident smile. “In fact, I’m going to blast away this cold in just a few moments.”

I raised my wand again and chanted, “Warm Breeze!” 

“Master, you’re warming up the air?”

“Yes I am! And now, your next job is to destroy the dome the moment I gave my signal, alright?”

“Alright…”

It was clear by her expression that she had no idea in the slightest about my plan. But as a good summon, she obeyed anyways, waiting patiently until I finished filling the dome with hot air.

And then, it’s showtime.

“Okay, here’s how it goes. The moment I cast my next spell, you take down the dome, alright?”

She nodded.

“In three, two, one, Air Sunder!”

The dome cracked and fell, freeing the hot air to meet head-on with the cold air outside.

With my Air Sunder mixing them in an instant.

Immediately the effect was clear. My cyclone, no, tornado expanded and grew rapidly, piercing through the blizzard like it was nothing. It reached up to the clouds, and sure enough, it moved and dispersed the clouds away like a rubber erasing a pencil. The hot air I created fed the tornado, as hot air wanted to go up and up over the cold air, aiding the vortex of wind I had created.

_Ha! I did it! I knew it would work!_

Gently, I turned my wand, nudging the tornado to move and erase the other dark clouds in the sky.

_...Oh shit, this is actually stronger than I thought._

I had anticipated that my spell would be boosted in strength, but not to this point. Since I created the tornado not purely with magic, I had less control over it. I had to be really, really careful to not let it go rampant, or else I would only end up making things worse.

_Oh crap, it’s sucking me in!_

I could feel it—the pull of the tornado at my body. I immediately ordered my sprite to hold my feet in place with her mud. I now held my wand with both of my hands. If I let it slip out of my hands, then I would naturally lose control over the tornado. And I would have to buy a new wand. I don’t want that hassle.

To my surprise, however, the tornado soon grew weaker. And weaker. Until it returned back to its original size.

_Oh right, it must have run out of hot air._

With a relieved sigh, I put my wand back in my pocket.

And the blizzard? It had disappeared completely.

“Wow, that was amazing, Master…”

I turned behind me to see my earth sprite, all starry-eyed. 

I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it? That’s my combination spell right there. Strong enough to dispel a blizzard like that.”

_And cool enough to melt her usual expressionless face._

Suddenly, her smile vanished. She looked away, downwards towards the snow.

“...You really are getting stronger and stronger, Master…” She mumbled under her breath. If the blizzard hadn’t stopped, I would’ve not been able to hear her for sure.

My grin disappeared as well. “Uhh, is something wrong?”

“N-nothing. Nothing is wrong, Master,” she quickly answered, shaking her head.

Now, I would’ve interrogated further, if not for the fact that I was on a timer now. Even with the blizzard gone, that didn’t mean Anne was safe. The monsters could still be an issue, especially if she had sustained some wounds beforehand that would hinder her mobility. I couldn’t relax just yet.

“Alright then,” I replied, patting her on the head. “Good job. Here’s a hug. A real long one.”

She didn’t say anything else before vanishing.

\--------

The area where she was lost was not that far from the logger encampment where the lumberjacks had made their home. I visited them for a bit, asking if any of them had seen a girl matching Anne’s description. They said no, meaning she never made it out on her own.

I heard some of them expressing their confusion on how the blizzard had just disappeared. Usually, it would last all night. But this wasn’t even midnight yet.

I tried to hide my smile. They didn’t need to know it was me who did it, do they?

I made my way to the forest proper afterward. The night was dark, with only a tiny crescent moon lightening up the sky. I generated fire with my wand to act as my torch as I climbed tree to tree, yelling for her name while eyeing my surroundings for her presence.

_Damn, the trees are too close together for me to get a clear line of sight. Should I just burn them to the ground? No, that's probably too dangerous for her. If not the heat, then the smoke can kill her. Not to mention it would no doubt agitate the monsters._

Naturally, thanks to my yelling, I was attracting quite a number of monsters to my direction, especially as I got deeper and deeper into the forest. Nothing that I couldn’t handle, however.

Eventually, I reached the spot where they were separated. And then, I saw it—a corpse of a Tyrant Deer barely sticking out of the snow. I melted the snow before looking at it closely

_Arrow wounds! This must be her work!_

One of the arrows was still intact. I took it out and examined it further. _This is it! This is the arrow she always uses!_

I looked around. _Now, where could she have escaped to? Looking for her footprints would be impossible. Not after that blizzard._

I searched the area further. To my relief, I found more and more arrows stuck inside multiple trees, all forming a trail that I could follow. _She was being chased. Or at the very least, she thought she was. But thanks to the blizzard, her aim became poor and some of her arrows didn't hit their mark._

I hurried onward, following the trail as quickly as I could. The trees soon thin once more, while the snow thickened. It got so bad that it reached up to my waist. Luckily, melting it with my fire spell was an easy matter.

_Huh, this is..._

It seemed I had ended up on another clearing, with a cliff overlooking a frozen lake.

Immediately my mind thought of the possibility of her falling down from said cliff right into said lake.

_Shit, if that were true, then she would be—_

I rushed to the edge and looked downwards. There wasn’t any human corpse down there. Just what looked like the corpse of another Treant Deer.

I slid down at once, as the cliff was only around 60 degrees or so on its steepness.

Sure enough, it was dead. And there were more marks of arrow wounds on its body.

_This was the one that chased her. To think that she could fight off two A-rank monsters on her own, she really is a skilled adventurer._

I looked around once more. The lake was still, with no other monsters or humans around. There were no signs of the ice breaking as well either, meaning, she couldn’t have fallen down inside. And after a little testing with a fire spell, I confirmed the ice’s thickness. It wasn’t the type that would just break easily.

But then, once I cleared over some of the snow covering the ice, I saw them—footsteps etched onto the ice. A deer’s footsteps.

_There was another Tyrant Deer chasing after her._

Tyrant Deers could walk and run on ice quite easily, as long as said ice was thick enough to support their weight. Their hooves were able to make small dents on the ice that gave them friction, similar to how our spiked boots worked.

Speaking of spiked boots, sure enough, interlaced with those footsteps, I could see the signs of boot spikes etching their way across the ice as well.

Without waiting, I flew through the ice using my Wind Step, following the trail until it ended at the other side.

“Anne!” I yelled. “Can you hear me?”

No response. I thought I should be close to her but apparently not.

Once back at land, I looked around for any stray arrows once more. To my relief, I could still find them. Ironic, how the fact that the Tyrant Deer chased her this far made it far easier for me to follow her tracks. I knew the monster was the aggressive type, but to think that it could be this aggressive.

As I followed the trail, more and more trees lined up to my left and right. It seemed I was going straight towards the head of the forest. I could see a lot of broken branches, courtesy of the deer, I imagine. If not for Father teaching me all this stuff back then, I wouldn’t have noticed them most likely.

_Thanks, Dad. I’ll make you proud by saving her. You always said that saving a girl is something all boys should aspire to do one day, right? Though I don’t intend on making said girl my girlfriend or anything..._

Suddenly, I stopped.

I hear it—rustling in the bushes and leaves around me. And no, it wasn’t made by the wind. In fact, there hadn’t been any wind blowing for a while.

I wasn’t sure why, but dread was slowly creeping into me.

Father had talked about this then as well. It’s what you would call an adventurer’s instinct. A seasoned adventurer would be able to tell if they’re in danger without actually knowing what kind of danger they were in. It’s not something one could explain through logic and reason. It’s simply what you would call a gut feeling.

Now, I wouldn’t call myself seasoned by any means, but this sensation was unmistakable. Something is coming.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I remembered Fiora’s words. “All living things have their own aura. Even monsters. And you can sense that aura to sense their intentions.” She even demonstrated by emanating a killing aura that immediately made me flinch.

Another rustle. Now it’s flanking me. No monsters in this region were ever this stealthy, so this could be a new monster entirely—a creature not even the Guild had information for.

_I can sense it. It’s faint but it’s definitely the aura of something hostile. It’s looking at me as its food._

Slowly, my hand went towards the handle of my sword.

Woosh! Something big and heavy went flying towards me at high speed. Without hesitation, I cut it into two with a slash of my sword.

_A giant vine?!_

It wasn’t over. I sensed tremor shaking the ground where I stood. Immediately, I strafed to the side using Graceful Step, just in time before another vine broke through. I cut it as well.

Now I have a pretty good idea of what kind of monster is currently attacking me. It’s either a massively sized monster plant or a creature that could control plants like a dryad. Or it could even be a mage manipulating the vines using their magic.

My mind was reminded of Marina’s Ygdrassil spell. She could use something similar to it back then, though her vines were nowhere near as big as these ones.

_Shit! This is bad! If this is where Anne has run off to, then this monster could’ve gotten her! And thanks to all these trees, I don’t even know where the main body of this plant creature is!_

_Tch, guess I would just have to burn them all then!_

“Flame Strike!”

My spell flew and exploded, burning a number of trees in its radius.

And they responded with a roar.


	126. Forest Treant

_W-what’s happening?!_

The earth trembled, sending me falling to the snow. I didn’t stay there for long, however, knowing there’s a chance more vines would attack. I rolled over and leaped upwards as fast as I could, before casting Wind Step so my feet would be able to stand in mid-air, unaffected by the quake.

If only it was just an earthquake.

One by one the trees around me uprooted themselves. No, to be more precise, it was as if _something_ was pulling them, gathering them together towards a single spot. 

_This forest isn’t normal!_

The sound of the roots piercing through the earth and the branches crashing into each other were deafening. I promptly flew upwards, away as far as I could from them.

Another roar echoed in the air, loud enough to deafen the sounds the pulled trees were making.

And then, what I saw took my breath away.

At a distance, not far from where I was, a giant tree-like creature was forming itself. Using the trees it pulled as the materials for its body, it quickly grew—bigger and taller after every passing second.

_What the hell is that?!_

_Wait… the trees! Every tree that it’s gathering is linked by the same network of giant roots!_

_So that’s how they all got pulled together at once! This whole place isn’t an actual forest! It’s all part of this giant creature!_

_Whatever that is, I should put it down before it can assemble itself fully!_

I flew up higher, giving me more time to cast my strongest fire spell in mid-air before I hit the ground.

Only to stop once I got a better look at the creature.

_That's…. That's Anne, isn't it?!_

Inside the creature's body, made out of a chimeric hybrid of roots and trees of all shapes and sizes, was a girl suspended on mid-air, held in place by the many roots wrapped across her body. And beside her, I could see other creatures stuck inside as well—Tyrant Deers, Frost Bears, even a few birds and squirrels if I squinted hard enough.

_I think… I think I know what that thing is._

Forest Treant. A treant made out of an entire forest. Normally, it would camouflage itself as a normal forest, snatching unsuspecting monsters and humans alike into its roots to be used as its food. However, if disturbed enough, like by starting a forest fire, for example, it could rise and gather itself, forming a gigantic treant that is tall enough to blot out the sun.

It’s an S-rank monster, something that should not exist in this region. Normal treants exist, sure, but a gigantic one like this? And so close to where humans lived? It doesn’t make sense. It would either be hunted down first or there would be no village or town near it.

And Anne, along with her pursuers, I assume, had been captured by that monster.

_Shit! I can’t just blast it with my fire magic without hurting Anne as well!_

_I have no choice! I have to fly up close and cut those roots of her!_

I flew forward as fast as I could, as the treant grew taller and taller. It let out a roar once again—the sound most likely reaching across miles from here.

And then, noticing my approach, it let out its barrage of attacks.

Roots and vines grew towards me at high speed. When I managed to dodge them, it didn’t relent, firing off a swarm of thorns towards my direction.

This, I could not dodge. I had to dispel my Wind Step and protect myself with Wind Wall as I fell.

Its attacks didn’t stop there, however, as a vine went flying from down below to hit me at mid-air. I barely blocked it using my sword, as my Wind Wall was on my front, protecting me from the thorns.

Only for another vine to come and slap me with its full strength, sending me flying to the snow down below.

“Gah!”

My sight dimmed. I’m quite certain several of my bones were broken. If it weren’t for the snow, I might have been dead from that.

I was careless. Fighting mid-air like that? Not the best idea.

But on the other hand, I couldn’t stay on the ground either if I wanted to save Anne.

I chuckled. _Now this is a real S-rank monster. Like I’ve said, that dragon was already weakened by a bunch of other adventurers before I finished it off._

_But this? This is all me. I’m the only one that would fight it._

I looked upwards.

_...Ah, so tall. It’s as tall as a skyscraper. It’s even taller and bigger than that dragon. How can a monster like this be here without anyone knowing?_

_Can I really do it, I wonder?_

I summoned Great Fairy, ordering her to heal my wounds immediately. The treant could easily step on me while I’m in this position, and there would be nothing that I could do.

“Master! What happened?!” She yelled. “You’re bleeding!”

_Ah, that explains the tangy, steel-like taste in my mouth._

I chuckled, answering weakly. “A big tree. A really big one. Strong as well.”

My eyes gestured upwards and she followed. She gasped, her mouth opened wide with terror.

“Heal me. Quick. Before it attacks me again.”

“A-alright!”

She poured into my mouth her healing water, rejuvenating my broken bones and closing my wounds, both internal and external. It was honestly miraculous, how quickly healing could work in this world. As long as its physical wounds, anyway.

THUMP THUMP

The treant let out another roar, and the earth shook every time it took a step. It seemed it had completed its transformation, and now, it walked with its full strength. I had no idea where it was heading, however.

_...Wait, I think… I think I might just have an idea on how to handle this guy._

_It’s pretty risky, but knowing how flame resistant it should be, thanks to all the snow and ice on the trees, then it should work. I hope._

I stood up—a confident smile drawn on my face. _It might be a skyscraper-sized monstrosity but there’s one thing it lacks compared to the dragon. And I can abuse that here._

_I can win. I have to. Or I would break my promise again._

“Fly near me,” I instructed my summon. “Be ready to lift me up at a moment’s notice.”

“Aye aye Sir!” she replied with a smile as she formed her sword. I then aimed my wand towards the feet of the treant. Just like its body, they were made out of tangled roots, bushes, and trees. Its size was too massive for me to just cut through with my sword. And I imagine Boom Cannon would not be that effective as well since it could just reform and regrow the tiny hole I would make in an instant.

_If I am going to cut its legs off, I need something stronger. Not just a mere flame but something even hotter. Something that could really pierce through its fire resistance._

“Magma Burst!”

Aiming at the ground where it stood, I brought forth a column of searing hot lava.

The effects were immediate. The portion of the feet where the lava came out immediately erupted into flames. And as plants didn’t feel pain, the treant didn’t react like a human would. It continued stepping on the lava, burning more and more of its own foot.

However, it was still a small portion of the whole thing, and there were two of them, so I had to use multiple Magma Burst to achieve the goal I desired.

“Magma Burst!”

“Magma Burst!”

“Magma Burst!”

More and more lava burst forth, and more parts of its massive foot were swallowed by the flames. Now, the treant finally decided to retaliate. It let out a roar before sending its roots and vines towards me like a storm, with some going through the air and others trailing underground. Another two-pronged attack from the creature.

I was already ready however.

“Stay close to me!” I ordered my fairy, before yelling, “Boom Orbit!”

The high-speed sphere of wind circled around me, obliterating any vines and roots that got close from the air. As for the ones from the ground, I used Graceful Step to run around, dodging them with relative ease. There might be quite a number of them, but they weren’t fast enough to be able to catch me.

I stayed in the defensive for a bit, waiting until more and more of the treant’s feet to be engulfed in flames. The smell of burning wood was now enveloping the air, and the black smoke was starting to inhibit my breathing. The lava spouts had stopped, but the flames continued on, fed by the “flesh” of the monster itself.

And then, it snapped.

First the left foot. Then the right. Slowly but surely, it lost its balance.

The mighty skyscraper-sized treant fell.

“Lift me up!” I yelled to my fairy, just in time to dodge the massive earth-shattering impact that followed.

KABOOM

It sent a massive shockwave that spread through the rest of the forest. And the sound was no doubt heard for miles around. They might hear the sound first, like thunder who struck the earth, followed by the tremor, which they might mistake as a minor earthquake.

A grin formed on my face.

_Hah, I did it after all! With it being down like this, it’s much easier for me to get to where Anne is. Like I predicted, the flames reached nowhere near its stomach where she’s being kept, and since that region is the most protected part of its body, judging by the thickness, even letting it fall like that wouldn’t harm her. Treants can’t eat their prey instantly. They have to slowly absorb their nutrients over several days, and during that time, they would store them inside their stomach. And that’s why it’s the most protected part of a treant’s body._

_And now, time for the next stage!_

The treant roared in anger. I could see it slowly reforming its burned off feet by moving the materials it used for the rest of his body. I was grateful that it couldn’t absorb other trees that weren’t part of its root network, or else it could probably regenerate even faster.

_That’s fine. I plan to finish this quickly after all._

I flew towards the lower back of the monster (as it fell face first). Or rather, I commanded my fairy to do so. I looked around, affirming where Anne was being stored inside the monster.

_There she is. Just need to cut through all those wood._

I dived down, readying my sword in the process. My fairy followed with her own sword. Even though her water attacks wouldn’t be that effective against a plant opponent, she could still make water blades sharp enough to cut through the treant.

"Hyaah! Hyaaah!"

She yelled loudly every time she swung her sword, which I would probably find cute if I wasn't in the middle of hacking down a skyscraper-sized tree. My mind was fully focused on the task at hand as I hacked and slashed as quickly and efficiently as possible. I also utilized Boom Orbit to help me with the process, obliterating any roots and trees around me. Not Boom Spiral though. It's too risky. I could hit Anne by accident.

The treant didn't just lay down and take it, however. It retaliated even harder now it realized I was inside its body, sending every single root, branch, and vine in our direction. Thorns grew to hinder our progress, with some firing at us as well.

However, the combined force of my spell, sword, and summon was enough to repel every single attack. Large, heavy objects were shattered by my spell while smaller objects were parried and blocked by our swords.

And then, we made it to the center.

As expected, she was unconscious. Not dead, as I checked her pulse immediately. Thank God I remembered what I read about treants. Even so, roots were stabbing her body all over. I took care not to dislodge them from the holes as I separated them from the treant so her blood wouldn't start to leak out. I had no time to tell my fairy to heal her. Not when we were still inside the treant like this.

Once I hauled her over my shoulder, we began making my escape. I looked at the route where I had come in. No dice. The treant had already fixed the hole I made considerably. And climbing upwards was naturally more difficult than the other option I had in mind.

_Guess we just have to escape downwards then._

I aimed my wand downwards—my sword was already sheathed at this point since I needed one hand to keep Anne in place—before firing a Boom Cannon to clear out a small hole I could just jump down into.

As we fell, I fired more and more, as one wasn’t enough to pierce all the way down. My fairy was on guard duty, cutting any attacks that came towards us.

And then, just when I was about to hit the ground…

“Earth Sprite! Dig us a tunnel to leave this place!”

I then softened my landing with Wind Step, just in time for her to manifest and make a hole on said ground.

Of course, I could always just tear through the treant all over again, only sideways, but this method was the safest way for us to escape. It wasn’t foolproof, however, as the roots could still reach us. Still, it was nothing that we couldn’t handle

In a few minutes, we came out safely to the surface relatively unscathed. I didn’t look back as we fled from the treant as far away as we could. It would be foolhardy for me to go back and fight it again—even if I might be able to finish it off—since I had Anne with me right now. Her well-being was the priority.

And besides, the treant didn’t seem to move after what I did to it. Maybe it had decided to focus on recovering itself after my assault on it.

Once I felt we were decently far enough, I put her down inside a makeshift cave I ordered Earth Sprite to create. Promptly, I ordered Great Fairy to heal her, as I worked on the roots embedded all over her body. 

“Master, who is she?” Earth Sprite asked as she was watching us work.

“A friend,” I answered with a smile. “Well, an acquaintance, to be more precise. I don’t think we’re that close yet.”

“A friend, Master?” The fairy chimed in with her cheerful voice. “Master sure has a lot of female friends.” She added with a slight giggle.

_...Welp, she got a point there._

_Heh, I might be able to make a harem if I put my all into it._

_But Sherry will be mad for sure._

I pulled the roots as gently as I could, not wanting to leave any splinters behind. Thankfully, the wood was strong and firm, so I, who had no medical expertise whatsoever, had no problem doing so.

Once all of the wounds were closed, the spring fairy gave her some of her water to drink.

“G-guh!”

She promptly coughed, spilling some of the water from her mouth.

She’s awake at last.

“Mm…” Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. “H-huh? Y-you?”

Her voice was faint and hoarse, but it was clear from her expression that she didn’t expect to see me when she woke up.

“W-why—why are you here?”

“Why, to save you, of course,” I replied with a grin.

“Save… me?” She paused. “Oh, right, I was running from that beast, and then… Wait, who are those two behind you?” She tilted her body to the side to get a better look at them. “Those wings… a fairy?”

_Ah, I never showed them even once in our travels after all._

“Don’t worry! Those two are my summons!” I quickly told her. “They don’t bite!”

The fairy waved her hands with a smile. The sprite however only stared at her with her usual expressionless emotion.

I dismissed them afterward, knowing that they couldn’t remain for much longer in this world. Anne was looking at me with an unpleasant expression however when I gave them a hug and a headpat.

“H-hey, don’t get it wrong! I’m only doing it because it’s their payment! Summons need to be paid every time they’re called, you see!” _She probably is thinking that I’m into little girls or something. She’s always like that, assuming the worst about me._

“...Oh? Is that so?” was her only reply.

\-----

I then told her everything, how I had come all this way after hearing the news from the others, and how I had fought against a giant treant who had captured her.

When I finished, she was already sitting, leaning her back on the cave wall. She had a smile on her face, and yet, her expression was forlorn, as if something also saddened her at the same time.

She sighed. “You really are strong, Charles. Far stronger than me or anybody else in our little group. Thank you. Without you, I would’ve been a goner for sure. That treant… it took me completely by surprise. It hit me with its vines, knocking me out in a flash. I have no idea a monster like that lives in this forest.”

“Me neither,” I replied. “It’s odd, how a creature like that could live here without anyone knowing. Has it always been pretending to be a chunk of the forest all this time? It’s lucky no one ever burns any of its trees before this.”

“We should inform its presence to the Guild once we get back,” Anne responded. “Its presence means the loggers would probably have to stop their activity here. Though, I wonder.” She turned her gaze towards me. “Why didn’t you finish it off? With your strength, you should be able to.”

“You’re overestimating me,” I responded humbly. “I almost died fighting it, you know. Got slammed by one of its vines to the ground. Broke a bunch of my bones. It could’ve finished me right then and there. I called my fairy to heal me, but her healing takes some time. And besides,” _Oh God, I’m going to say something really cheesy now._ “I can’t risk it with you on tow. I come here not to slay the treant. I come here to save you after all.” I gave her a smile.

My words immediately took their effect. Her cheeks turned scarlet, prompting her to look away, no doubt in order to hide it from me.

"H-hmph, playing hero again, huh?"

_And there it is. Her tsun side._

"T-thanks."

_And this, on the other hand, is her dere side._

_Heh, pretty cute, if I say so myself._

"Well," I stood up, still keeping my smile. "Can you walk? I'd rather sleep at the inn for the night."

An awkward silence ensued. She remained silent for what seemed like an eternity, until she replied with a shook of her head.

"No. Let's camp here for the night. I… have something I want to tell you."

She looked at me as she said those words.

_Those eyes… it reminds me of Sherry's when I first met her..._

_I can't say no to that, can I?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are slowing down due to the combination of college stuff and me enjoying Genshin Impact too much.
> 
> Oh, by the way, I've been thinking. Should Sherry's weapon of choice remain a sword or should it be something else? Maybe a scythe?


	127. A Confession

We decided to camp for the night inside the makeshift cave, so I headed out to gather some firewood to burn. She offered her help, but I refused, telling her that I wanted her to rest at the cave instead. 

I decided to use the opportunity to also scout for the treant. I was curious about why it didn’t seem to be moving around anymore.

To my surprise, when I returned to where the monster was, it was no longer there. Instead, the bald patch in the forest it should've left in its wake was gone.

Meaning, it had turned back to being part of the forest.

I looked at the trees around me. No signs of our battle. It really was as if our fight never happened in the first place. Of course, if I were to start firing my fire spells again, it most likely would wake up again. Though I doubted it would try to ambush me again. It should know that I was too troublesome for it to handle. Or so I hoped. An S-rank monster should be intelligent enough to realize such a thing.

I moved to a different part of the forest to get the firewood. I wasn’t going to risk waking it up by cutting down part of its body. I also grabbed some mushrooms for our dinner. I couldn’t find any edible monsters around, unfortunately.

“I’m back!” I shouted once I arrived back at the cave.

\----------

We sat side by side inside the cave, watching as the large pile of firewood was slowly consumed by the flames. I had made a small hole on the ceiling, allowing the smoke to go upwards instead of filling the cave. We were still wearing our winter clothing. The weather was cold enough that we were more comfortable that way. Outside, the snow had been falling for quite a while. The clouds I had moved had returned back to their place, and sooner or later, another blizzard might start to blanket the whole forest once more.

We just finished our dinner. I had gathered as many mushrooms as I could. I ate one-third of them while she ate the rest. Since her nutrients had been drained, it was only natural that she would be starving.

“Charles…” Anne suddenly spoke. “I want to apologize. For all the terrible things I’ve said to you.”

And there it was—the thing she wanted to say so badly she wanted us to camp here instead of going back to town straight away.

“I had let my prejudice get the better of me. I thought all nobles are bad, and when I learned that you were one of them, I thought you would be just like them—looking down on us commoners behind your smile.”

Ah, class prejudice. It always existed no matter what world you were in.

“You see, my father… he was killed by them.”

A branch snapped inside the pile of firewood, sending a loud crack throughout the cave.

“There was a monster invasion. It killed my father and destroyed my village. But our local lord… he didn’t send a single knight to help us. We had to rely on adventurers instead. We were outnumbered and outmatched. Still, we managed to win, but not without heavy losses. It wasn’t just my father. Anton’s old party members—they lost their lives that day as well.”

So that’s where she got her prejudice from. It wasn’t just something born out of jealousy towards their wealth and status. It was born out of the feeling of betrayal, as they hadn’t done the job they were supposed to do. One of the social contracts between nobility and the common folk was that the former was supposed to protect the latter. And yet, her lord, whom she and her father had no doubt paid their taxes to every year, had refused to send any form of help.

Really, if I were in her position, I would probably feel the same. 

I recollected one of Fiora’s words, on how she as a royal princess and the future ruler of the Empire—she didn’t hesitate on that declaration—had a duty to ensure the wellbeing of her people. She then said with disgust how much the nobility of the Empire had ignored their subjects, being stuck in their own little world fighting their own little battles for influence and power.

Another reason why I ended up being willing to support her when the time came for her fight for the throne.

Though I doubted the two of them, Anne and Fiora, would go along if they ever met. Fiora would simply be too snobby for Anne.

“And so, I thought you were looking down on me, on us, as well. I knew you were hiding your true strength, and I believed you did it because you wanted to see us struggle against monsters you could defeat with a flick of your wand. But now… now I know you are not like that. For you to come all the way out here to save me, risking your life in the process… you are as far away from those selfish nobles as one possibly can be.”

Another twig snapped inside the bonfire. And the sound brought me to a decision.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’ve been unfair to you and the others.” I spoke with a wry smile. “I haven’t been forthcoming and honest with any of you, even though we have traveled together for so long. I didn’t trust you enough, so I kept a distance between us. But now, after you told me your story, it’s only fair for me to tell you mine, isn’t it?”

I turned to face her and she did the same. Our eyes met for a moment before she retreated, staring back towards the bonfire.

“I am not Charles Pendleton. That’s a fake name I’ve given to myself. I wasn’t born in the Holy Empire, nor I was of the nobility. I came from the Southwestern Continent, in the kingdom named Marchen. My real name is Hugo Greenwood. And I am currently on the run from its neighboring nation, the Magocracy, for I have killed one of its rulers.”

I then told her everything, from the very start, when Marina was kidnapped by Vera. I told her how I lost my parents in our fight, and how I barely managed to win against the ice witch. I told her of my shame, how I ran away instead of facing my sister like a real man would. I even told her of Sherry, how she was adopted by my family, how she left for the Demon Continent, and how I am now going after her.

When I finished, she was looking at me with a mixture of surprise, pity, and guilt. I could tell that all I just said was too much for her to believe. So I remained silent, waiting for her to make the first move.

“I… I can’t believe it… to think that you’ve gone through so much… and yet, I thought of all those horrible things about you in my mind…” Her voice shook as she buried her face on her knees. 

“If you think of me as a coward, then you’re right,” I replied with a grim smile. “If you think of me as a pervert, then you’re also right. I might not have a maid or a slave as my lovers, but my eyes would always wander whenever I see an attractive woman. Got it from my father by the way. He too was quite the perv.” I chuckled. A little joke, to lighten up the atmosphere.

“No, you are not a coward!” she suddenly yelled, turning her face towards me in a flash. Her yellow eyes were watering. Was my story really that sad?

“You’re a brave person who would sacrifice himself to save others! Not just for me but also for complete strangers! You fought that dragon just to save a little girl you only met yesterday! I know that! I know that deep down in my heart! And yet… and yet… in my pride, I remained stubborn, thinking that you’re just playing the hero to show off. I was even annoyed when people started to sing your praises! How stupid is that!”

Tears were now flowing down her cheeks.

“The truth is… the truth is that I just… I just…”

“I’ve fallen for you, alright?! And I hate and despise how you’ve left me behind to go on your own adventures! I know I’m not strong enough to follow in your steps! And even if I am, you already have that Sherry girl! I never really hated you! I only hated myself!”

Silence. She looked away and began sobbing into her hands.

And I… I don’t know what to say.

To be honest, I had some suspicion that she might have some feelings towards me, just from the fact how her mood would turn sour every time Amelie got close to me. But naturally, I couldn’t do anything about it. Like she said, I already have Sherry. I would be a vile man if I humored her affection, knowing that we would never be able to be together.

But now, she outright admitted it. I was expecting an apology, which I got, but I didn’t expect her to break down and confess like that. Tsunderes wouldn’t just do that out of the blue. The protagonist would have to be the one to make the first move.

And then, I realized it—me saving her was that first move.

Father once said that to make a girl fall for you, you just had to save her in her time of need. I didn’t really buy it at first—love should be more complicated than that—but now, it seemed to be true after all.

Now what should I do? Should I give her a hug? That could calm her down, but it could lead to something that I wouldn’t want to happen.

I settled on a shoulder pat instead.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I can’t return your feelings. Sherry… she’s waiting for me, training hard with her people for my sake. I can’t betray her, even if I wanted to.”

Her sobbing stopped. She looked up towards me and said, “You… you want to?”

"Eh?"

“So, does that mean you’re interested in me?”

“W-well, I—”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice all those times you stared at my butt.” She pouted.

Yeah, I really did that. A couple of times. Maybe more. I couldn’t help it. Those shorts she wore under her skirt were simply too tantalizing, showing off her voluptuous bottom and cameltoe every time she bent over. They might be even better than normal panties.

“That’s alright though. If it's you, I'll allow it."

And then, she shoved me down onto the dirt.

W-wait, seriously? Was she really going to—

"Sleep with me, alright? Just this time. That girlfriend of yours doesn't need to know. You have to go soon, right? We'll never see each other again. Please, give me this one thing… just this thing... to remember you with…"

Her face was inches away from mine. I could feel her breath warming my nose. I could even smell the scent of alcohol coming out from her mouth.

Wait, alcohol?

Oh, that's right! The mushrooms I gathered! The locals called them Wineshrooms, as they had trace amounts of alcohol inside them. And since she ate so much of them, she actually got drunk off them! That's why she was being so aggressive right now! But why did the effect only start to kick in now?!

“H-hey, I’m still too young for that kind of stuff!”

My old, virgin self would _definitely_ kick me in the face for that response.

“Mmm, I don’t care,” she replied, her speech getting more and more slurred. “You’ve had your lewd dreams, right? I heard boys get that once they’re old enough to do it.”

_Hold on, how did she know I already have those dreams?!_

“And look, your little guy down here… he’s already ready, isn’t he?” she whispered, in the most vixen-like manner.

_S-soft! Her hand is so soft!_

"Hehe. You're really cute when you're blushing. You never did it with a girl before, did you? Not even with that girlfriend of yours." She grinned. Her face was now fully flushed with lust. The usual tsundere tomboy had disappeared, replaced by a lustful girl who really wanted to bed an 11-year old.

She then released her hand off my privates, only to use them to start undressing me off my winter clothes.

_Alright, that’s it! I can’t let her do this any longer or else we would really be crossing the line!_

I grabbed both ends of her waist. And then, I pushed her off my body.

“I’m sorry,” I said to her as firmly as I could. “I can’t give you what you want. I would really be cheating on her if I give it to you. Especially since it’d be my first time.”

To think I would ever refuse to do it with a girl... 

Though if you thought about it, doing it with a drunk girl would be against the law… not to mention that I was still underaged as well

Well, those two laws didn’t really exist in this world, did they? I only refused because of Sherry, not for some moralistic notion I brought over from my old life. Slavery was immoral in my old world but I couldn’t just brand everyone who owned slaves in this world as a bad guy.

She reacted by letting out a hiccup before tears started flowing out of her eyes once again.

“I see it now… You don’t wanna do it with me because I’m not attractive enough! I know you prefer big chests over small ones! And your Sherry probably has the biggest of them all!”

“Well, actually, she’s pretty flat, all things conside—”

“Liar!” She pointed her finger. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Hugo! This Sherry girl must be a succubus! No wonder you’re so faithful to her!”

_Aah, she really is drunk…_

If I went back and revisited the past, I had seen her like this before. She was actually a very lightweight drinker, but her drunken antics were a sight to behold. I saw it once that day, in one of the taverns we visited on our journey to Fiania. She jumped up the table and started yelling all sorts of nonsense, to the joy of the other travelers there who just got free entertainment that night.

If I had remembered, I wouldn’t have let her eat that many mushrooms.

“I just want a cool boyfriend like you! Is that so much to ask?!”

I sighed. She was at that age where teen girls got all hormonal and stuff. She probably didn’t really love me in earnest. She only thought I was cool and good-looking, and she got carried away from me saving her and from the influence of the mushrooms. For people who actually had social lives, having a girlfriend or boyfriend, and having sexual intercourse with them, was never that big of a deal. Marriage was the relationship where you had to commit. And even then, divorce was always available.

Of course, in this world, I didn’t believe the concept of divorce even existed. So marriage would be really for your entire life. So unless she started to beg me to marry her, she wasn’t really committed to living the rest of her life with me. And my ideal life would be to have a beautiful and devoted wife that would stay with me until the day I died. A temporary girlfriend would still be nice but my weak heart wouldn’t be able to take the breakup.

As for Sherry… Mother often teased her by saying how she should marry me in the future. And she didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

_Right, Sherry? Please tell me you’re still willing to spend the rest of your life with this loser of a man._

And then, without warning, she fell over.

She had fallen asleep on her own.

\-----

**Anne**

When I opened my eyes, sunlight was already pouring inside the cave.

“Uhh…”

Groggily, I sat up, holding a hand to my head. No doubt a hangover from last night.

Wait, last night? What did I do again back then?

Urgh, I couldn’t remember. All I knew was that I ate too much of those Wineshrooms. 

_To think I would get that drunk from them… I really am weak to anything with alcohol._

“Good morning!”

I turned around, seeing Charles, no, Hugo, smiling at me. He was cooking something on the bonfire. Judging by the smoky smell, it was probably some kind of meat.

_Let’s see. I told him about my story, and then he told him his (I still could barely believe that!), and after that, I think I…_

My heart skipped a beat.

_Did I… did I actually tell him that I like—_

I bolted.

“H-hey, where are you—”

I ignored his words.

I ran out of the cave, as far away as I could from him.

My chest was like a battle drum, beating relentlessly without rest. My cheeks were burning and my eyes were watering.

For I had certainly, _definitely_ confessed to him.

Only after I was out of breath, I stopped, leaning on a tree with one hand, while the other massaged my chest.

_Why?! Why did you do that, you stupid drunkard girl?! You already know that he has a girlfriend but you came forward and told him that you like him too! Are you an idiot? What do you want him to do? To abandon her and choose you instead?_

I punched the tree. Frustration swelled inside me.

I liked him. That fact was unavoidable.

I thought I could pretend that I didn’t, but after what he did yesterday, that feeling burst forth once more, amplifying with so much intensity that my drunk self just had to say it to him.

I didn’t know since when. Before I knew it, I desired him. Not just as a friend, but as something more—something I wanted for myself.

My hatred for him… it was only a ruse. My true feeling was one of affection.

And then, my memories returned into a rush.

I remembered _everything_ , from how I confessed, to his rejection, and to me forcing him to the ground in my drunken state, telling him to forget about his girlfriend and to bed me instead. I even remembered my childish tantrum afterward.

_..._

_...That treant should’ve snapped me in two._

Suddenly, I heard a rustle on the trees. I promptly looked up, only to find him jumping down from the air.

“There you are!” he said to me, still with that idiotic, yet cute smile of his. “Come! Breakfast is rea—”

“I’m so sorry!”

I bowed as I never bowed before.

What I did was simply unforgivable.

I had tried to seduce him in the most shameless manner. I had lost all my senses and I let my lust overcome my judgment. I forced myself to him, even though I knew he already had a lover. I had become a harlot, trying to make a good young man like him to break his promise.

“Please forgive me for what I did last night!”

Even so, I still apologized, for it was the only thing I could do.

“Last night? Umm, I’m not sure if there’s anything you should apologize for.”

_What?_

I looked up and saw him with his eyebrows raised.

“Don’t you remember? I pushed you down and then I—”

“Pushed me down? You never did such a thing.” He folded his hands and tilted his head. “Sure, you confessed to me and I rejected you, but I don’t think that’s anything to be sorry about. I’m glad you told me your feelings, Anne, even if I can’t return them.” He returned to his smile again. “That means you don’t hate me after all.”

_E-eh? He doesn’t remember?_

“So don’t worry about it, alright?” He walked forward and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Now let’s go back and eat some breakfast. Hope you like Snow Bunny meat though. That’s all I could find.”

_I was saved._

_He doesn’t remember what I did to him._

_That’s why he’s still this friendly towards me. If he had known, then he would no doubt hate me for sure._

I couldn’t stop a smile to bloom on my face.

_I’m sorry, Hugo, but I can’t tell you the truth._

_I just… I don’t want you to hate me._

_I know it’s selfish, especially after I’ve treated you so badly all this time._

_If I can’t be your girlfriend, then at the very least I can be your friend. That’s not too much to ask, is it?_

With those thoughts in mind, I followed after him, putting on the brightest smile I could muster.

“Snow Rabbit meat huh? I guess it’s not too bad. Just put a lot of pepper on it, alright?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think for Sherry, I'll settle on having her hair being able to form all kinds of weapons that she could use in combat. However, her main weapon would still be a sword.


	128. At Last, The High Elf Arrives

**Hugo**

After breakfast, we made our way back to town. Anne had returned to her former self, or rather, she was even better than her former self. She was now smiling more often and she no longer gave me a frown like she often did.

Well, that’s what you got when you broke through the “barrier” of a tsundere. She had now come to terms with her feelings towards me and that significantly improved her attitude. Not to mention the satisfaction of knowing everything she desperately wanted to know about me.

I too felt better now, knowing that I didn’t have to hide my true identity from her. Still, I hadn’t decided yet whether I should ask her to keep it a secret from the rest of her party.

Oh, and I never forgot what she did last night. I only pretended that I did, just to save her the humiliation. Why brought up things we would rather forget? She would no doubt start to sulk and distance herself if she knew that I knew of her attempt at seduction.

We made a stop on the logging outpost at the entrance of the forest, just to tell the head honcho there about the treant. His face went pale, as he couldn’t immediately process the fact that such a massive monster was living right inside the forest they were chopping down. However, that pale face was also proof that he believed in our story. He must have heard the roar and felt the quake. And he probably had already heard some reports about a giant shadow standing above the forest from the adventurers he had hired to guard the place.

He was the guy who hired Anne and the others by the way. Their task was to clear out the monsters, just so not a single one would wanter into where the lumberjacks were doing their thing. He didn’t apologize for getting Anne into a life-threatening situation though, nor I expected him to. Being an adventurer meant risking your life to do dangerous jobs after all. Any deaths on the mission would be on the adventurer, and not on the employer.

We arrived back in Feila once the sun was already up high in the sky. And we didn’t need to even enter the city before we saw them, standing at the front gate.

“A-Anton! Look! That’s… that’s Charles! A-and Anne’s with him!”

Amelie was the first to take notice. She didn’t even wait for the older man to reply. She immediately took off running towards us, throwing herself towards the older girl.

“O-oh Anne, y-you’re safe! O-oh thank the Saint you’re safe!”

She burst into tears of joy, hugging the archer so tightly I was surprised the latter didn’t start to scream in pain. Anne returned her hug, patting her head and back in the process.

“Of course I am.” Tears started to gather in her eyes as well. “Charles is on the case after all.” She smiled, giving a short glance in my direction.

Anton soon came running as well. Never before I saw that huge of a smile on his face. And before I know it, he gave me a hug as well.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

The warmth he gave made me smile as well.

Once he released me, he put his hands on my shoulders and said, “Tell me. What can I do to repay you? Feel free to name anything.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I replied, still keeping up my smile. “I did it because I wanted to. Nothing more and nothing less.”

He paused for a bit before forming a grin. “Then we would be on your debt. If you ever need anything, just say the word.”

“Actually… I do have something that you guys can do for me.”

I then told them about the high elf and how I had been spending these past two months running around looking for her.

“I see…” Anton scratched his chin once he finished listening to my story. “Unfortunately, we haven’t met her. We certainly have heard rumors about her though, how she would appear for one moment, only to disappear when you looked away. She has become somewhat of a folktale among the adventurers in this region.”

I sighed. _Still no luck, huh?_

“Don’t worry.” He smiled, putting one hand back on my shoulder. “We’ll help you search for her. Right, you two?” He turned to face Amelie and Anne.

“Of course! Leave it to me!” The former patted her chest with a grin.

“It’s the least I can do to repay my debt,” the latter answered, giving me a short look before averting her gaze with a light blush.

 _She really is a lot cuter like this,_ I thought with a grin.

“Well, I figure you’ll need a lot of rest after what you did,” Anton spoke again. “We’ll talk about the details later. For now, we’ll escort you to your inn.”

I nodded. Sleeping overnight on the dirt inside a cave wasn’t exactly refreshing.

We made our way through the small town. Nothing seemed to be different. The atmosphere was still as relaxed as ever and the streets were still filled with adventurers. Guess the news about the treant had yet to spread. The people who might know about it would be the lumberjacks and adventurers near that forest, and they probably decided not to send any news to the town right away. How much people would buy a story about them seeing a gigantic figure towering over the forest in the middle of the night? They would want to confirm it first for sure.

“Alright, I think this is far enough,” I said to them once we arrived at the front of my inn. “Thank you, everyone!” I gave them a smile.

“What are you thanking us for, silly?” Anne giggled. “We’re the ones that should thank you instead!”

“Heh, if you say so,” I smirked. “See you around Anne, Anton, Amelie.” I gave a short glance at the other two. “Make sure to get some rest, alright?” I said to the archer.

“Yeah, see you around!” Anne shouted, waving her hand as I entered the building.

I made my way to my room at once. The inn’s warmth was enough to invite me to bed as an enchantress would. I climbed up to the fifth floor, opened the door, and turned on the fireplace with a flick of my wand.

I opened the window to let some fresh air in. In the process, I saw the receding figures of the three walking away on the streets down below.

A sense of relief crept into my heart. I preferred it to be this way, with me being friends with them. _Yeah, having friends is a good thing after all._

I plopped over my bed. My thought then inadvertently returned to Anne and what she did in that cave.

_To think that she actually liked me. A real life tsundere. And she wanted to sleep with me as well._

I remembered Fiora and how forthcoming she was with her affection towards me. Then I remembered Sherry, with the whole bathing incident, sleeping together afterward, and of course, her giving me her panties. Then Marina, with her teasing. Mother was similar too.

_Are all girls in this world that forward? Not that it's a bad thing, of course._

Suddenly, I was hit by a sudden wave of drowsiness. As my mind drifted back to the events of the past, I slowly but surely succumbed, until I fell into dreamland.

I wouldn’t remember what dream I had that afternoon. Only it had something to do with all those people I just thought about.

\----------

**???**

“To think that you would wake up, just from my presence.”

Once again, a blizzard rained down upon the forest, drowning the green with white. And once again, someone was unfortunate enough to feel all its wrath as she wandered inside the cold and darkness.

And yet, she wasn’t bothered in the slightest, for a peculiar bubble was protecting her from all the ice and snow. It was one of the many magic the person possessed in her repertoire, and to her, maintaining said bubble didn’t even require any thought.

“Hmm? Someone hurt you? You believe he’s a danger to the forest?”

She stood in front of a large tree, resting her left hand on its trunk. If one were to see and hear her, they might think she was talking to it. A foolish thought, if not for the sharp, long ears she possessed. It’s a common belief that elves were able to communicate with the forest, even if the truth was far more complicated.

“...No, I won’t help you. The elves who once lived in this forest—they’re long gone. This is their territory now.”

“…”

“You’ll fight to the end?”

“...”

“I suppose it could not be helped. It’s your purpose of coming into being. Sooner or later, they would come for you. You might win once. Or twice. But one day, they would cut and burn you until there’s nothing left.”

“...”

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

She withdrew her hand from the tree, giving it one last look before she turned her back on it. It was a cold, dispassionate look. And yet, there was a hint of melancholy in that green as well.

“I shall pray for that day to come soon. For you deserve your rest.”

\-----------

**Hugo**

Another month had passed since then. The news about the Treant’s existence had spread, resulting to the immediate halting and ban of any logging activities in Merkel Forest, courtesy of the town’s mayor. The local Guild seemed to be in no rush to do any subjugation mission against the monster as there were not enough high-level adventurers around, so they simply assigned the place to be off-limits for any adventurers below S-rank.

Of course, they came to me and asked if I would like to take a bite at the monster. I refused them though. That thing wasn’t an easy opponent by any means. If there weren’t any good reason to fight it, then why should I bother?

As for my involvement in the whole thing, I had asked Anne and the others to downplay my part, so when we gave our report about the Treant, we simply said that I rescued her without fighting the monster, and she was simply an observer, not a victim. Even so, it didn’t stop another rumor to spread about me beating the thing.

Speaking of rumors, that nosy elf bard had turned full-paparazzi mode. Not only she went after me, but she went after the Flaming Arrows as well. She was especially interested in the romantic notion of me saving Anne, saying stuff like how it fit her vision of a knight in shining armor saving the maiden in distress like in all those tales. I could only sigh. _Bards are creatures like that, I suppose._

As for my search, well, it still remained fruitless, even with the Flaming Arrows helping out. I was starting to think the elf was purposefully avoiding our search. There was no way she could elude us for so long. We searched one day at the north, she was sighted at the south. We went to the south, then she went to the north. And so on and so forth.

Winter was slowly coming to an end. And when it did, I had promised to myself that I would leave. I couldn’t stay in this place for any longer. In fact, I was starting to regret my decision on chasing after this elf in the first place. If I had headed northeast straight away, I would already have months of crawling that World Dungeon where I might have better luck in finding the Orb.

But then, one day, after another fruitless day of searching, it came.

“Hey boy! You got a letter!” The innkeeper called, stopping me before I could climb the stairs.

I walked to her desk with raised eyebrows. I had no idea who would be sending me a letter. For a short moment, I had the fancy idea that it was a letter from Marina or Sherry, but naturally I knew it to be impossible. They wouldn’t know where to send their letters.

“Thanks!” I gave her a polite smile before taking the letter off her hands. I then went upstairs to my room first before I opened it. No sense in rushing it after all.

I looked at the cover first from top to bottom. It really was just a plain white cover, with no decorations or embellishments in the slightest. Not a single identifier can be found either. No address, no name, nothing. Judging by the good condition of the cover, it’s safe to say that it hadn’t traveled far. So it was most likely a local who wrote and sent it to me.

I opened it as gingerly as I could. Inside was a plain piece of paper. And on it was a bunch of letters, written in cursive.

_I am the person you seek. If you wish to find me, then carry your feet to where you fought the treant._

_Come on your own. I am only interested in you and you alone._

My jaw dropped.

_N-no way… This… this can't be real, can it? Am I dreaming?_

I gave myself a good pinch. Nope. Not dreaming.

I reread it over and over again, making sure that I wasn't missing anything.

_W-wait, don't get too excited, Hugo. This can still be a prank. O-or a trap even. There's no guarantee if this is really from her._

I quickly ran back downstairs. "M-Miss!" I half-yelled to the innkeeper. "Who sent the letter?"

"Eh?" She raised her eyebrows. "Just a courier boy. Didn't say any names or address, if that's what you're asking."

_Damn it!_

_Well, of course she won't deliver it personally. With her wanting to meet me with secret at that forest, she probably is still there, and she can't be bothered to go here just to meet with me._

_Should I do it? Should I go there and risk it?_

_...Of course I should! After three months of fruitless searches, I'd take any leads I can find!_

\--------

The next morning, after a humble inn-made breakfast of vegetable soup and bread, I made my way back to the forest.

As expected, the logging outpost had been completely abandoned. Well, maybe not completely. There were still a number of guards assigned there, just to watch after the treant. When they saw me, however, they didn't tell me to go back like they should. Instead, they welcomed me like I was a celebrity, saying that I must be there to check up on the creature.

_Yeah, whatever. They're free to think whatever they want._

I asked them if they had seen any other adventurers. They answered with a no.

After paying them a short visit, I continued on into the forest. 

On my way to where the treant was, I had to fight off quite a number of monsters. It seemed ever since there weren't any adventurers who periodically exterminated them, their numbers had multiplied quite significantly. Still, nothing I couldn't handle.

When I arrived, not finding any elf around, I used Wind Step to get a better view of my surroundings. It could still be an ambush—bad guys trying to kill me and rob me of my belongings. Though knowing my reputation, I doubted anyone would want to try that with me. Uhh, not to brag or anything.

_"You've come."_

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I just heard a voice. And it wasn't just a normal voice. It was a whisper, almost as if the person was speaking right into my ear.

_"Come down. I'm to your north, in a clearing."_

It was a girl's voice, that much was clear. Her tone was neutral, almost emotionless, with only a bit of commanding tone to it.

"W-what?!" I looked around frantically. There was no one else with me up here.

_Calm down. It's my magic._

And now there was an annoyed tone on her voice.

I had no idea what kind of magic she was using. Telepathy? Like the one Myrilla used all those years ago? That wasn't a magic spell. It was just her demonic ability.

With caution, I followed the voice's instruction. I went north, found the clearing she talked about, and landed there.

There was a person there, standing with a staff on her side.

Finally, after three months of searching, I met her at last.

I would’ve jumped with joy, if I wouldn’t be embarrassed doing it in front of a complete stranger.

, face to face—the high elf with the orb I needed.

And she… was simultaneously exactly what I expected her to be, and exactly what I expected her not to be.

She indeed had silver hair, tied in a twintail that went all the way to her waist. And she indeed had the longest elven ears I had ever witnessed, signifying her race as a high elf. As for her petite figure, it was there as well. She was barely taller than me, and her chest was as flat as a board. As for her clothing, she wore a white robe and skirt that ended above her knees, followed by a pair of black stockings and brown boots. The staff signified that she was a mage, another match with the description Flameu gave me.

However...

_Really? Elves are supposed to be tall, busty onee-sans, right? She looks more like a gnome than an elf!_

"So, tell me.” She spoke with the same dispassionate tone from before. “What do you want with me? You’re the one who's been busy looking for me, right?”

_Guess I should go straight to the point._

“I just want your Dream Orb, that’s all.” I told her. “And I’m ready to pay you the necessary amount for it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Who told you I have it?”

“The alchemist you visited. You know, the court mage of the kingdom. A redheaded woman.” I almost said big-chested but I didn’t want to be seen as a pervert by her.

“I see. So you’ve made an acquaintance of her.”

Her eyes continued to judge me. I immediately knew she wasn’t the type to care about politeness or any of that human stuff.

“You’re Charles Pendleton, correct? The Divine Tempest. The one who slayed a Frost Dragon on his own. And, if I had to guess, you were also the one who fought the Forest Treant here and won.”

_...Welp, she really has done her homework on me, hasn’t she?_

“I didn’t do anything to the Forest Treant actually,” I corrected her. “I was simply rescuing a friend of mine that night. The Treant appeared and disappeared on its own.” 

“Oh? Is that so?”

The tone of her voice was one of distrust. She clearly didn’t really buy my lie.

“Very well. You can have my Orb if you wish.”

If she had stopped there, I would be the happiest man in the world.

“However, I would ask you for a favor in return. I have no need for your gold. What I want is your assistance instead.”

I let out a deep sigh internally. I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Well, what do you want then?” I replied.

With a victorious smile, she responded, “Help me gather my flowers. Then I will give you the Orb.”

_...Oh great._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe she's supposed to have longer ears than the ones on that picture. I'm still not sure how big the average elven ears should be.
> 
> And I've been watching Elaina. Not actually an action anime, but the fight scene in the first episode was pretty cool. Mages really become so much more versatile in a fight without the necessity of chanting their spells. Even so, the current Hugo still can't actually cast that fast. No rapid fire Boom Cannon. Needs some time (a few seconds) to shape the mana in his mind.
> 
> Storywise, I find it interesting how she takes the opposite approach from Hugo in her journey. Maybe I can use that as an idea for this story.
> 
> Also, been reading Sousou no Frien as well, as you can guess by the image I just used. That's another series I'm taking inspiration from.


	129. A Demon of Love

"U-urrghhh, one more, Master! One more!"

"Hey, don't you think you had enough already?"

"I don't care! Just gimme another glass!"

The adventurer groaned as he placed his empty mug over the counter. The bartender could only give a sigh, as he took his glass and filled it once more with wine.

_How the mighty has fallen…_

He knew who this drunkard of a man was. He once was a well-respected S-rank adventurer. But now, he just spent most of his time here, wasting the hours away as he drank and drank and drank without end.

Once the mug was full, the adventurer grabbed it immediately before chugging it down like there’s no tomorrow. He only stopped once his glass was half-full.

“Bwaahhh, damn you, you little brat! You can’t take away my Syphly and Marka like that!” He yelled as he raised his mug up in the air.

The bartender could only shake his head. He still remembered when this man was the most well-respected adventurer around. But now, everyone was giving him the evil eye. Well, if the rumors he heard were true, then he couldn’t say that he didn’t deserve it. Not only he cheated on his two girlfriends, but he nearly led his clan to their deaths. If it weren’t for the Divine Tempest boy, he wouldn’t be here now.

It’s a shame that the boy wasn’t around in the city, the bartender thought. He would love to give him some free drinks, in exchange for his patronage. It would be good for the business after all.

_Hmm?_

Suddenly, the door chime sounded. He looked up and saw a customer walking in.

_A witch, huh?_

The term “witches” was normally associated with female mages, especially those who wore the classic outfit with the tall pointy hat and such. Some said that Mira was the very first witch, and that she was the one who came with that outfit in the first place. Of course, one could also use the word to describe a powerful female mage, since Mira was the most powerful mage there was.

The witch who entered walked over towards the counter, her long blue hair and short skirt swaying freely as she moved. A smile was drawn on her face. She took a seat beside the adventurer.

“Master, one glass of your best wine, if you would.” She put a silver on the table.

With a raised eyebrow, the bartender did as he was asked. _Haah, don’t tell me that I’m going to get another drunkard in the middle of the day like this._

“Oh, and give this man another glass on me.” She grinned, patting the adventurer’s shoulder.

The adventurer, of course, was surprised. He turned and gave her a confused look.

“You’re Arcturus, right?” She continued, still as cheerful as before. “I’m a big fan of you, you know!”

“A-a fan?” he replied, now even more bewildered.

“Yes!” She patted her chest. “That’s why I am here! I want to meet with you”

It didn’t take long until she cheered him up considerably, making him laugh and bang the table in excitement as he regaled her with all sorts of heroic tales that centered around him. The bartender could only smile watching them, feeling glad that this might just be the thing to lift him up from his slump.

“I see! So that kid wasn’t really that strong after all!”

“Yeah, that’s right! He only beat the dragon because we already injured it severely first. He basically only defeated a half-dead dragon! What’s so amazing about that, huh?!” He yelled before letting out a large burp.

For a split second, an expression of disgust was drawn on the witch’s face, something that the adventurer didn’t notice. However, she quickly returned back to her cheerful disposition.

“And would you know where he could be right now?” she asked as sweetly as she could.

"Hah? How should I know?! That brat can be anywhere! And why are you asking about him anyway?" He gave her a lecherous leer, his eyes wandering to her breasts and thighs. “You know.” His smile suddenly turned perverted as he leaned over towards her, to the point that she could smell his alcohol-ridden breath. “You’re a cute one. Wanna join my party? We can use another mage in our group.” He then shamelessly put his arm around her, pulling her closer towards him.

Her warm smile vanished, replaced by a chilling one that was as cold as the breath of the Frost Dragon he had failed to fight.

“I’m sorry. But I’ll never be attracted to weaklings like you.”

Before he could process her words, he already found himself mid-air, flying towards the wall behind him.

“Ugyaahhh!”

He hit it with a loud thump, attracting the attention of the bartender and the rest of the patrons. The girl didn’t seem to care though, as she simply tossed another coin to the former, flashing him another smile (her warm one) while saying, “Sorry for the mess. Here. An extra.”

She then stood up and walked back towards the front door, to the awe and fear of the other patrons. Her smile remained, as if her theory was correct, which it usually was, she had just found something quite… _fun_ that she could do.

_Heh, not even trying to hide your strength, huh, boy?_

_Fine then. I’ll take care of you before I take care of her._

_Nothing personal. It’s just that, with you joining forces with her, you two are clearly too dangerous to be left to your own devices. Can’t have you trying something silly like trying to take revenge on us, can we?_

\---------

**Hugo**

“So, uh,” I scratched my cheek. “Where are we going to be looking for those flowers again?”

“Where? If I know that, then I would have no need for your help, do I?” She smirked.

I sighed. _This really would be difficult, wouldn’t it?_

After I accepted her terms, we were now discussing what we should do next. And that, of course, was to search for the flowers she so badly wanted.

“Did she tell you the name of the flower I am looking for?” she asked.

“Let’s see…” I folded my hands near my chest as I started to recall what Flameu said. “I think it was Lapis Chrysanthemum—a pure white flower you could only find in this region.”

“And does she tell you why you can only find them here?” she asked again.

“Not really.” I shrugged. “It’s probably the weather or the soil or something like that. I know nothing about plants and the like. You’re not talking with my big sister, unfortunately,” I added with a smile, reminiscing Marina’s affinity on the subject.

“I see. That’s a shame… I assume you don’t have any expertise in flower magic either?”

“Flower… magic?” I raised my eyebrows. “I know some Advanced-level Earth spells, but nothing that involves flowers. Like I said, my sister is the one who can do that kind of stuff better.”

“Advanced-level? Oh, that magic category system she had invented.”

The significance of her statement didn’t hit me until a few moments later, when I realized she just spoke about the one that invented the level system of magic, which would be Mira herself, the Legendary Archmage. Before her, magic wasn’t categorized in the slightest. She was the one to lay the foundations of magic being a more science-like, researchable matter, lifting it from the dark ages where humans only mimicked the magic used by the other races.

Or at least, that’s what I was taught by Marina, who got it from her Magocracy books. Who knew how many of those were actually true?

“Wait, don’t tell me that you know Mira?” I asked her back. _High elves live for a very, very long time after all. They are even considered immortal by some._

“Of course I do,” she replied. “Who doesn’t know the great archmage herself? But if you’re thinking that I actually was there when she was still around, then I shall ask you this. Do I look that old to you?” she replied with a slightly offended expression.

“R-right, I suppose you don’t.” I eyed her figure once again. _Yeah, thinking about it, she’s too short and flat to be an old elf._

“I disagree with that classification of hers though,” she continued, almost in a lecture-like manner. “Magic is too subtle to be boxed and categorized like that.”

“Do elves have their own categorization of magic?” I asked out of curiosity.

She paused for a bit before answering, “No, not really,” sparing me only a short glance before looking away once again. _Hmm, she probably doesn’t want to tell me anything about high elf magic. Makes sense, knowing how her race works._

“Oh, right, I haven’t gotten your name yet, have I?”

She turned her head once more towards me. With a smirk, she answered, “You can call me Ilymhyrra.”

_Well, that sure sounds like your typical overly complicated elven name._

We began our search at our immediate surroundings. With only the hint given to her how the flower tends to grow on the roots of big trees, it wasn’t an easy job in the slightest. There were a lot of trees there after all and I had to check them all one by one. At the very least, I knew where not to search, that is, where the Forest Treant was. Naturally, I shared this fact with her.

“Hmm? Yes, we shouldn’t search there. I’ve already looked into that region,” was her nonchalant answer.

"You didn't get attacked by it?" I replied. She didn't seem to have any fear towards the creature, to my confusion. If she spent a lot of time there, then she should've been assaulted by it.

"Why would I?" she replied with raised eyebrows.

"Well, it's a monster and all and it has attacked me and even other monsters…"

"It won't attack an elf. I know that for a fact." She gave me a firm look before looking away.

"And how do you know that exactly?” I replied with skepticism.

“Because it was created by the elves who once inhabited this region—to guard this place from any intruders, whether it’s monsters or humans.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

_This elf… she really must be old after all._

_And the treant is actually a guardian of this forest? Can’t help but feel a little bad for it. The elves had left hundreds of years ago and now the humans are slowly chopping it down._

_No wonder the trees here are so highly prized. Elven woods should be of higher quality than ordinary ones after all._

"Enough of the chitchat." She suddenly stopped in her tracks. "I think we should split up. We can cover more ground that way."

I was about to agree, only to remember how long I had spent to find her.

"Oh no, I don’t want to!" I quickly replied with a frown. "I don't want to spend another three months looking for you! Really, why are you so hard to find?"

"You’ve simply not been looking for me at the right place. Or perhaps you are simply unlucky,” was her casual response.

“You never once went to town, did you?” I interrogated her further. “I have no idea how you manage that. Especially with how heavy the winter has been these past three months.”

She didn’t reply further however. Instead, she opted to change the subject completely.

“Why do you want my Dream Orb so badly anyways?” She gave me a glance. 

"I need to send a message with it. To a far off friend.” I decided to answer honestly. There was no need to lie to her. And I felt if I did, she would just make things harder for me.

“You can use a letter for that, no?”

“Not when I don’t know where she is.”

She went silent for a moment, looking away before responding with, "If Fate allows it, then you two should meet again, Orb or not."

"H-hey, you can't just say that! Look. I'm on a timer here! She needs to know that I'm no longer back at home and that I'm going to wait for her somewhere else! So I can't accompany you looking for this flower of yours for long!"

She paused once more, seemingly trying to read the expression of my face.

“This friend of yours… is she a human as well?”

Now it was my turn to pause. Should I really tell her that Sherry was a demon?

_...Nope. I can’t lie to those sharp eyes._

“She’s a demon.”

Her expression immediately harshened.

“I see. A demon.”

She looked away, walking a few steps with her backs turned before responding, “I would suggest against it. Making a demon your friend.”

_...Oh great. She’s the type that’s prejudiced against demons, huh? It’s not just exclusive to humans. Elves dislike demons as well. Especially dark elves, who they consider to be more demons than elves._

“She’s a good demon,” I responded firmly. “She’s not some evil trickster like you might imagine.”

She turned to face me, her expression stern. “What race of demon is she?”

“An Izurd,” I responded readily. I was starting to feel offended by her attitude.

“I see.” Her expression hardened even more. “Is she fond of you by any chance?”

Wait, _how does she know?_

“Yes, yes she is. And I’m fond of her as well.”

“Then don’t meet her again. For once you do, she might not let you go ever again.”

_Huh? What is she talking about?_

“Don’t you know? An Izurd will never let anyone they like go. They will want to monopolize them for themselves, to the point of killing anyone else who threatens their relationship. And if you cheat on them, they will kill you as well. They’re a demon obsessed with love. You will never be able to withstand their heavy, overbearing love.”

This took me by surprise.

I only knew of the Izurd as an extremely strong demon race. I never knew they were a race of yanderes, if what she was speaking was correct.

“Once, back when the Hero was still around, he was chased by a female Izurd. She fell in love with him. At first, she pretended to be meek and shy, stalking him and his party as she hoped he would lay his eyes on him. However, the Hero immediately told her that he wasn’t interested. Guess what happened next.”

I gulped. I already knew where the story was going.

“It made her turn berserk. She believed killing his party members would finally free him from his duty as a Hero, so he would be with her. She didn’t care how much blood she would need to spill to obtain him for herself. And so she slaughtered an entire city, just so to draw him out in the open. Of course, they were victorious over her in the end. But not without a hefty cost.”

She walked forward, staring straight into my eyes.

“Leave her. You’re not fit for her. Especially if the rumors of you being quite the little womanizer was correct. A human woman might bear having her husband take a mistress or two, but not an Izurdian.”

She stepped away once more, seemingly giving me some space to process what she just told me.

My mind returned back to the past. Sherry always had a bad temper. And she had made me promise not to approach another girl while she was away. Not to mention how starved she was of love. I thought it came from her upbringing, but what if it really was like she said, that she was really a demon obsessed with being loved?

_If she had seen Fiora flirting with me, or what happened back then with Anne, she would most likely punch me for it. I can just see it. And it would be her full strength punch, that could kill a man._

_...Damn. She might actually be a yandere demon after all. I just never saw it because (a) her hormones hadn’t kicked in, and (b) the only other girl that showed me affection was Marina, my big sister._

_And I never liked the archetype in the first place._

“H-hey, how do you know all that stuff about the Izurd anyways?” I asked the elf, still refusing to believe what I just realized about Sherry. “Most of the world thought they had gone extinct, you know.”

She responded with a sigh.

“You don’t believe me, don’t you, boy? You might be good with magic, but you still know nothing about this world. Feel free to take my advice. Or not. Just know that the best case scenario in your relationship would be her going insane once you died of old age. Izurdians could live for five hundred years. Humans could barely reach one hundred. My suggestion is to marry that girl you saved from the treant. She probably had fallen for you after you did your heroic deed.”

“Now come. If you still want your Orb, then we should pick up the pace of our search.”

With those words, she cut the conversation short.

I wanted to say something back to her, telling her that Sherry was not the brutal yandere she imagined, but I had no good arguments against her. Even her argument about her going insane after I died might happen. If I used myself as a comparison, as someone who’s also starved of love, I probably would act the same if my beloved wife died before me

I never thought about it properly until now. I might be happy with a wife that never got old, but what about her? I’m fine with her marrying someone else after I’m gone but if she’s going to have a mental breakdown before that can happen…

_Maybe she’s better off with her own people after all, just like what Myrilla said..._

I clenched my chest. It hurt.

_I can’t do it. I still want her with me, and not with another guy, even if in the long term, it’s better for her._

_Heh, I really am a selfish man after all._

_..._

_I need to meet her. That is the only way this matter can be settled._

With a wry smile, I followed the high elf.

_All the more reason why I need the orb._


	130. The Underground Cave

_"I think I'll name it Lapis Chrysanthemum. What do you think?"_

_"Don't you think it's a bit pretentious?"_

_"Hmm? Really? I think it fits perfectly fine."_

_"It's not even blue."_

_"I don't care. I like the name 'Lapis'. And I'm going to use it."_

\----------

**Hugo**

Night came, and the wind started to pick up as more and more snow fell down from the dark sky.

_Another blizzard this night, it seems._

I was now inside a makeshift cave made by the high elf. Just like I had suspected, she really never bothered going back at night. She would just make something like this and slept there, not caring whether there was a roaring blizzard outside or not.

_A true nature survivalist._

She sat across me with her legs raised, reading some book with an amused look on her face. Between us was the small bonfire she had erected.

_Wonder what kind of book she’s reading. No cover so I can’t really tell._

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what book are you reading?”

I decided to ask, just to break the awkward silence between us. She was clearly the introvert type. She never spoke unless it was necessary.

“A book of elven jokes,” she answered without looking up. “You won’t get it.”

_...Seriously? Do elves even have that? I’m always under the impression (from all the fantasy stories I’ve read) that elves are this super serious race. Well, that, or victims of orcs, goblins, and all sorts of monsters in those kinds of doujins._

_Should I push it further? If she’s anything like me, she’s probably irked off by me doing this. No one likes their reading sessions interrupted after all._

“Try me,” I replied with a smile. “I’m not a master of jokes myself but I do know one or two human jokes, if you’re interested.”

She finally decided to spare a glance towards my direction.

“A human enters an elven forest. An axe he held in his left hand and a sword on the right. He caught an elven maiden as she bathed in the river. He decided to peek, but he stepped on a branch that alerted her to his presence. Now, what would he do?"

"Uhh, apologize?"

"He dies. Because her lover shoots his arrow through his heart."

"...Yeah. I don't think I get it." I scratched my head.

She broke out a smile. "The joke is only understandable in our tongue. That's why you won't get it."

_Ah, that explains it. It's like those English word jokes a Japanese person won't get._

"Hey, uh," I decided to continue before she could return to her book. "Why do you want that flower so badly anyways?"

Silence. She looked back to her book, opting to ignore my question entirely.

I sighed. _Well, she’s the least friendly companion I’ve ever got._

\---------

A week had passed since we began our search. And yet, we had made no progress whatsoever. Even after we split up, I didn't find a single flower matching her description. I brought her a bunch of other white flowers, but she said no to all of them. Apparently, they weren't the right one. For the flower to be the correct one, it had to have the right amount of petals. And none of them filled that criteria.

I was starting to have the idea of just stealing the orb from her (leaving a pouch of gold afterwards of course). Unfortunately, she stored it inside her dimensional storage spell. The only chance I got to see it was when she brought it out once when I said I wanted to see it, just to confirm if she really had it.

Well, I didn't know how the orb was supposed to look though. The one she brought out looked like your usual crystal ball, only there was some misty, cloudy stuff floating inside. I could sense magic coming out of it so at the very least, it must be a magic item of some sort.

When we met up once more, after my batch of white flowers were denied yet again, I immediately spoke up.

"Look, maybe Flameu was mistaken. That flower can't be growing anywhere in this region. She could even be lying, just so she could gain your favor. You allowed her to examine your body, right?"

_Sorry Flameu, but you certainly are quite good at lying._

"Examine my body?" She raised her eyebrows. "All she did was taking some of my blood. That's all."

"W-wait, really?"

_Damn it! I thought they had some girl-on-girl action back then! I could see Flameu being the type to like girls as well, especially cute ones like her._

_Yeah, I said it. This high elf in front of me is pretty cute, the more you look at her._

“Anyway, I got some good news.” She continued. “It seems I might have located a passage to the underground. According to my preliminary search, it seemed to be quite the spacious network of caves. Perhaps we would have more luck if we search down there.”

“Wait, an underground cave? You mean like a dungeon?”

Dungeons are the term people use to refer to enclosed spaces that are filled with demonic mana. Some dungeons were specifically built by the demons when they invaded the human continents all those years ago, but others sprung up naturally, with no clear reason why. Every dungeon has a core and a boss monster that guards it. For a dungeon to be conquered, the core must be taken out from the dungeon, and once it does, the demonic mana will slowly dissipate, and the dungeon would revert back to its original, natural form.

The most common type of dungeons are exactly like the cave she just described, just a hole you can take from the surface that leads you to a cave, filled with monsters and traps. And at the heart of the cave, you would find the core and the boss that would be there guarding it.

So, not far from your typical RPG dungeons, all things considered.

“A dungeon?” She tilted her head. “No. I didn’t sense any demonic mana from it. It’s just a natural cave network. Still, I did meet some monsters down there. Mostly just bats and the like.”

_So, natural cave monsters. Dungeon monsters are usually more varied. And stronger as well._

“Still, I don’t get the point of moving our search there. Is our flower the type that can grow underground like that, with no light from the sun?” _It’s a place more fitting for a mushroom, if you ask me._

“It can. The kind of flower she made, she would want them to bloom even without sunlight."

" _She_ made? Wait, what are you talking about? Are you saying that the flower—"

"It's a long story," she replied sharply. "I won't bother you with it."

The look she gave me—she really didn't want to talk about it, huh?

"I think I get it." I spoke up with a smile. "Your elf friend grew those flowers, didn't you? You're a high elf so you could be around when your kind was still living here. Is my guess correct by any chance?" I added with a smirk.

She didn't answer.

\-------

We made our way to the cave entrance the next day, after we retired for the night.

"Here we are." The elf stopped in her tracks. Turning towards me, she said with a smile, "See if you can find the entrance."

"Huh? Well, alright."

I scanned the area. It looked to be just another clearing like any other—a snow-covered ground with a bunch of trees surrounding it. To the north, one could see a cliff face, heading upwards to the small hill even further north.

Then, I noticed it—a pile of rocks stacked on top of one another, right at the position where they could cover an entrance to a cave.

I smiled. Drawing my wand, I chanted, "Boom Grenade!"

A wind sphere similar to Boom Cannon flew from the tip of my wand. However, once it hit the pile of rocks, it exploded, creating a shockwave that blasted the rocks to the four winds, revealing that there was indeed an opening behind it.

"There. That's your cave, isn't it?" I turned to face the high elf.

"Fascinating. I never see a human cast magic like that before."

"Yeah, it's a spell I invented myself." I grinned proudly.

"You? At your age? Impressive," she replied in disbelief. "I trust that's a Wind Magic?"

"Yep, you got that right!"

_Well, she's pretty sharp, isn't she? Not that surprising though. She must be a skilled mage in her own right. High elves are supposedly really great at magic after all._

"Oh, were you the one who put those rocks there by the way?" I asked her.

"I just restored it the way I found it, though there were more rocks burying the entrance then."

"A landslide from the cliff, most likely," I theorized.

We then promptly entered the opening, with her leading the way.

\--------

The cave was indeed spacious, with many stalagmites and stalagtites decorating the floor and ceiling. You could hear the sound of water dripping from a distance, though you could never really ascertain where it came from. It was eerily quiet, with the loudest sound being our footsteps and the screech of bats we needed to fight off.

As I expected, the elven girl was a competent fighter. She didn't flinch as she burned all the bats mid-air with her fire magic. She did it chantlessly, and with such swiftness that it told me she was highly skilled as a mage. Not somebody you'd want to mess with.

In retrospect, it should already be obvious. She needed to be strong if she was about to survive camping in the wilderness for months.

"So, I take it that you specialize in wind?" she asked after I dispatched a group of bats with razor-sharp wind blades.

"Yep!" I replied, a bit surprised that she would ask such a thing. "I do know a bit of the other elements though. What about you though? What element do you specialize in?"

She gave me that piercing look once again. "None. I do not specialize in anything."

_Well, that's new. I think every mage I met so far has at least one element they're most good at. Maybe she's lying?_

I decided not to push the matter further. From her expression, she didn't seem to want to talk more on the subject.

_Haah, what a weird elf._

\------

"Huh, an intersection."

After a few minutes inside the cave, we were now faced with a branching path. One went to the left and one went to the right.

"What should we do?" I looked at my companion. "Should we split up? Quite risky though. We might get lost." _Push come to shove, I can just use my Earth Sprite to tunnel upwards._

"We won't," she answered with absolute confidence. "I have placed mana markers on the route we had walked."

"Mana… markers?" I raised my eyebrows.

“It’s a spell I made,” she replied. “Just like yours. But you can replicate the same thing with Earth magic.”

She pointed her staff to the ground and a pillar popped up. On top of the pillar was an arrow, showing the direction of where we had come from. All made out of earth.

“You can do this much, can’t you?” Her eyes gave me a glance.

“Uhh, well…”

I drew my wand and produced a similar sized pillar. Only it had no arrow on the top. After all, it was just an Earth Pillar spell. And there's no Earth Arrow spell.

"You can't?"

"Sorry, I never learned a spell that could make an arrow like that. Though I could tell my Earth Sprite summon to make one," I added, just to feel better about myself.

She gave me a disappointed look. "If I had to guess, you’re the type who only learns fighting magic, aren’t you? That’s why you could already create such a powerful spell in your age. How unfortunate. Magic isn’t as narrow as you think.”

“Look, I’m an adventurer, not a stonemason. I know you can do all sorts of mundane stuff with magic. But since I’m going to fight monsters, of course I’m going to focus on battle magic. That’s why I could defeat that dragon. And that treant. And it took me a long time of training just to master all those fighting spells.”

I didn’t know why I suddenly rushed to defend myself like this. With those sharp eyes of hers giving me that look, it felt I was being judged by her, which I didn’t like.

“...I see. You’re an adventurer. Not a magician. You’re simply someone who uses magic as a tool. I should’ve realized that sooner, since you have that sword on your belt as well. A hybrid magic swordsman. Good at both, but you don’t excel in either.”

_...Wow, are all high elves this... bold?_

_She's not exactly wrong though. I'm not some magic expert who dedicated his life to study magic. I'm just inventing magic using my knowledge from my old life as a way to protect myself and the people I care about. I'm using it like a sword, which might offend her who is really a scholar of magic._

A pair of conches suddenly popped out of thin air. One fell to her hand while another fell to my feet.

"Take that. We can communicate with them."

I bent over to pick it up. It looked like a normal conch, only that I could sense a flow of Mana going through it.

"Hold it near your ear and speak to it. Your voice would come out from my conch."

_Seriously? This is basically a phone, isn't it? A cellphone even._

"What's the range limit on this thing? Oh, and where can you get one? This is really useful!" I smiled.

"I don't know for sure," she replied. "Maybe around the size of the forest above. So it should be enough for our purposes."

_Well, that's a bummer. It's more like a walkie-talkie then._

"As for where I got them…" She smirked. "Where could you get conches from, I wonder…"

"From the sea? Is that where you got them?"

She didn't answer. Instead, her smirk only grew wider.

_...Gah! This elf can really be smug when she wants to._

"Well, enough chat. We'll split up here and explore as much of the cave as we could. If any of us found anything, we would inform the other using the conches."

"And how long are we supposed to search? What if this cave went on forever?" I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes.

"Just leave if you don't like it. You're not getting my orb though." She smirked again.

I sighed. _Haah, this girl really is a handful..._

With that settled, we promptly took our own tunnels. I chose the right one while she took the left.

_Let's just hope that flower really is in this dump..._

\---------

Hours passed, and not a single flower entered my sight. Only more bats and earth moles and lizards—D and C rank monsters not even worth my time.

_There aren't any treasure chests either. This really is just an ordinary cave network._

The size of the tunnels made me think otherwise though. It was too large to be natural. If I weren't mistaken, natural caves weren't supposed to be this spacious, right? The tunnels were big enough to fit an elephant and more.

_Maybe a giant mole built it a long time ago? I think there's a monster like that…_

_Hmm? What's that on the distance?_

I rushed forward into what seemed to be an opening into a large clearing.

And what I saw there took my breath away.

_No way…_

Underneath me, over the cliff I was standing on, was a village.

Rows and rows of little wooden huts were displayed along the circling path downwards, ending on what seemed to be a small underground lake.

_Is this… is this a dwarf village or something? Only dwarves would live underground like this, right?_

Quickly, I brought the conch to my ear and contacted Ilymhyrra to inform her of the matter.

“A-a village! I found a village here!” I immediately shouted.

“...I see. Go look around that village. See if you can find the flower there.”

_What is up with that unenthusiastic response?_

“Wait, do you even know how to get here?”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll find a way.”

And just like that, our conversation was over.

I let out a sigh. I should just give up trying to figure her out and her mysterious elven ways.

_Starting to see why high elves get that kind of a reputation now._

“Well, time to explore this place!” I declared with a smile. After all the boring cave I had to go through, this was certainly a nice change of pace.

As I descended downwards, following the circling path towards the bottom, I noticed for a fact that the village was built in a strange way. Every hut was attached to a tree, or rather, it was as if the huts itself were grown out of the trees.

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t believe that dwarves would live in wooden buildings. They would much prefer stone houses, no?

_Could this actually be an elven village? But underground?_

As expected, it was completely abandoned. I saw not a single soul or presence there. However, the condition of the huts was surprisingly still good enough that you could just imagine a person still living in them. The work of elven craftsmanship, perhaps?

My feet eventually carried me at the very bottom, where the freshwater lake greeted me. I was suddenly tempted with the urge to undress and take a swim (I haven’t got a proper bath in days after all), but I stopped myself. That would be stupid.

Still, no flowers in sight. Though the cavern still went on, following the lake who transformed into a river. _Guess this must be an underground spring then._

I decided not to follow the route however, opting to examine the village more closely instead. I still needed to wait until she came here after all. If I had to guess, she probably could somehow pinpoint my location. Maybe this conch thing also broadcasted my coordinates to her. You could do that with a walkie talkie after all, using the frequency and all that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have guessed, my update rate has slowed down considerably lately. I just can't find the excitement to write unfortunately. The words don't really flow into my brain anymore.
> 
> Writing this new elf character feels pretty difficult as well, thanks to her personality.


	131. Flower of Memories

_“A flower that can bloom without light?”_

_“Yes! Wouldn’t it be wonderful? They can bloom even in the darkest winter!”_

_“Don’t you think you have to make them be able to survive the cold first?“_

_“D-don’t worry! I thought about that as well!”_

_“...”_

_“A-alright, I didn’t think about it until you brought it up…”_

_“For a flower maniac like you, I’m surprised you didn’t think that far... “_

_“Uuu….”_

_“...Fine. I’ll give you some pointers on how to do it. If we’re talking about cold resistance, then the first thing you need to know is…”_

\--------

**Hugo**

I spent an hour or so investigating the village as thoroughly as I could, going door-to-door and entering every wooden hut that I could find. Now, I was no expert at archeology and such, but I could tell that this place hadn’t been inhabited for a long, long time, judging by how thick the layer of dust was inside those houses. The beds used by the people here seemed to be made of leaves as a replacement for the normal cotton, and those leaves had rotted and decayed to the point that you could barely find any. There were some scrolls and parchments I found with some words written on them, but I couldn’t read any of it. It’s probably written in elf tongue, if I had to guess.

Eventually, Ilymhyrra arrived. Without any fanfare, she asked me what I had found.

“Well, I got some writings you might want to look at.” I told her. “And I’m pretty sure this place has been abandoned for a long time.”

“I see. Take me to those writings.”

With no change in reaction on her face, she walked to the largest hut in the village. It’s where I had piled up all the interesting things I gathered. If I had to guess, it’s probably the chief’s house. Sorry Chief, going to borrow your house for a bit.

I decided to wait outside as she read them. The air was too dusty inside to be comfortable (though she herself didn’t seem to mind). I could clear the air with my magic but I didn’t want to disturb anything if I could help it.

After another hour of waiting, she finally came out from her hole.

“So, what did you find out?” I asked her.

"The flower is located further in."

"And about this village?"

"It's an elven village."

"But elves don't live underground, do they?"

"No, I suppose they don't."

And just like that, she walked away, ending our conversation one-sidedly once more.

I could only sigh as I followed her.

\--------

We followed the lake-turned-river into the tunnel at the base of the large clearing, with her leading the way. I kept my eyes alert for any signs of the flower, but all I could find was mushrooms and moss growing on the riverbed.

The river continued on and on, until it decided to split into two. We took the right path. Or rather, she took the right path. She didn’t even stop for a second, which meant she probably already knew that it was the right choice to take.

_She probably already knows which way to take from all those writings I’ve gathered._

No monsters bothered us as we marched on, strangely enough, even though we had encountered many bats and moles on our way here. Perhaps because we were close to that underground village? It’s only natural to assume that they would regularly exterminate any monsters that came near, so eventually, the hostile wildlife would just decide to avoid this section of the cave entirely.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking… You say the ones who lived here were elves, right? Were they the ones who made that treant?”

“Yes, they were.”

To my surprise, she actually answered.

"Let me guess. The treant went rouge so they had to live underground like this."

Without hesitation, she gave me a "that's stupid" look for her reply, before going back to her usual silence.

"You know, I wish you would open up a little. Is it really so hard to tell me just a bit on what’s going on here? I know that you know more than you’re letting on.” I gave her a frustrated look.

Once again, the silent treatment. She didn't even bother turning her head this time around.

I could only sigh in response.

\-------

Eventually, the river branch led us to another large clearing. I drew my wand, ready to cast a flare spell to lift up the place like I did with the village, only to find out that it was unnecessary.

For it was filled with glowing white flowers, illuminating the darkness like the stars in the night sky.

I gave a look towards Ilymhyrra.

"This is it, right? This is the flower you wanted?"

She didn't answer. She instead walked forward, crouched down, and picked one of the flowers. She gave it a stare before bringing it close to her nose, giving it a sniff.

And then, she smiled.

It was one of the sweetest smiles I had ever witnessed.

"Congratulations." She turned to face me, still smiling. "You've earned your Dream Orb."

My heart jumped with joy as a smile broke out in my face.

_To think that it would actually be here underground. And that there would actually be so much of them in one place like this… unbelievable..._

Her staff lit up and a crystal ball-looking object manifested in mid-air. Carefully, I grabbed it with both hands. It was a flawless translucent purple orb, slightly smaller than a basketball.

"Do you know how to use it?" The elf asked.

"Uh, no?" I replied, just realizing the fact.

"It's simple, really. You hug it while you're going to sleep. Continue thinking about the person you want to send a message to and what message would be. Imagine yourself talking to her loud and clear. That way, the message you sent would be the same way."

"Right… thanks!" I flashed her my smile.

A surge of excitement bubbled in my stomach. _Finally! I can send my message to Sherry!_

"Be careful," she continued. "You only have one use of it. After that, the orb would crack and it would be just a useless glass ornament."

Quickly, I stored it in my bag for safety.

She then moved towards the middle of the clearing, where there stood what looked to be a single wooden gravestone. I followed behind her, just out of curiosity, even though I could very well turn around and leave.

_Still, I have to admit. These flowers… they really are beautiful._

"You know, you should've mentioned they glow in the dark. Would make my search much easier."

"I didn't know that. I didn't stay long enough to see her finish her work."

We stopped on the front of the gravestone. The writing was illegible, as it was written in the same elvish character as the ones in the books I'd found.

Behind it were other, similar gravestones. Multiples of it, in fact. They were laid in a row, just like a human cemetery.

"Here lay Primeria. May she rest with the flowers she loved." Ilymhyrra spoke.

"A friend?" I looked at her.

"An acquaintance."

She knelt down and put the flower she had been carrying on the soil. I knelt down as well and did the same thing, before clasping my hands and giving a short prayer. I had no idea about the religion the elves followed, but I felt I had to do it to give respect to the grave.

I noticed the melancholic look Ilymhyrra had. _She must feel lonely, seeing her old friend dead and buried like this._

_She must be really old after all, despite her youthful appearance._

She stood up, and to my surprise, began to regale me a tale.

"Once, some time ago, though perhaps a long time ago for your kind, this whole region was populated by elvenfolk, separate from your human kingdoms. I visited them then, and I met with a certain elf who loved flowers more than anything else."

"And she's the one who created this flower of yours?"

"Yes. She's a skilled flowercrafter—one who grows new species of flowers."

_Flowercrafter? That's a new word._

"I left her before she could create this flower. And I only had the opportunity to return here now, many years later."

"And when you came back, she was already gone, along with her people…"

_Damn, that's depressing._

"...Wait, doesn't that mean you're gone for hundreds of years?" I looked at her with alarm. "You don't have any time to visit her again all these years?"

"...I was on a journey. A long one, if by your standard."

"And I guess you're not going to elaborate on that."

"No. I'm only telling you the story of this place."

I sighed. _Still as difficult as ever._ "And the underground village? What's up with that?"

"The Halfbloods lived there. Elves with non-elf blood in them. In your language, they would be your ordinary elves, while we, what you call high elves, are the Purebloods. Purebloods didn't want to share their forest with Halfbloods, so they put them in underground caves like these."

_Discrimination, huh? I know high elves view normal elves as beneath them, but this is something else._

"She never left this place. Said that she couldn't feel calm if she had to live with the humans. So she and a handful of other Halfbloods simply endured it, until the day they died. Their lifespan was much less than us Purebloods after all."

 _That explains the grave._ “And the Purebloods?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps they decided they didn’t want to live so close to humans, so they left for the far north where the Timeless City is.”

“Timeless City?”

"The capital of the high elves. Inside what you call the Forbidden Land."

_Ah, that mysterious place no one ever returns from._

I turned back to look at the graves one last time. I just hoped that these people could rest in peace, in whatever afterlife existed in this world, if it truly existed at all.

"Do elves have their own god?" I decided to ask. "Us humans have the Saint and the Heavenly Dragon and all."

"We worship no one. We instead revere the Timeless Queen, our Elder of Elders. There's no need for a deity when you're immortal. At least, that's what they believed at the Timeless City."

_Hmm, she has a point. Fear of death has always been one of the driving forces for religion to exist. Or so I heard._

"Is that all?" She gave me an annoyed glance. "If it is, then you should leave this place. I'll stay here for a bit."

"Well, I still got a lot of questions to ask to be honest. But since you clearly don't want to answer them, then I'll just shut my trap and leave." 

I gave her a smile before I summoned Earth Sprite, ordering her to carry me upwards and dig through the ceiling.

"Hey, uh, thanks again. You sure you don't want the gold?"

"Keep it. If you're still going to the Demon Continent, then you'll probably need it. I have no need for gold."

_Yeah, I can imagine that._

"Good luck with the flowers!" I waved my hand as my summon carried me upwards with a pillar of mud.

And so ended my first meeting with a high elf. And I had to say, she somehow both met and not met my expectations at the same time.

_For guys who like flat-chested elf kuudere, she’d be up there pretty sure._

\---------

It didn’t take long until Earth Sprite brought me back to the surface. The cave wasn’t really that deep. It was mostly big horizontal-wise.

It was nighttime outside. Thankfully however, no blizzard this time.

Before I dismissed the sprite however, she decided to ask me something first.

“Master, what was that place? The soil there… it’s overflowing with mana.” She looked at me with a slight hint of worry in her eyes.

_Hmm, that might be why those flowers only grew in abundance there. But why would the soil have so much Mana in the first place?_

_...Wait. Don't tell me… those elven corpses…_

"Master?"

"A-ah, right. Don't worry about it." I patted her head. "It's just an elven graveyard."

As usual, I gave her a hug before dismissing her.

I then promptly made my way back to town. I wasn't going to do the whole orb thing out here. Too risky. Can't focus when you're wary of monsters.

Not to mention that I still had yet to formulate a good message to send.

\--------

"Hey, kid! Where have you been?"

Right when I entered the inn (it was Oaken Hospitality, the same one from before), I heard the all-too-familiar loud voice of Miss Innkeeper.

"Your two girlfriends are looking for you, you know." She folded her arms under her chest. "Hmph, really, just a brat yet you're already fooling around with girls like that."

"Haven't I already told you to tell them that I found the elf?"

"Sure, but they kept asking for you almost every day, thanks to you not telling them when you're going to get back." She huffed.

_Heh, they must be worried about me._

"Stop smirking and sign here. You’re going to rebook the same room, right?”

“I guess I am.” I gave her a smile, taking the quill from the inkstand.

\--------

That night, I decided not to use the orb. Instead, I burned the midnight oil, as I tried putting the words I wanted to say to her in paper first.

_"Dear Sherry, I want to inform you of—"No, that's too formal._

_"Hey Sherry. Got some bad news to tell you." No, that's too casual._

Like a little boy who's writing a love letter to his crush, I kept writing and rewriting the parchment, crossing out huge swathes of letters as I remained unsatisfied with the words. The more I wrote the more I realized that just sending out a one-sided message like this wouldn’t be sufficient to tell her about everything that had happened since she was away.

In the end, I fell asleep on my desk, with not a single coherent message to send.

\---------

The next morning, as I had my breakfast at the inn in its small dining hall, I saw two familiar figures barged into the room, heading straight towards my table.

"You got quite the nerve, just disappearing like that without telling us." Anne spoke first. Judging by her hands-on-waist pose, she clearly wasn't in one of her good moods.

"Yeah, what's up with that? At least stop by and share the good news with us." Amelie spoke next. She looked just as unhappy as her friend, putting her hands under chest, inadvertently pushing her sizable chest upwards. Quite the welcome sight, after spending a week with the washboard elf.

“Look, I can’t wait for you guys to come back and keep the elf waiting. What if she decided to leave? Then it’d be how many months more of me looking for her.”

“So.” Anne took a seat in front of me, uninvited. “Did you get it? That Orb thing?”

“I did. Haven’t really sent the message yet though.”

“Oh? I thought you'd immediately do it since it's your girlfriend and all."

The bitter tone in her voice didn't escape my notice.

"Uu, I forgot that you already had one…"

A melancholic expression appeared on Amelie's face as she touched her index fingers together. She too had taken a seat on the table.

"S-so." She looked up with upturned eyes. "You're really going to leave soon, huh, now that you got the orb?"

"Yeah, I would. Like I've said before, I'm heading northeast to the port town of Vermouth to cross over to the Demon Continent.”

“Y-you know, we can travel together there if you want," Amelie replied.

Only to be immediately interrupted by her friend.

"You realize we're going to go to the west after this, right?" Anne sent her a glare.

"W-we can just ask Anton to—"

"No. If you want to be with him so badly, then just leave and go with him. Not that he'd want to though, seeing how he already has a girlfriend and all."

_There it is. That bitter tone again._

"Charles." She looked at me straight in the eye. "Don't waste that orb. Tell her everything you want to tell her, got it? No holding back. No girl likes it when their boyfriend hides things from her."

"...Got it. I promise I'll do just that."

A smile formed in her lips. It was a happy smile, and yet, I could sense some sadness behind it.

I realized then what she felt.

She had accepted her defeat.

\--------

I spent the day stocking up on supplies for my journey. I was planning to depart as soon as I sent my message to Sherry, which I was confident enough that I could do this night. Amelie decided to accompany me. Or rather, she selfishly decided to take me to accompany her shopping. Normally, I would have rejected her, but I thought since I would probably never see her again after I left, I decided to go along and humor her. The poor girl clearly was sad about my departure. Anne on the other hand said that she was going to help Anton with a little in-town quest, so she wasn’t able to come with us.

I was quite surprised by that decision. She basically just gave her rival a date with her crush.

_She really must have given up on me then._

And so, here I was, strolling with her on tow to the shopping district. Her left arm was linked with my right, making my upper arm brush with her soft breasts many times as we walked.

_Aah, boobs really are the best…_

It was enough to make any thoughts of my message to Sherry disappear into the wind.


	132. The Sea Eye Squad Strikes

As Hugo was enjoying his "date" with Amelie, a certain person was watching them for a safe distance. Not directly, of course. That would be too risky. Instead, she used one of her familiars, a Sky Fish, to observe him from above. It was pretty much impossible for him to notice, as it was just a tiny fish about the size of a human hand, and it was completely invisible. Using it, she could see what he was doing, even if she wasn’t there in person. In fact, she was in a completely different location entirely. She was outside of town, at its outskirts in the woods nearby. Such was the range of her fishes. They were the perfect tool for spying and observation.

_And there he is. Just casually going on a date with his girlfriend._

_Hmm, might he think we won’t actually be coming for him? How naive. Does he truly believe he can get away with killing one of the Council?_

_Then again, he’s just a kid. He might be a talented mage, but he lacks the maturity and experience that comes with age._

_Quite the shame that I most likely would have to end his life. What are the chances of him actually allowing himself to be captured and ferried back to the Magocracy? Even then, they would just kill him there. Public execution. The Council would want to show their authority after all._

_As for his friends…_

She switched her attention to a different fish. This one was following his other friends—the two adventurers named Anne and Anton. She had studied them quite attentively, personally and from all the rumors that reached her ears. She knew that the girl had been saved by the boy, and that he might have done it while fighting against a Forest Treant. She even knew that he somehow managed to temporarily subdue the blizzard that battered the region that night. And of course, she knew about his new, custom spells. That gnome was quite excited to tell her all about them.

She now has no doubt he was a magic prodigy, equal or even better than her. If he was as old as her, who knew what kind of amazing spells he might have invented?

All the more reason to finish him right now, before he became a real threat to the Magocracy.

_How unfortunate. I might actually be interested in him._

Indeed, the bubble mage was somewhat considering making him her husband. He's pretty good-looking, and he's talented in magic. His personality wasn't bad either. She always had a soft spot for naive young men who liked playing the hero. Usually, those guys were easy to manipulate after all.

Perhaps if she promised him that they would leave his sister alone? Not a promise she could keep, of course. That would depend on her mother and the other bigwigs at the Council.

No, she knew perfectly well it would never happen. His sister would have to be under their thumb as well. Maybe she would have to marry that creep. Naturally, he wouldn't stand for that.

"Lady Elun, the preparations are ready."

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the voice of one of her subordinates. Her sight returning back to those her own eyes produced, she looked behind her to see a young teal-haired man standing in front of her. He was dressed in a garment an adventurer would wear—leather armor, cloth pants, and the hilt of a serrated sword attached to his belt. However, one would no doubt notice the fins he had jutting out near his ears.

His name was Faust, and he was one of Elun's subordinate that she brought with her from the Magocracy.

"Good." Elun smiled. "They're going to arrive here soon."

Faust was her second-in-command. He was a seafolk who had come to the surface and settled in the Magocracy. Or rather, his father did. He married a human woman and he came into being as a result. Unlike her, he was a swordsman, trained in the arts by his own father—at least, until said father passed away fighting against a sea monster who had terrorized the coastline of the eastern Magocracy.

"Milady, please, allow me to challenge him in one-on-one combat. I swear I can handle him."

This sudden proclamation from her subordinate turned her smile into a frown.

"You can't. You have no chance against him alone. He's too strong for you."

She didn't hesitate as she spoke those words. Her expression had gone cold, showing that his statement was unwelcome to her ears.

"Please, Milady! I—"

"Ooh, what's this? Dear ol' Fausty is still trying to impress Elun!"

His words were interrupted by the arrival of another person. Immediately you could tell that she didn't belong to the human race, as her humanoid body was made not out of flesh, but out of a dark blue liquid. Unlike him, she had no clothes whatsoever—completely naked. Not that it mattered, for a slimekin doesn't reproduce the way a human does. Thus, her breasts had no nipples while her crotch was smooth and featureless.

Her name was Yulon, the third-in-command of Elun's squad.

"You know, I'll be more than happy to be your girlfriend. Elun's not interested in you. So why don't you just relax and let me take care of you, alright?"

The slime woman slithered and wrapped around the man like a snake would. She didn't stop there however, as her tongue licked his left ear while her now amorphous lower body went to assault what lay between his legs.

...

No response. He didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"Aww, you're no fun, Fausty!"

With a pout, she retreated.

The slimekin was a well-known flirt in the squad. She pretty much would try to sleep with every man she found attractive. She was originally an adventurer from the Demon Continent. One thing led to another and she ended up being recruited by Selendia to serve under her daughter's unit.

"Hey, Elun!" She clasped her hands together. "Fausty here has been all grumpy ever since you said you are interested in this Hugo boy."

"Oh?" Elun smirked. "Then perhaps you should start considering learning to be a mage, if you want to be my husband that badly."

She was perfectly aware of the young man's affection towards her. Of course, she had no plans to reciprocate. After all, men with lacking magical prowess didn't interest her in the slightest. 

It became just another way for her to control him. That's why she made him her second-in-command. He was easily the most loyal of her subordinates. He would die in a heartbeat for her.

Such was the lesson her mother taught.

"Well, enough of the chatter. Get to your positions. They're going to arrive soon." 

She reached upwards to adjust her large hat in place.

Gotta look her best to receive her guests after all.

\---------

Anne and Anton were on their way to the outskirts of the small town. They had just taken a quest to help with stacking logs in one of the warehouses there. It was one of those quests where all ranks of adventurers were welcome, simply because they were terribly undermanned. Apparently, an accident that injured a bunch of workers just happened a few days back, so they were in dire need of extra workers.

They arrived in the front of a large wooden building. It was shaped like a rectangle, longer on the length than width. It looked like what you would expect from a warehouse, but just in case, they walked over to the man standing guard near the door.

"Excuse me. Is this Mr. Erdea's warehouse?" Anton spoke.

"Hmm? Yeah. Ye'r adventurers?" The bushy red-bearded man narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. We're from the Flaming Arrows. We're here to help with the warehouse."

"I see. Get inside."

The man then pushed the large doors behind him open, gesturing with his thumb for them to come inside.

Inside, they were greeted by the sight of people moving around logs of wood all over the place. Not only that, but there was a lot of sawing going on as well. The scent of woodworking was unmistakable and the air was filled by shouts of orders from the foreman.

"Go speak with old Rand there. He'll tell ya' yer job." The redbeard pointed at the man in the middle of the room.

"Thank you." Anton gave him a polite smile. "We'll do just that."

\---------

The two worked inside the warehouse for a bit, helping with the lifting and transporting of the logs and planks inside. Anne might have a lithe body, but being an archer meant one would have great arm muscles, which she certainly had. So doing work like this was no problem to her. It was also why Amelie didn't go. As a muscleless mage, she couldn't do jobs like this. Not that the person herself would want to, of course.

But then, they were abruptly summoned by the foreman, who told them that there was somebody who wanted to meet them. He only said that she looked like a mage, wearing a big pointy hat and all. The two had no idea who that could be. But they left the building nonetheless.

From a distance, they could see the person, standing underneath a large tree. They exchanged a short look with each other before walking towards her.

When they arrived, she was looking away from them, seemingly admiring the big tree instead. Even though this year’s winter had been somewhat heavier than the usual, its leaves were still as thick and dense as ever. It belonged to the species that was resistant to cold after all. 

"Hey, you're the person who wanted to talk to us?" Anne folded her arms with a scowl. Judging by her attire, she most likely was a fellow adventurer, yet she never saw her in the guild or anywhere else for that matter.

The witch turned to face them with a smile.

"Hello. You're from the Flaming Arrows, right?"

"Yes, that's us," Anton answered with a curious look.

"Great!" She clasped her hands together. "You see, I'm a big fan of your friend, the Divine Tempest! Can you please arrange me a meeting with him? I'll pay you of course!"

Anne's displeasure only grew from her plea. This wasn't the first time someone had come to them to ask about Hugo. Like that elf bard, who had to be the most persistent of them all. When she couldn't get to Hugo, she barraged them with questions instead. Especially her, since the news had spread that she had been saved from him.

It was annoying. Especially since most of them were good-looking girls. She didn't want any of them to circle around Hugo like the vultures they were!

"I'm sorry, but Charles is out of town right now," she lied. "And we don't know where he went. He's not a member of our party, in case you didn't know."

"Oh really? Well, that's a bummer."

"Then, I suppose I'll just have to use you two to lure them in."

In a flash, something launched itself from the branches of the giant tree. It jetted downwards at high speed. Anne managed to dodge, thanks to her agility, but Anton, used to being the tank of the party, was too slow to follow. Before he even knew what was happening, his entire body was immobilized by a sticky, gooey-like substance.

"Y-you… why?" Anton's mouth was sealed before he could speak any further.

"Anton!"

Anne immediately drew her bow, but the mage was faster to do the same with her wand. 

"Water Blade."

With a casual swipe of said wand, the mage cut her bow into two.

“Hehe, too slow, archer girl.” She gave her a mocking smile, before firing two jets of water towards her. Each punctured her knees, earning a yelp of pain from the girl as she collapsed to the ground.

Water Bullet. A simple yet effective Intermediate-level spell.

It was now impossible for her to escape and seek help. Not that she would get any anyways. Every single person in that warehouse was paid handsomely to be part of this little plan of hers. They believed that she came from the capital and that she had an important business with the two adventurers. It was easy to forge a legitimate looking royal seal as part of her scheme.

Thus, whatever she did, they would stay out of her business, lest they would be arrested as criminals who defied the will of their king.

“H-help! Help! We’re under—Ummphhh!”

The gooey substance had moved towards her, sealing her mouth shut as well. She could only stare in anger as the mage stood in front of her with the smuggest smile on her face.

“I’m sorry, but I really do need your little friend. You see, he has made a terrible mistake—a mistake that he has to pay with his life.”

There, Anne finally realized it—the identity of this woman in front of her.

She was from the Magocracy. And she’s here to kill Hugo, in revenge for him killing one of their leaders.

She immediately tried to roll away from her, only for the sticky substance to hold her in place. In fact, that substance had now transformed into a humanoid form, grinning as she loomed over her as well.

She had heard about them before. Slimekin. A species of the demon race that consisted of slimes that somehow gained human intelligence.

“Shh, don’t worry. I’ll be gentle~”

“U-urmmphphhh!”

The slime forcibly entered her nostrils and mouth, blocking both passages that she used to breathe. She tried pulling her off, only to find that she couldn’t even grab her gooey body properly.

“Sleep now~”

The last thing she saw was before the darkness swallowed here was the slimekin’s grinning visage.

\--------

“Well, that was pretty easy, wasn’t it?” Elun smiled.

“They really are no match for our combination!” Yulon put her hands on her waist, grinning. “Hey, Faust, get down here! Too bad you didn’t get to get any action, huh?”

The seafolk jumped down from the tree. Like the slimekin, he too had been waiting there, camouflaged by the thick leaves. Both of them were well-trained in stealth—a skill needed to be part of Elun's Sea Eye squad which specialized in spying and gathering information.

"I don't care." He folded his arms with a neutral expression. "These bunch aren't even worthy to die on my blade."

For the three of them, the elites of the Aquus Corps, taking care of two B-rank adventurers was pretty much child’s play.

“Lift them up,” Elun ordered. “Now that we’ve obtained the bait, we’ll progress to the next phase immediately.”

“Let’s see how the genius wind mage handles us, shall we?”

\---------

**Hugo**

Our “date” didn’t last that long, as there weren’t that many places you could sightsee in this small logging town. It would be much better if we were back in Silheim or Misfon, where there was actually somewhat of an active market going on. Here, it’s just a logging town near the wilderness.

Still, she kept a happy and excited temperament all the way through. Probably because she's with me more than anything.

We finished it off by frequenting the only pastry shop in town. It was a small and unassuming shop with a decoration so quaint that the moment you stepped in, you would feel as if you just stepped into the house of someone’s grandma. Still, the cake was delicious, and isn’t that what really matters for a pastry shop?

“C-Charles…” Amelie suddenly stopped eating her strawberry cake. “C-can I… can I ask you for a favor?”

I, who just finished swallowing my chocolate cake, looked up with raised eyebrows. “Hmm? What is it?”

“C-can I…” Her cheeks were now turning crimson. “Can I ask you to… to feed me my cake? J-just like a couple would…”

I paused. _Well, that was unexpected. I didn’t expect her to be this bold._

“Y-you see!” Now tears started to swell in her eyes. “You’re going to leave us soon, right? So I want to make as many pleasant memories with you as I can! I-I know you already have a girlfriend but just one spoonful of cake wouldn’t hurt, right?”

_Oh boy. I can’t exactly say no to that face, can I?_

_A cute girl’s tears. Always my weakness._

_Sorry, Sherry. But it’s not a kiss, right?_

“Alright, fine.” I sighed. “Here. Let me serve you your cake, my dear princess.”

With a smirk, I took the small plate where her strawberry cake stood, cut a slice with my knife, and then stuck it on my fork before moving it towards her mouth.

“Say aahhhhhh!”

“N-nonono!” She waved her hands around, almost knocking my fork. “Y-you can’t just do that! I-I need to prepare my heart first!”

_Heh, she might be acting bold but she really is a shy type at heart. Not that it’s a bad thing, of course._

She looked away for a bit, placing one hand on her chest as she tried to calm her beating heart down.

“A-alright.” She turned back to face me. “Y-you can do it now.”

She closed her eyes and leaned forward, opening her mouth in the process. Her face was now completely red, and I could even notice the nervous sweat traveling down her forehead.

Slowly, I moved my fork back in. "Say aahhhhh!" You gotta do this methodically if it's going to be romantic after all.

And then, it arrived. She closed her mouth and I pulled my fork off her.

_Oh right, this is what you would call an indirect kiss, would it? Thank God she didn't realize or else it might take her five minutes to calm herself down._

"Is the taste to your liking, Milady?"

"Y-yes! It's even more delicious now that you're the one who—aaahhhh, n-nevermind!"

I broke out into a grin. _I'm usually annoyed by those protagonists who like to tease their shy girlfriends, but now I can see the appeal._

"N-now, i-it's my turn. I'm going to feed you your cake, alright?"

_...Welp._

_Sorry, Sherry. I promise we'll feed each other lots of cakes when we meet again, alright?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hugo really is a womanizer, having a fun date while his friends are being kidnapped. So I don't want to hear him being called a "dense harem protagonist", alright? :p
> 
> And I sure hope it doesn't hit him back in the ass later on.


	133. Confrontation

After our little “date”, we made our way back to the inn. Her inn, to be exact—the one she and her party were staying in. It was smaller than the one I was in, so the rooms might be cheaper. Well, I liked my luxury. A lot of cheap inns didn't have fireplaces inside their rooms, which would be problematic in a cold winter like this.

"Thanks, Hugo!" She smiled and grabbed my hands. "That was fun!"

"Glad you liked it!" I replied with my own smile. "Well, I'm going to go back to my inn now!"

"Y-you know." She started stuttering her words. "W-why don't you come to my room for a bit?"

_...Oh wow, seriously? She's even bolder than I thought._

"Well, I'm actually about to—"

SPLASH

Cold!

Cold and wet was what I felt on my face, skin, and clothes. It was as if someone just poured a bucket of water onto me.

Wait, that's exactly what just happened, wasn’t it?

I didn’t know it at the time, but if I had looked up earlier, I would’ve seen a bird made out of water flying above me. It had exploded into a burst of water, raining down from above while dropping the letter it had been carrying inside it.

"K-kyaaah! W-what was that?!"

Amelie's scream broke me out of my stupor. I quickly looked above me to search for the culprit, only to find nothing. There wasn't any balcony above us and it certainly wasn't the rain either.

I moved my gaze back down.

_Ooh, nice!_

The water had soaked Amelie's white shirt, turning it translucent. I could see that she wore a pink bra today.

"Charles, look!"

She pointed towards the ground. Reluctantly, I followed.

_Hmm? That's…_

There was a roll of parchment that wasn't there before.

I bent over to pick it up. It was tied by a blue ribbon, and the parchment seemed to be completely water-resistant, as it wasn't wet in the slightest.

I undid the ribbon, and then I rolled it open. Amelie scooted over beside me, wanting to read it as well.

_Dear Charles Pendleton of the Divine Tempest. Or, should I say, Hugo Greenwood._

_You probably have already noticed the familiarity of this handwriting you’re currently reading. Rest assured that you are correct. I am indeed the same person that sent you that letter to your family a year ago._

_Here I write to you an invitation. If you truly care about your two adventuring friends, then you will come to the heart of the Merkel Forest. Alone._

_I would say that I simply wish to talk, but we both know that’s not going to happen. You shall never surrender to us, not after what we did to your dear sister._

_So come. In exchange for your life, you’ll be able to save theirs. Isn’t that quite the noble end, o Heroic Dragonslayer?_

_P.S. Feel free to come with others if you want. However, I can’t guarantee their safety. I do not like taking lives without reason, so please, don’t give me one._

_P.P.S You really shouldn’t have played the hero. You’re just like your big sister, too prideful to hide your own strength._

My body shook.

My legs wobbled, seemingly turning into jelly.

"Charles, w-what—what does it mean?! Are Anne and Anton—"

I barely heard Amelie's panicked voice.

_...This is it._

_This is the day._

_They have come._

_And I am not ready for them whatsoever._

_Thanks to my search for the Orb, the thought of them had slipped my mind completely._

_And now they have taken them hostage, just so they can get to me._

_Of course they would do such a thing. I should’ve expected it._

_I am such an idiot._

"Amelie," I croaked. My throat had suddenly become hoarse all of a sudden. "Stay here. I'll save them."

"What?! No! I'm coming with you! They've been kidnapped right? Then let me rescue them as well!"

"No, you're not—you're not strong enough.” I shook my head. “You can't face them. Not with your current strength."

“I know I’m not as strong as you! But I can’t just abandon them!”

“No. You’ll just—you’ll just become a liability.”

I didn’t want to say it, but it’s the truth.

Naturally, she didn’t take it well. Her expression rapidly switched from surprise, to that of sadness, before switching again into anger.

“How dare you! I am Amelie of the Faragour noble house! I’ll have you know that I was trained in the art of magic with the best tutors! And they all said I was a genius at it! I might not be as talented as you, but I will never become a burden to you!”

Her eyes were now shimmering with tears. I now knew without a doubt that she really wanted to go with me.

“I'm sorry."

Before she could defend herself, I cast a strong gust upwards below her.

WOOSH

The wind lifted her skirt, revealing the fact that her panties were pink as well. It didn't stop there however, as it began shredding her clothes.

"W-what are you—Kyaahh!"

Yes, it was an undressing spell. It was the best way I could think of to stop her from following me.

…What, you want to know why I have such a perverted spell in my repertoire? Well, I might be able to use it against Sherry, with her permission of course. There's nothing wrong with doing that kind of stuff with your girlfriend, right?

“Stay here, alright? Don’t worry. I promise I’ll bring them back safe and sound.” I gave her the best comforting smile I could muster.

After my mind imprinted the half-naked body of Amelie, I promptly fled, using my Wind Step to move as fast as I could.

All I could do now was pray that they hadn't killed those two. If they died because of me…

A flash of memories resurfaced, of those three adventurers that died under my watch.

I smiled grimly.

I really should stop making friends with strangers.

\----------

When I arrived at the forest, I slowed down my movement. It would be foolish to rush when they could very well be laying a trap for me to fall in.

_The letter says the heart of the forest. And where is that exactly? Don't tell me they're waiting right at the region where that treant is. No, they should already know about it. If they have researched me that much, then they would know where the treant is as well._

_I could use my summons to scout my surroundings, but they can only be out for a few minutes._

In the end, I entered alone, without any backup. I couldn't bring other adventurers into this. They might just kill Anton and Anne before running. Hell, they could've killed them already. I wouldn't know if they were still alive or not! All I could do was trust on the off-chance they decided to be merciful.

I did have one way to guess where they could be though, which was through the monsters living in this forest. They must have exterminated all the monsters in their area, just so they couldn't interrupt their operation. So the less monsters I saw, the closer I should be to them.

_Hmm? That's—_

My eyes were abruptly drawn to a peculiar object that shouldn't be there. It was your ordinary, run-of-the-mill rabbit, only it was entirely made out of water. The creature gave me a short look, before hopping away deeper through the forest.

_That's it! It's their guide for me!_

I immediately bolted to chase after it.

_They probably used something similar to deliver that letter. Maybe like a bird or something._

_All this water manipulation means I'm most likely going to be up against a water mage. That's a good information to have._

As I chased the rabbit, I kept my eyes on my surroundings. It very well could be leading me into a trap.

I continued like this for a bit until I reached a small clearing.

And there, I finally met them face-to-face.

There were two of them. One wore what looked like your traditional witch's outfit. The other wore leather clothes similar to what an adventurer would wear. A sword was attached to his waist.

_The swordsman and the mage. And the former is a non-human, most likely a sea folk._

Behind them were Anton and Anne, frozen inside two blocks of ice. Only their heads were outside, just so they could breathe. They seemed to be unconscious. The ice was melting, forming a puddle around them.

"Welcome." The blue-haired witch spoke. "My name is Elunmidis Brine, the daughter of Selendia Brine, one of the Magocracy's Council members."

Her expression was dripping with smugness. It reminded me awfully of the expression Vera once wore.

_Wait, Selendia? That's—_

A jolt of memory suddenly resurfaced. _I met that woman. In the front of that tower when I went to Mira. That scary woman is her mother, huh?_

_And Elunmidis. I think I've heard that name before as well. Didn't Marina say something about her?_

_Oh right! She's the unpleasant girl she met! The bubble mage!_

_Bubbles. Got it. Gotta watch out for them._

"As you should hopefully already know, I came here to dispose of you. However, I do have an offer."

"If you're going to tell me to come with you back to the Magocracy, then that's not going to happen."

"Oh? Straight to the chase, are you? But you see, it's the best option that you have. You can't win against me. Not when I already know all of your new, fancy spells.”

_If I have to guess, she must learn it from the adventurers who saw me battling that dragon._

_This is exactly why I never use my custom spells unless I absolutely need to. And unfortunately, they’re the only way I could beat a monster of that caliber._

And besides…"

The man beside her immediately moved his blade towards Anne's neck.

"...Fine. I'll hear you out."

"Great!" Her grin grew even bigger. "So, my offer is simple. Be my husband and work under my mother. Work for the sake of the good of the Magocracy. We'll pardon your murder of Vera as an exchange."

"And my sister?"

"Oh, she too can come. Mother doesn't have a male child so you don't have to worry about her being forced into another arranged marriage. In fact, since she's such good friends with that Alincia girl, she can join the old man's household instead."

"But she has to be serving under the Council as well."

"Of course! You and your sister—you both have great talents in the art of magic. It would be a shame if that talent becomes wasted, wouldn't it? Especially if it falls to the hands of enemies, like the Holy Empire for example."

_She doesn't know about me and Fiora, does she?_

"Let's say I accept. How would you ensure I can't run away?"

"Easy." She giggled. "Anti-magic poison. You'll drink them every day until we get back. You'll just be a normal human that won't be a threat to us whatsoever."

_She doesn't know about my sword training either._

"...Fine. I accept. Now let those two go."

"Ha! Do you take me for an idiot? Drink the poison first, then we'll talk."

She signalled to the man behind her. With a frown, he walked forward to my direction, one hand ready on the hilt on his blade.

Of course, I had no intention whatsoever to obey her demand.

"Now!"

Right on cue, the ground where Anne and Anton stood turned into a puddle of mud. 

I already foresaw something like this happening, which was why before I entered the clearing, I already summoned both of my fairies. I told them to travel underground and rescue the two of them the moment I gave my signal.

The two ice blocks promptly sank, as the mud had been made as liquid as she could make it. And then, she would harden back the ground, before she carried them away underground as far as she could.

The swordsman, knowing that I had done something they didn't expect, rushed forward with his blade drawn. However, I was more than ready. I blocked his sword with my own.

"Heh, that's a funny sword you got there." I smirked.

I then drew my wand, intending to pierce his abdomen with a quick wind spell, but he already backed off, covering his retreat by an upper kick that I managed to dodge.

_Clap Clap Clap_

"Clever." The mage girl clapped. "But not clever enough."

The muddy ground exploded, and what looked like an amorphous human-like blob came out of it.

And on its grasps, no, _her grasp,_ was my two fairies.

"You're right as always, Elun!" She declared with a giggle. "These two really tried to do something dirty!"

It was a slime girl.

And she had just spoiled my plan.

I didn't hesitate. I aimed my wand towards the demon and fired a Boom Cannon right at her. I aimed at where her core was—that red gem near her chest. If you destroyed that core, then a slime would dissolve and melt into an ordinary pile of goo. The same concept should apply to a slimekin like her.

Only for her to dodge out of the way entirely by forming a hole in her body, allowing my spell to go past unimpeded. The core moved out of the way as well, temporarily moving to the top of her head.

It pierced through a row of trees behind her. But it didn't matter. That destructive power had failed to affect her in the slightest.

"M-Master, I-I'm sorry…"

“M-Master! Urgh, let me you go you big slimy jerk!”

My two summons were completely covered by her tendrils. There didn’t seem to be any way for them to free themselves, other than me just telling them to retreat.

_Damn it! Where did that slimegirl come from? I didn’t see her—oh wait, it was the puddle from the ice! They weren’t melting! It’s her pretending to be one!_

_And how did she know about my plan anyways? Did she just expect something like this to happen?_

“Well, now that your trump card is gone, would you be willing to accept my offer?”

The witch now had a victorious grin on her face. I wouldn’t blame her. I would have the same grin if I were in her position.

“Yulon, lift them up,” she ordered.

The slime girl did as she was told, lifting the two blocks back up from the mud.

“Let’s make this easier for you, shall we? You don’t drink the poison, Yulon there would snap their necks in an instant. Oh, and don’t try anything again with your wand. I’ll tell her to kill them as well if you so much raise it in our general direction.”

_Tch, of course she’ll do something like this!_

_What can I do?! I can’t just let them die! Especially not after everything they’ve done for me!_

_And Amelie—I’ve promised to bring them back safe and sound to her! I’m not going to break that promise again!_

_I’ll show these bastards that I’m not the same man I was back then!_

“Fine. I’ll drink your poison. Just leave them alone, alright?”

“Wonderful!” She clapped her hands together. “Faust, give the vial to him.”

“Oh, but this time, please drop your wand and sword first. Really, you’re a decently good swordsman if you can block his attack like that. That sword wasn’t just for show after all.”

_I didn’t use my sword when I fought the dragon, so she doesn’t know._

_...Wait, I_ **_do_ ** _have a spell she has yet to know—a spell I developed_ **_after_ ** _I fought off the dragon._

_That’s it! That’s the key!_

_It’s risky, but it’s the only choice I got._

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come now, I don't have all day."

_In 3… 2… 1…_

My hand flew, aiming back towards the slime girl once more.

"Ahahaha! I see! You don't care about them! Yulon, kill them!"

"Boom Grenade!"

In a flash, my spell flew. It hit the ground underneath the slime girl, before sending a shockwave to its surroundings.

The slime girl couldn't react fast enough. Her body was scattered all over from the explosion, releasing her grip from her hostages. The mage, who was standing there, also was thrown aside from the force, sending her flying a good few meters.

"You!"

"Now! Run!" I yelled just before the unharmed swordsman crashed his blade against mine.

"You imbecile! How dare you spit on Lady Elun's hospitality like that!"

He launched another kick, but this time, instead of dodging, I blocked it with my own leg. Fiora would sometimes do moves like this in our many spars, so I was already used to such an uncommon maneuver.

Trusting my summons to do their work, I focused all my attention to this fish guy. I had to kill him fast before the other two could recover.

I moved my wand to aim for him, but once again, he backed off. He then strafed to the side, aiming to attack from behind instead. His speed was certainly superhuman, comparable to someone who could employ Graceful Step.

I parried his thrust, but he followed by a flurry of kicks. This time, it was me who was forced to back off.

_A hybrid fighter huh? He fights like a martial artist and a swordsman._

_He's doing a good job preventing me from casting any spell. He knows how strong I am in that department._

_Well, let's see how he handles this then!_

Using Wind Step, I flew upwards. He followed with a high jump, only to find that I could fly even higher than he could jump. _Ha! He doesn't have Feather Step, does he?_

Without hesitation, I hit him with a Boom Cannon. He couldn’t dodge in mid-air so he could only try to block it with his sword.

Of course, that didn’t do him any good. He was flown away at Mach speed, going through a series of trees behind him.

When he stopped, he sat slumped with blood all over him.

One down, two to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elun knows about Hugo’s plan because she has her Sky Fishes surveying his every move, in case you haven’t figured it out by yourself. And she knows about what they’re capable of thanks to the adventurers Hugo saved just blabbering it out all to her. The only thing she doesn’t know about is Boom Grenade and his sword skill, since he didn’t use both against the dragon.
> 
> And after getting more comments about Hugo’s character, I’m starting to think if I should just start a new series with a less pathetic MC. Maybe someone more alpha and overpowered. I have some interest in writing a revenge isekai story like Arifureta and Shield Hero. So the MC would be more like those MCs.
> 
> Another thing I might be interested in writing is some sort of a lighthearted AU of this story where Hugo ends up entering the Magocracy’s Academy as well. He’ll immediately be the most popular boy there thanks to his talent in magic, to Marina’s chagrin.
> 
> What do you guys think? Naturally, if I start writing them, the main story will be updated less.


	134. Bubble Girl vs Wind Boy

Drip… Drip...

_Hmm? It’s… raining?_

Before I noticed it, the sky had gone dark. Black clouds had gathered over the forest, and with them, droplets of water began to pour down from above.

I turned my attention towards the mage and the slime woman. Only the former was there to greet me, standing with an excited, almost maniacal-looking grin on her face. A bubble was enveloping her entire body.

“Well played. That’s a spell I didn’t know about.” _Huh, she can still speak from inside of that._

“Well, I kept upgrading my arsenal, you know. Just in case when one day, something like this happens.”

“Spoken like a true mage.” Her smile grew wider. “You really would make a good husband. Are you sure you're not attracted to me whatsoever? They always say I'm a looker just like Mother."

Speaking objectively, she was indeed pretty. Those smooth long legs and thighs she displayed proudly with her mini-skirt—I can leer at them all day. Not to mention the hint of blue she produced every time she moved around.

"Sorry. You might be cute but your personality… they really need some work."

"Oh? What's your type then? Naive girls like your sister?"

"She's not naive. She's a better person than you'll ever be."

"Hmm, that angry tone… You really love her, don't you?" She grinned. "Don't tell me you're the sort of little brothers who are obsessed with their older sisters? 'I'm going to marry Big Sis when I grow up!'" she said with a mocking tone. "Then you shouldn't have left her, no?"

"...You're right. I made a mistake."

"Which is why I'm going to correct it right now."

I fired my Boom Cannon, believing it to be powerful enough to burst the bubble that was protecting her. It indeed launched her through several trees, but when the dust settled, she remained unharmed inside it.

“Diamond Bubble. Do you like it? Not even your powerful wind spell can pierce through it."

I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“My turn.”

She raised her wand to the sky and chanted, "O great power that resides in the unnatural ocean—"

I wasn't going to let her finish, of course.

I aimed my wand, this time intending to use Boom Rifle since that had better penetrating power. However, just when I was about to fire, a jet of water burst forth from the ground, lifting her and her bubble to the sky.

_Huh? That's—_

"—come forth to this world and purify all creatures that walked upon the earth!"

_She's still keeping up her chanting, which means—!_

_She's dual-casting!_

"Bubble Storm!"

_Bubble… Storm?_

My question was soon answered. Above her, coming out from the rain clouds, was a massive swarm of tiny, raindrop-sized bubbles.

"Well," She grinned. "I don't need to tell you how bad it would be if you got surrounded by them, do I?"

\-------------

Meanwhile, away from the fight of the two mages, another battle was in progress.

"Come now, dears! Give up! You can't defeat me on your own!"

Yulon was fighting against the fairies. After receiving the brunt of Hugo's Boom Grenade, pieces of her had scattered all over the clearing. She was lucky her core wasn't broken in the explosion, though it indeed took some damage that knocked her out for a bit. However, she already mastered the ability to rejoin and regenerate herself, so now, she was able to chase after her stolen hostages with pretty much her full strength.

And it was clear that she possessed the advantage.

"Hyaah! Go away you stupid slime woman!"

The Spring Fairy slashed her boiling water sword towards her. Only to miss her core once again, only slicing the slime body which could immediately rejoin itself moments later. The Earth Sprite on the other hand tried to swallow and bury her with her mud, only to find that she was too agile and flexible for her to do so.

Giggling, the slime woman leaped upwards, before raining herself down towards Anne and Anton. The two were already unthawed from their ice. Unfortunately, they were still unconscious. Drugs were most likely involved.

Earth Sprite covered them with makeshift earthen coffins. Quite ominous, but she had to make sure the slime couldn't reach them. She knew how much they meant to her Master, and she was ready to sacrifice herself to keep them safe.

Of course, for the slime woman, they didn't matter. Her focus now was to take care of the two summons, before rejoining Elun to kill that boy. But the fairies didn't really know that, as she kept up her aggressive moves towards the unconscious adventurers.

Then again, she didn't have to do much. Eventually, they would disappear when their time limit was up. All the advantage was on her and she knew it.

She changed her direction mid-air, firing both of her hands at the two summons. The Spring Fairy cut through the attack, while the Earth Sprite submerged herself under the ground to dodge the attack.

She sighed internally. _The time out victory it is…_

\----------

**Hugo**

"Air Sunder!"

I fired the Advanced-level spell in an attempt to blow the bubbles away.

"Air Sunder!"

Elun responded by firing her own cyclone, cancelling mine completely before it could even reach the bubbles.

"Teehee, do you think I'm only good at water magic?" She wiggled her index finger. "To create bubbles, you need some wind magic as well after all!"

She was now hovering mid-air. I assumed the lift came from the bubble she was in.

_The Diamond Bubble and the Bubble Rain. Those should be the two spells she's currently channeling. Or is one or even both of them autonomous, allowing her to cast other spells before dispelling any of them?_

Knowing that she was going to interfere, I decided to switch my target. I might not be able to harm her, but I could certainly shoot her off the sky.

"Boom Spiral!"

I opted for the spiral version, since it should make it harder for her to dodge.

The spell roared through the air, crashing through the bubble Storm before reaching her. It connected, but to my surprise, she only moved 100 meters at the very most.

_The bubbles! They weakened my spell considerably!_

She did it. She managed to construct a defense that even I couldn't break. And she kept moving around with her bubble, preventing my Boom Rifle to be effective as well. Not to mention how the bubbles were obscuring her location as well.

And now, said bubbles were about to reach my location.

I started to run, away from the epicenter of the spell. If I had to guess, its range should be not that far off from the range of a Rainstorm, which would be about 1 kilometer. It wasn’t a small radius by any means, but I should be able to get out of it before the bubbles completely surrounded me.

As I ran using Graceful Step, I fired off Flame Strike after Flame Strike, to try to destroy as much of the bubbles as possible. As expected, they were much more durable than their ordinary brethrens. I managed to pop some of them but more soon replaced them from the skies. I tried Boom Grenade as well but just raw shockwave simply made them scatter at high speed without actually popping them. I nearly got hit by them too. Thankfully, my Mithril sword was actually strong enough to cut the bubbles without making them explode.

_Ooh, thank you, Master Fiora, for your gift._

I saw the bubbles hitting the ground. And every time they did, a small explosion occurred, strong enough to blow the dirt. Yeah, if I got surrounded by those, I would die for sure.

“Well, look at you! Running like a shameless coward! I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t work.”

I glanced towards the gloating witch. She was raising her wand to the skies.

_Wait, don’t tell me…!_

Sure enough, what I expected to happen happened. Slowly but surely, the clouds above her began to move in the same direction I was running towards.

_She’s manipulating the wind to blow the bubble clouds in my direction!_

She already said that she too was an adept Wind mage. So this was certainly within her ability.

_Shit, it’s like I’m facing off against two Master-level mages at the same time!_

_...Wait, hold on! I also know another Master-level spell that isn’t a Wind spell! And she shouldn’t know about it either!_

_I can use this! But not right away! I have to find the opportune moment, so I can strike at her and finish her in one blow!_

My brain began to work overdrive as I considered all the possibilities available to me. The main problem now was to disperse those bubbles and to pierce the main bubble she’s being protected with. If I could do the two, then I could finish her off with a Boom Cannon or Spiral.

\----------

“Haah… haah… haah…”

“What’s the matter, little fairy? Getting tired already?”

The two fey creatures were now reaching their limit. All the attacks they tried didn’t seem to damage or even tire her in the slightest. The slimewoman’s speed and agility were simply too much for them. And they both knew they couldn’t remain in this fight for much longer. But if they left without beating her, then they would betray the trust their master had put onto them. And that—they didn’t want to.

It was extremely rare for a fairy to act like this. However, such was the fate of those that chose to bond themselves with humans. Slowly but surely, they would absorb human characteristics as well, like loyalty and determination. No longer were they the simple, carefree fairies they once were. They had changed—evolved beyond their nature.

And yet, they were still lacking in strength.

"Give up. You guys are 100 years too early to face me." The slimewoman produced a mocking grin.

The spring fairy gave a hopeful glance behind her. No good. They were still asleep. And she would need too much time to heal their sleeping poison—time she couldn't get with the slimewoman around.

"I'll buy time. You heal them."

The sudden whisper from her friend took her by surprise.

"What? But you can't possibly—"

"Now."

The Earth Sprite moved a surge of mud towards the slimewoman—an attack she could easily dodge by swerving and twisting herself around. She didn't stop however. She summoned two pillars of mud from the ground beside her. The mud hardened in mid-air, creating a igloo-like structure with Anton, Anne, and the Spring Fairy inside.

"Wait, don't—"

"Go. Heal them."

Before she knew it, the igloo encompassed her completely, turning her vision pitch black.

"Hoo… sacrificing yourself for your friend… how noble… if you're not a summoned fairy. You guys can't die after all."

She charged forward, flying straight towards the Earth Sprite, confident that there was nothing she could do to stop her. Not without the aid of her friend.

The sprite responded by creating a hardened mud wall in front of her. Her goal was just to buy time until her friend finished healing the two.

“Ha, you think this would be enough to hinder me?! O still water of the ocean! Crush my enemies under your depths! Oceanic Jet!

A jet of water fired from her right hand, with a water pressure straight from the ocean depths. It was enough to start drilling through the reinforced mud like it was sand.

She didn’t need a wand to cast a spell. She had trained to replace its function with the core of her own body.

_No… not going to… lose!_

The earth sprite gritted her teeth as she tried to harden her wall as much as she could.

_Master… got stronger! I’ll… get stronger as well!_

Her resolve didn’t mean anything.

The wall shattered, and she was immediately impaled by the water drill the slimewoman had conjured.

_M-Master…_

The sprite melted into a puddle of mud.

“Told ya it’s not going to be enough.” The slimewoman grinned.

She then turned her attention towards the makeshift protection the sprite had conjured. With the same magic, she drilled through the sphere with ease.

Inside, the spring fairy could sense that her friend had fallen.

_That idiot!_

She gritted her teeth. Never before she felt this level of frustration inside her heart. She wanted to do more for her master, yet she was too weak to do so, even after she evolved. She could only manage to heal Anne during all that too.

She waited until the last moment, readying her sword. She intended to leap forward and do a surprise attack the moment the sphere collapsed.

And then…

“Hyaaaah!”

With a loud battlecry, she flew as fast as she could towards the slimewoman. _Just one slash! If I can just slice through her core, I will win!_ Yulon was still activating her water jet spell, so she had to dodge to the side so she wouldn’t get hit by it.

She missed. Once again, her core moved out of the way from her slash.

“Aarghhh!”

The slimewoman’s other hand went to her throat, choking her without mercy.

“I wonder.” She smiled. “Do fairies need to breathe? We slimes certainly don’t.”

“Well, go away. You’re done.”

She moved her casting hand towards the fairy’s stomach. And then, just like her friend, she was pierced by her water spell.

“I-I’m sorry, Master… Hugo…”

It was her last words before she vanished as well, leaving a puddle of hot water behind.

Yulon gazed towards said puddle. “What a bore. All summoned fairies are the weak kind after all. The scary ones would never willingly serve humans like that.”

She then moved her gaze towards her escaped prisoners.

_Oh? She cured one of them, didn't she?_

Anne was now in a sitting position, coughing as she nursed the terrible headache she had.

 _Seems like she's still disoriented. I guess I should dispose of her before she could escape._ She aimed her finger towards her head. _A quick water bullet should do the trick._

_…_

"Hmm?! Who's there?!"

\--------

**Hugo**

_I got it!_

At last, I had figured out a plan to take her down.

Now to put it into action.

I changed my direction rapidly, utilizing Wind Step to fly upwards to where that bubble mage was.

"Oh, you're done running away? Great! I'm starting to get bored over here, you know!"

I didn't let her taunts get to me. I climbed up and up, always taking the route with the least bubbles. I used my sword to cut them. As long as there weren't too many of them, I could manage doing so.

Naturally, in response, she flew away from me, seaming herself inside the thickest bubble swarm she could find. And just like before, she never stopped moving, thus not giving me a chance to snipe her with Boom Rifle.

_I think this is close enough._

I dispelled my Wind Step, and as I fell, I cast another spell, aiming it right above her general area.

"Thunderstorm!"

I had no idea whether it would work, since she already had those bubble clouds above her.

But it did. The lightning clouds I summoned simply layered itself below said bubble clouds.

"A lightning spell?!"

I grinned. Clearly, she didn’t expect it.

I reactivated my Wind Step. The thunderstorm should last at least for a few seconds. That should be enough for me to bring her down for the good.

With the lightning raining down, it became much harder for her to move. She was further up than me so the lightning was all going after her. Meanwhile, from the bottom, I could bombard her with Boom Rifle. With any luck, I would be able to pierce her body with it.

“You really are a clever one!” She yelled as she swerved around in a zig-zag pattern, dodging all the lightning coming her way. “How did you know that my Diamond Bubble is weak to thunder?”

“I didn’t. I just thought I’d try something different.”

“Flexible thinking! Another wonderful trait for a mage!”

To be honest, I already had an inkling that might be the case. She stood inside the bubble, and the bubble should have some water in it. The lightning might not be able to crush it, but the electricity would still travel to her body, shocking her. It’s a similar principle with how robot-type monsters in RPGs tend to be weak to lightning, even though they’re highly resistant to every other damage type.

I began firing my Boom Rifle, trying to predict where she would be next according to the lightning pattern.

“Ah, that attack! You really aren’t holding back, are you? Makes sense! You’re on a time limit after all!”

_She certainly talks a lot for someone who’s cornered._

“Well, how would you deal with this then?!”

In a flash, she changed her direction. Instead of moving mostly horizontally, she now moved vertically, heading downwards towards my direction, while still keeping the zigzag motion.

_Wait, seriously? Is she going to—_

_She’s going to ram me. She’s going to ram me straight to the ground!_

Behind her, I could sense that a lightning was chasing after her. If I stayed around, both me and her would be hit by it.

_She’s smirking. She’s waiting for me to make my decision. Should I stay and try to fire a Boom Rifle straight at her? Or should I dodge and miss the opportunity completely?_

They said that time would seem to freeze when you had to make a life-and-death decision in combat. This was exactly one of those moments. Somehow, I knew that if I messed this up, she would win.

A certain memory burst forth, my memory of training with Fiora. As usual, she had won our sparring practice. She had her sword pointed at me who was laying down on the ground with bruises all over my body.

_“You’re too slow! It’s like you hesitate with each and every move!”_

_“Well, I can’t even follow your movements! You’re too fast!”_

_“You don’t follow my movements with your eyes! Use your instincts! Feel the flow in the air! Feel the intent behind my every swing! Thinking is how a mage fights! We swordsmen don’t think when we swing our swords!”_

_“Well, isn’t that just you being a dumb—Ooowww, why did you need to do that?”_

_“Shut up! Your analytical fighting style might be fine when you’re fighting at a distance, but it’s terribly weak at close range. Hey, Nicole! Heal this guy! We’re going for another round!_

A smile blossomed on my face. I readied my sword.

Her smirk disappeared. She realized that I wasn’t going to dodge. Once again, I had done something beyond her expectation.

My instinct was right. I had called her bluff.

Her bubble crashed with my sword. But only for a moment, before it expanded, enveloping me inside it as well.

The lightning stroke, but it didn’t reach either of us, as none of our body parts were touching the bubble.

And she was now wide open.

I brought my sword forward for a horizontal swing. She tried to dodge out of the way by casting a water jet to push herself backward, but it was too late.

“Gah!”

Her abdomen was cut. Blood was now leaking out of it.

The bubble retracted in a flash, back to enveloping her own body exclusively.

However, my strike was true. She no longer could maintain her spell. It soon popped into non-existence and she fell down from the sky.

I wasn’t taking any chances. I aimed my wand towards her.

“Boom Cannon!”

“Deconstruct Magic.”

_Huh?_

The air cannonball I had conjured… it vanished before it could hit her.

And her landing… it slowed down considerably before she hit the ground.

Then, I saw a figure standing beside her.

It was Ilymhyrra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit, a plot twist!


	135. A Relic From The Past

I landed safely, aided by my Wind Step. The bubble rain had stopped, though the normal rain hadn't.

That Elun woman was coughing red, and she was pressing her hands on her abdomen, trying to prevent any more blood from escaping her body.

And in front of her stood Ilymhyrra—her expression unreadable. 

"I have to ask you a favor." She spoke. "Leave her."

She stared right at my eyes, unblinking.

"I can't. She'll come after me again. I never told this to you, but I'm a fugitive of the Magocracy on the Southwestern Continent. And she's here to hunt me down."

She paused, taking a few steps forward closer to me.

"Why are you a fugitive?"

"Because I killed one of their leaders. It's a long story."

"Tell me."

It wasn't a request.

It was a command.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the time to do so. She's not the only one who's after me. There's also a slimewoman with her. And she's going after my friends."

"She won't harm them. I've made sure of that."

“Really? And why should I trust you when you’re siding with them?”

To be honest, I didn’t really believe she was really a Magocracy agent or anything like that. There was just something about her that made me feel she couldn’t be one of their puppets. But how else should I interpret her actions? Unless she’s some hyper-pacifist or something that hates killing, no matter who does it to whom.

Once again, she paused for a bit before answering.

“I’ve frozen her. I met her before I got here. She would’ve killed who I assumed to be your friends if not for me stopping her.”

Her eyes showed no hesitation. If I had to guess, she wasn't lying.

"Then, explain why you're protecting her."

"I have my reasons. If you're not going to explain why you're being chased by them, then I won't answer."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you the abridged version. It all started when—Oh no you don't!"

In the corner of my eyes, I saw the blue-haired mage opening a small bottle. _A healing potion! Like hell I'm going to let you heal yourself!_

I drew my wand, firing a Boom Rifle to destroy said bottle before it could reach her lips.

Only to find that the spell didn't come out at all.

_H-huh? My mana… I-I can't—I can't shape it at all!_

No matter how hard I tried, it always dissipated into nothingness. In this state, I couldn’t cast any spells at all!

Then, I noticed it—the shine from the large red gem Ilymhyrra’s staff had.

“Disturb Magic. You won’t be able to cast anything.” She spoke in a cold tone. “Don’t worry. She’s not going anywhere either. I too have some questions I would like to ask from her.”

_First, she erased my Boom Cannon like it was nothing. And now, she’s doing this to me. What is this, some kind of an ancient elven magic? I certainly never heard of anti-magic spells being a thing before._

Without me to stop her, Elun drank every drop of liquid from said bottle. And then, just a few moments later, she stood up, all with a grin on her face. Of course she would grin. She had just been spared from certain death after all.

“Oh, thank you so much for saving me!” She clasped her hands together. “That boy might be young but he really is a monster! Can you believe it? He assassinated one of our elders in cold blood!”

Her demeanour had changed completely to a sickening degree. She was now pretending to be an innocent, happy-go-lucky person, no doubt to garner more sympathy from Ilymhyrra, so she would side with her instead of me.

“So it’s true?” The elf gave her a cold glance. “That you came from the Magocracy?”

“Yes, I did! We all came from there!” she answered, still keeping the same cheerful expression.

“Stop the act. Or I will hit you with my staff.”

Responding to those words, she immediately reverted back to her haughty self.

“Haah, alright. The jig’s up, I guess.” She shrugged. “I have no idea why you saved me back then, but rest assured, I will pay you handsomely once all of this is over. So, if you would just help me capture that boy (killing is fine too, of course!), I would give you a pouch full of gold coins. You’re a high elf, aren’t you? High elves are really good at magic, I heard. Far beyond what us humans could accomplish in our short and miserable life.”

“Ilymhyrra! Don’t fall for her lies! If you want gold, I have a lot of them as well!”

At that moment, I knew if I was to let her be persuaded to be on her side, I would lose. With those anti-magic spells she had, my only choice would only be to use my sword. And I was not good enough of a swordsman to be able to win against a mage of Elun’s calibur.

She glanced at me before looking back at her.

“Is that true? That one of your elders was killed by a mere child? Have the magicians of your land degraded so badly over the ages?”

Elun let out a chuckle. “Who she killed wasn’t really one of us. She didn’t share our Founder’s bloodline. She's just a cheater who didn't win her position fair and square."

She then turned around to face me.

"Why did you kill her?"

"Because she's—"

"He's an agent of a neighboring kingdom. A child genius in magic, sadly used as an assassin. Aah, how sad."

_You little—_

"Don't listen to her! I killed Vera to save my sister! That vile woman had kidnapped her and forced her to marry her grandson! And she… she killed my parents as well!"

I shouted from the top of my lungs. Anger rose from my stomach, bubbling like magma inside a volcano.

"That's a lie. He's just—"

"I SAW THEM SHATTER INTO A MILLION PIECES WITH MY OWN EYES!"

_Drip…_

_Drip… drip…_

_Ah, I did it again. I started crying again._

_I've promised Fiora not to cry over their death again too._

I quickly recovered, wiping my tears with the right sleeve of my robe.

"Ha, nice acting, kid. Too bad it won't—mmmpphhhh!"

A surge of vines appeared from the ground, covering the mage's mouth in an instant. She immediately tried to cut it with her magic, only to find that said magic was sealed as well.

I couldn't help but smirk, seeing the fearful expression on her face.

"Tell me more." The elf ordered. And so I did.

I told her everything, from how the news of Marina's kidnapping reached us, and Elun's involvement in it, to our climb at Vera's mountain, and how she killed Alan and Renee. I even told her about me running away like a coward all the way here.

When I finished my story, however, her cold expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She only made the vines fall from Elun’s mouth. The mage didn’t say anything however.

"It's your turn now. Tell me why you're protecting her."

To my surprise, she immediately answered.

"Because I had made a promise, to protect her children once she's gone."

"Her children? Whose children?"

"Mira's children."

This revelation, naturally enough, shook me to my core.

And noticing Elun’s wide-open mouth, she had the same reaction.

“W-wait, Mira, as in, the Legendary Archmage Mira? One of Arthur's companions a millenia ago in their fight against the Demon God?”

“Correct. I was her master. And she was my apprentice.”

Silence. Not even the birds or the wind made any noise. It’s as if nature itself was taken aback by her words.

“Aha...ahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha!”

It was Elun’s laugh. And it was quite the laugh indeed. If I had to compare it with something, it would be a banshee’s laugh. She tried to stop herself by covering her mouth with her hand, but the laughing fit continued anyways. Only after it died down that she could speak normally again. She wiped a tear from her eyes before speaking.

“You’re hilarious, Miss High Elf! You? The master of our Founder? You’re going to make me wet myself! There’s not a single history book that says she had a master when she was still alive! She learned magic all by her own! She was a genius amongst geniuses! Even today, none of us could match her brilliance!”

Ilymhyrra responded only by a simple, disinterested glance. It was like she was thinking, _“If that’s what the humans wanted to write in their books, then so be it.”_ To a high elf like her, human history would probably not hold any interest to her. That’s how elves tend to be in fantasy stories, especially those that are really, really old.

And, if what she’s saying was true, she's at least a millennia old, making her positively ancient.

_And yet, not a slightest bump on that washboard of hers._

If you had asked me whether I believed her claim, my answer would be, “I dunno.” What Elun said was true. There really was no record of Mira ever having a master that taught her magic.

But on the other hand, if you thought about this situation like a fantasy nerd, then you would believe her. Her claim was so outrageous that it could only be true. It’s like not believing in prophecies. Logically speaking, you shouldn’t, but everyone knows prophecies always come true in fantasy settings. Not to mention the fact that protagonists of fantasy stories would often stumble upon legendary figures in the setting out of nowhere. Uhh, not that I’m saying I’m a protagonist or anything.

“Tell me.” She returned her glance towards me. “You said her name was Vera. Is she perhaps a teal-haired gnome by any chance?”

“Yes, that’s her, alright. Really smug too.”

“Then I made a mistake, saving her back then.”

“Saving her? You mean, you’ve met her before?”

“Yes, I have.” She looked away with a pensive look. “I’m not sure how many years ago, but I did meet her in the Demon Continent. I saved her from an elder dragon there. And now, listening to your story, I realize she hasn’t changed in the slightest. She had ignored my advice and continued on her own, doomed path.”

_So she’s the reason Alan and Renee died, in a roundabout way._

_...No. I can’t rebuke her for it. I’ll probably do the same after all. Like with those adventurers. If they ended up doing bad things in the future, would I be the one to blame? No. You can’t see the future. You can only live the present as best as you can._

“And you.” She turned towards Elun. “I’ve saved you, just like her. How would you live your life from now on?”

“Well.” She smiled. “I’ll return to the Magocracy after this. Even if I failed getting him.” She gave a look towards me. “I had finished my other objective.”

“And then?”

“And then, I’ll train again. I’ll become even stronger. Thank you, by the way, for displaying how much my strength is still lacking.” She smirked, looking again at my direction. “I’ll be sent on other missions by my mother, maybe finally found a mage worthy to be my husband.” She glanced at me yet again. “And then I’ll replace my mother in her position once I’m old and strong enough.”

“After that?”

“After that?” I’ll become a benevolent leader of the Brine Province until the day I die.” She chuckled. “To you, a High Elf, that day probably isn’t that far away though.”

“And what about him?” Ilymhyrra glanced at me.

“Him?” She focused her gaze on him once again. “To be honest, the Council would probably deem him to be too strong to be hunted down after I gave my report. So rejoice, Hugo Greenwood." She grinned. "You can travel safely now, wherever you're going. Though I can't say the same for your sister."

My arm moved on its own, aiming my wand towards her yet again.

"Tell this to your mother and the other Council members. Stay away from her or I would come after them."

…

"Aha-ahahahaha!"

She held her stomach this time.

"Then what are you doing here? You talk so big like some hero but you ran away from her for no good reason! And thanks to that, our other agents might have actually captured her! She'll be brought back to the capital and then executed in front of all our citizens! That would be a sight, wouldn't it?"

My mind went blank.

I charged forward with my sword drawn. If my magic was sealed, I could still use my blade. Ilymhyrra stood between us, but I didn't care. I would just leap over her and—

In an instant, it was all over.

The elf hit me multiple times with her staff, over and over at such an unbelievable speed even my training with Fiora couldn’t keep up.

Each blow hit a different place. My head, my neck, my chest, my stomach, my knees, and even my family jewels. It was a precise yet heavy blow.

I wasn’t even sure if Fiora could keep up with such a speed.

I collapsed to the ground, groaning and panting like a hurt dog as the pain overwhelmed me.

“Idiot. You already know I’m Mira’s teacher. Do you believe you can get past me that easily?”

"U-uuuuu…"

"Gyahahaha! Look at you! So much for the dragonslaying Divine Wind!"

That hateful young woman exploded in laughter yet again. Combined with me being in this state, it brought back unpleasant memories of me being beaten up in my old life by bullies, all while they laughed at me.

It was enough to make me ignore the pain and aim my wand on her once again. It didn't even need to be my Boom Spell. A simple Fireball would suffice, just to wipe that smug face of hers.

Only for me to find that my magic had been sealed once again.

"Why?" I croaked. "Why are you defending *cough* bad people like her? I'm sure Mira would never *cough* approve of such a behaviour."

She was standing right over me, still with that cold expression on her face. From this angle, I could actually see her white panties, but I was too hurt to care.

"Perhaps. But it's not for you to decide."

She then turned to face Elun.

"It's been a while since I made a visit to your nation. You and your underlings shall accompany me there."

"Oh? You think you can just order me around now?"

"You're not stupid like him. You know you can't win against me. Consider yourself my hostage for the time being."

Elun sighed, before giving her a defeated yet content smile. "Alright. We can do that. Just so you know, the Council is much stronger than me or him. You won't win against them."

"As for you," She looked at me once more. "Do not worry. I'll make sure they won't bother you or your sister anymore. If you're telling the truth, that is."

“I have one piece of advice for you, Hugo Greenwood.” This time, it was Elun’s turn to speak. “Your redheaded friend… you might want to pay her a visit.”

_Redhead friend? Is she talking about Anne? Urgh, I can’t think. My brain hurts._

With that cryptic message, the two left, with Elun giving me one last triumphant grin.

She might have lost the battle. But she had won the war.

\-------

"Uuuhhhh…" I let out a pained, pathetic groan as I laid down like that for a while, bitterly acknowledging my defeat. Not only physically, but mentally as well.

She was right. I had no business being here. I should be with Marina and Erika, protecting them from the Magocracy. Sherry could wait. She wasn't in danger.

As for that high elf, she might really be Mira's master. And she might actually tell those bastards to leave us alone. She might even be powerful enough to force them to do it. She could just seal all their magic with that strange anti-magic spell of hers.

_I want it. I want that spell._

I could still feel it—the way her mana disturbed and scattered my own. How could she do it? How could she manipulate raw mana in that way?

_Ah, look. The blue sky. It's coming back._

The rain finally subsided. It's too late though. My clothes were all dirty now. They were my expensive clothes too.

"Hugo! Hugo! Where are you?!" A familiar voice reached my ears. It was Anne's voice. And it seemed she was running straight towards my direction.

I took a breath of relief. She wasn't lying after all.

"Hugo, are you alright?! Where is she?!" She crouched down beside me.

“She’s… she’s gone. I made her run away.” I lied.

“And the elf? She should be heading this direction. Did she save you? She saved me and Anton, you know. Froze that slime demon like it was nothing. She even gave Anton some medicine, so she should be on our side. We didn’t dare to shatter her though. What if she survived. So we just left her there.”

“She’s—” I coughed. “She’s gone as well.”

“H-here. Let me help you up.”

“Argh, h-hold on!” I felt a sharp pain surging through my body when she tried to lift my shoulder. I-I think some of my ribs might be cracked or something. She hit me pretty hard back then.”

“Move to the side, Anne. If it’s just cracked ribs, I can heal it.”

Anton was there as well. He crouched down and began chanting his healing spell. Warm light emanated from his hand, and slowly but surely, the pain subsided. “There. That should do it.” He smiled. “Here. Take my hand.”

I stood up with his help, returning his smile with my own.

“Once again, we are in your debt, Charles. Or, I guess I should call you Hugo instead.” His smile turned into a soft grin.

“No.” I shook my head. “This time, it was me that endangered you two. Those guys… they’re using you to get to me. And for that, I apologize.” I lowered my head.

“Well, if you view it that way, then that makes us even.” He patted my shoulder. “Now I understand why you are always so secretive about yourself and your abilities. Anne told me a bit about it when we rushed here. Makes sense that you would want to keep a low profile.”

“You didn’t bring Amelie with you, right?” Anne asked, her eyes looking around for a sign for the fire mage.

“No. I left her behind. It’s too dangerous for her.”

“Good. That’s the right choice to make.” Anton removed his hand. “That blue-haired lady… she’s on another level entirely. She might be equal to an S-ranked adventurer, or maybe even more.”

“She’s another genius mage like you basically,” Anne commented. “An elite mage from the Magocracy. Maybe you can also compare her to the magic corps of the Empire.”

“And she’ll be back.” Anton narrowed his eyes. “Even if you finished her off, they could just send more agents down your way. I hope you’d be ready then, Hugo.”

“I would.” I lied again. I might be able to win against a mage like Elun, but if they manage to persuade Ilymhyrra to go after me, I don’t think I’ll be able to win.

_A mentor to the legendary Archmage. How am I supposed to win against some like that? I don’t have any cheats like your typical isekai protagonist has. I’m just a slightly stronger NPC, that’s all._

“As for us, well,” He sighed. “It’s hard for me to say this, but we’d better separate ourselves from you.”

“What?!” Anne’s temper flared up. “How could you say that? Aren’t we friends with him? Shouldn’t we be supporting him instead? Why are we kicking him away like this?”

“We’re not kicking anyone away, Anne. It’s just… we’re a burden to him.”

Anne’s eyes widened.

“Our strength is nowhere near his level or his enemies. If we fight with him, we’ll just end up making it harder to win. He’s too kind for his own good. He’ll never just abandon us to gain victory.” 

He gave an apologetic look towards me. “We’re going to head west since you’re going east. We’ll try to put as much distance between us as we can. But, if we still ended up being captured again, then you should just ignore us and fight with your full strength.”

“You coward! I won't agree with this! And neither will Amelie!" Without hesitation, she grabbed my hands. "Train us, Hugo! If we're too weak to fight side-by-side by you, then we just have to get stronger, right?!"

I shook my head.

“No.” I released my hands from hers. ”I have to resume this journey alone. I’m sorry, Anne. You, Anton, and Amelie have your own path to take. You shouldn’t be involved with me any further.”

She looked at me as if I just slapped her in the face. And I might as well have done so. I basically just agreed with Anton that she was too weak to be by my side.

Tears pooled in her eyes. "Hugo, you idiot!"

SLAP

Her hand flew to my face. I could easily stop it but I chose not to. She deserved the slap.

She then ran away, with Anton soon following her.

_...Yeah, it's better this way. Now they won't be dragged into my mess._

With that melancholic thought, I followed them as well. I still needed to make sure they got back safe and sound.

After that, it would be goodbye for real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter than the usual. I can't stop midway through, can I?
> 
> And there's the reveal of the true identity of the elf, if she isn't lying about it anyways. And one of you actually guessed it correctly.
> 
> Next chapter might be the Vera flashback I had mentioned before. And then, maybe a detour to Marina? Who knows?
> 
> After that, the final part of this arc will begin.


	136. Extra: The Elder Dragon Eldrad

**Many, many years ago...**

Einzelschwarz. The Land of Eternal Darkness.

It is a region located in the Demon Continent—a harsh and wild region filled with strong monsters—creatures who are the rulers of the dark. The day never comes, the sun never rises, and the moon is always shining blood red on the night sky.

And there, a certain mage was fighting, against a swarm of pitch-black dragons. If she had any thoughts of escape, it would be impossible. Black dragons are well-known for their fierceness. They are filled with the endless, bottomless desire to eat and consume. And even though said mage was so small compared to them, they wouldn’t hesitate to lay down their very lives just so they could sink their fangs onto her.

However, she had no such thoughts whatsoever.

“Absolute Zero: Spiral!”

With a maniacal laugh, she raised her staff to the air.

And then, the world turned silver.

***

When the spell ended, the once black region had turned pure white.

The ground, once a barren rocky landscape, was now completely covered in a thick layer of ice. Massive solid crystals made out of the same materials jutted out in a spiral pattern centered around the mage. The air was filled with snow, like the aftermath of a blizzard.

And the dragons? Covered in ice from head to toe. They were frozen, not just on the outside, but inside as well. Their blood, their muscles, their organs—not a single one was spared.

It didn’t take long until one by one, they shattered into a million pieces.

And the mage watched with deep satisfaction.

“Haah, how boring! I don’t want to play with the young ones! Where are you, O Elder Dragon? I’m waiting! I’ve slaughtered all your kids and you’re just going to hide in your little cave?”

She spoke with such smugness and confidence, you would not be at fault if you immediately believe she would indeed be capable of taking on such an unbelievably strong monster with ease. After all, an elder dragon, compared to a normal dragon, is like a normal dragon compared to a drake. Meaning, they are nowhere close in strength or intelligence. All elder dragons are capable of speech and reason. As such, they are capable of casting magic as well, using their own scales as their mana conduit. And speaking of their scales, there’s no need to say how much tougher those are compared to the ones ordinary dragons possess. They’re pretty much superior to their lesser children in every way.

And so, to challenge one like this, on her own, she would be either insane or a really, really strong magician. And seeing what she just did to the dragons, perhaps the latter would be the correct assessment.

For her name was Vera Marjoram, the future member of the Magocracy’s Council of Magicians.

***

She continued onward, deeper and deeper into the Black Dragon Region of Einzelschwarz. Naturally, for such a large place, it wasn’t only dragons who lived inside it. And they possessed their own chunk of the place where only their kind could live, where any other creatures who dared to enter would be killed and devoured in an instant.

And so the region was named The Dragons’ Hunting Ground.

She disposed of a number of other dragons the same way she did with the swarm from before, utilizing her Grandmaster-level spell to slaughter all of them at the same time. However, since it took her quite some time to recite the chant needed to cast such a powerful spell, there were other, auxiliary spells that she employed. Like her Ice Clone spell, used to bait the dragons into the proper location. And if she found herself in an unfavorable spot, she could also use her Ice Jet spell to create an ice trail she could skate over with her staff. And seeing how she could cast two magic at once, she could keep up her chanting for her Absolute Zero spell while dodging the dragons’ attacks, if necessary.

After bringing down another batch of dragons, she summoned out a vial of liquid from her Dimensional Storage. It’s a mana-replenishing potion. She decided it was the right time to drink one as she could feel her mana storage running low.

Only to be interrupted by a roar, followed by a beam of darkness heading straight down where she stood.

Her ice snake manifested, taking the blow intended to hit its master. It managed just that, but not without evaporating into nothingness in the process.

_Tch! A sneak attack from above!_

She didn’t see it coming, for the elder dragon had flown far above her over the clouds before firing its breath.

She knew elder dragons were supposed to be intelligent, but to think one of them would do such a cowardly attack like this…

She immediately utilized her staff and magic to skate away from where she stood. The dragon chased, firing more and more beams of darkness that she dodged nimbly. Meanwhile, she started chanting her Absolute Zero spell, waiting until the perfect moment to strike back. She could guess where the dragon was judging from the angle the beam came from. Its shadow could’ve been another hint to where its location might be, but the red moon didn’t shine brightly enough that night/day for it to be a viable option.

_There!_

She fired—a massive wave of frost and ice shot up to the skies. And it seemed to hit the dragon, as it let out a roar of pain before spiraling down to the ground.

And now, she finally witnessed the size of the beast in its full glory.

Even she couldn’t help but be impressed.

It was massive, easily twice the size of the black dragons she had slaughtered. Or even more.

But thanks to that, even her spell couldn’t hit every single part of its body. And so, that allowed the creature to flap one wing, stabilizing itself before it could hit the ground. It then fired its own breath on itself, melting the ice inside and outside, while not being harmed in the slightest. If she had to guess, it’s simply immune to any forms of dark magic, unlike its lesser cousins who were merely resistant.

“Well done, gnome. How long has it been since I was last wounded by a mortal?”

The dragon spoke—his voice rich and deep, signifying a fully mature older adult. It was the voice of someone fit to be a king. Even hearing it would be enough to draw awe from any bystanders, without actually seeing his majestic size.

“I expected better from an elder dragon,” Vera replied, still keeping her confident smile. “To think you have to resort to trickery. Well, I suppose it’s only natural—after I killed all your little children like that.”

Even against an elder dragon, she kept her sadistic and taunting personality.

“Hah! Those whelps! If you believe I would care about them like you mortals care for your younglings, think again. In this world, only the strong survives and thrives. If they’re weak, then it’s their fate to perish.”

“In that, I agree,” the gnome replied. “So, if you would, just lay down and let me kill you, o weak one.” She pointed her staff towards him.

“Ha! Very well. Let us partake in this game, shall we?”

They shared no other words before they resumed their clash.

***

“W-why… t-that’s… that’s unfair… you can’t just… hide… guaahhhh!”

The mage puked blood before falling down to the ground.

She had lost.

Vera Marjoram had lost.

...No, she had not lost. She had simply been cheated out of her victory, by a dirty trick that scum of a dragon had pulled on her.

“Y-you… you can use magic? S-since when… dragons can use magic? And a magic-devouring spell?”

She coughed again, spilling more blood onto the snowy ground.

She never knew elder dragons were capable of spellcasting. It wasn’t her fault really. There was barely any information about elder dragons in the first place. Seeing one was really quite rare, and if you see one, you usually won’t be alive to tell the tale.

But, if it’s just normal spells, she can handle them. But instead, that accursed dragon possessed a spell she only heard in myths and legends. Magic that devours other magic. An anti-magic spell.

With it, what should’ve been her killing blow was nullified in an instant. And now, she was laying down in the pool of her own blood, with one of her arms missing.

She was dying.

The dragon only replied with a roaring laugh.

“Silly little girl, you believe that I would show you all my cards from the very beginning? How naive. No wonder you mortals are so weak and frail. You can’t even use your intellect to compensate for your lack of strength.”

_I-it’s cold…_

_M-my body… it’s getting so cold…_

_My vision… it’s going dark… I can’t see anymore…_

_I-is this it? Is this how the Great Vera ends? In this wretched place with this wretched dragon? After all that she has been through to reach these heights?_

_If only… if only I have more strength! One of my blasts nearly ended him, but he recovered before I could deal the finishing blow!_

_Aaahhhh, I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!_

“Do not fret, little one. I shall grant you the honor to die by my hands. Well, by my jaws, that is. As food! Gwahahahahahaha!”

Finding his own joke incredibly funny, the elder dragon laughed once more, before slowly walking towards the barely conscious mage. 

THUMP THUMP

The sound of his thundering steps 

His steps made earthquakes in the ground, crushing the ice he stepped on into fine powder.

“That’s enough. Leave her alone.”

_H-huh?_

_A-an elf? Why is she—_

She lost her consciousness. 

And the last thing she saw was a silver-haired elven girl standing between her and the dragon.

\--------

“Oh? And who is this? A friend?”

The dragon was not intimidated in the slightest. Even though the newcomer had appeared out of nowhere, with him failing to notice her presence until she announced herself, he was still fully confident she was just another cockroach for him to step on.

At least, until a few moments later when he recognized just who it was he was really speaking to.

“You… “Ha! Gwahahahahahaha!” Another roaring laughter came from the dragon. “To think that we would meet again after all these years!”

He walked up to her closer with a grin on his face. Well, what passed for a grin for a dragon anyways. The elf however remained unfazed. Her stoic expression was as if she was simply facing an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while.

“The Great Ilymhyrra herself! To what do I owe this visit?”

“If you don’t mind, I would like to heal her first.”

“Oh? Are you back on the hero business?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she walked over to where Vera was. She reached her left hand and began her chant. 

_“O mán! O anand! In nall weld thee!”_

Her chant was in the elven tongue. Or, to be more precise, it was Ancient Elvish, only spoken by the oldest of the old high elves. For ordinary humans, you would only hear incomprehensible gibberish coming out from her mouth. You would need a high affinity in magic to even begin to comprehend it.

A magic circle slowly came into existence under the gnomish mage. And then, as it shone brightly, her wounds began to close. Even her missing arm regrow itself.

When she was done, it was as if she was never injured in the first place.

“How curious. The Butcher of Hellmyla is capable of such an advanced healing magic too. Quite uncharacteristic of you, don’t you think?”

“I came here to ask you a question.” She turned to face the dragon, ignoring his mocking entirely. “Did you destroy the village of Reimwall?”

“I’ve destroyed a lot of villages over the years, little one.” He sneered. “You can’t expect me to remember all of their names.”

“I see. So you have broken your promise with us when we spared you that day.”

“Then, I suppose I should finish what Arthur should’ve done back then.”

In a flash, she fired a massive beam of white towards the dragon.

“Ha! So fast! So powerful! That little gnome was like a rat compared to you!”

The dragon let out a roar before what looked to be like a black membrane appeared on its front. It blocked the beam completely. Even though the beam was massive, it was still really small compared to the dragon’s enormous size.

“I’ve learned a few tricks ever since you and your friends spared me, little one! Do you think I wouldn’t have the knowledge to counter your cheap parlor tricks? No magic in this world can hurt me, for I have a counterspell that could devour them all! Not even yours!”

He then flapped his gigantic wings, sending a dark cyclone towards her direction.

The elf raised her hand, creating a barrier around her and Vera. Unlike a barrier a priest would make, it was shaped like a beehive—hexagons linked to each other. As for the color, it was less white and more silver, just like the color of the blast of energy she just fired. 

The black wind surrounded them, trying to break down the barrier. It wasn’t any ordinary wind. It would induce decay to anything it touched. However, the barrier didn’t budge an inch. It remained as sturdy as ever.

She waved the same hand. A strong wind manifested, blowing the dark cyclone away.

“Good! I do not expect one of your caliber to fall so easily! I shall grant you the honor to die from my strongest attack. You might be able to withstand it with that barrier of yours for a few short moments, but you are not Milicis. You will break sooner or later.”

The dragon opened his mouth as wide as he could, revealing his unfittingly pearl-white teeth. 

“Terminus Breath!”

A blast of pure darkness fired from his throat, straight towards the two. It was an attack strong enough to destroy an entire city in a single blast. Only a being of the Grand Saint’s caliber would be able to repel such an attack.

“Is it in the nature of dragons to be such arrogant creatures, I wonder?”

_Huh?_

A beam of energy pierced through his jaw, going upwards until it reached his brean, eviscerating it in seconds.

_W-why? Why is she—_

Defying all reason, the elf was no longer where she just stood a few moments ago.

She was instead standing right under him, in the blindspot where his breath couldn’t reach. She held her staff upwards, firing the beam from its tip.

He couldn’t use his Devour Magic spell when he was firing his breath. And she had abused that fact for a surprise attack.

_How did she—_

With a loud, thundering sound, the elder dragon fell. Pitch-black blood poured out from his head.

“Sleep now, Eldrad. Join your mother in the abyss.”

“T-tell me, how did you… move... there?”

“I refuse to answer. Unlike you, I am not so naive to divulge my cards on the table.”

The dragon could only let out a weak chuckle as his consciousness vanished, sparing him from the pain he would get when the elf erased his body completely afterwards. Monsters could return as the undead if you just left their carcass out in the open. It would be bad if she ended up creating an undead elder dragon after all.

Once the dragon was taken care of, she turned her attention back to Vera. She was still unconscious, even though she had healed her.

It seemed she had to make camp here until she woke up.

\---------------

**Ilymhyrra**

_The black dragon fell as its head slid off from its neck. The man responsible sheathed his sword. His expression was neutral—quite the odd thing as he had just slain an elder dragon._

_“And there she goes! Wow, she’s quite the strong one, isn’t she?”_

_“Perhaps it would’ve been easier if you had followed with the plan.”_

_“Aaw, don’t be such a grump, Milly! All’s well that ends well, like they—Owww! Don’t hit me like that, Master!”_

_“What did I teach you about keeping your distance? You’d be dead right now if I didn’t save you then.”_

_“Kuwa! Kuwawa!”_

_“Hmm? Oh my, is that, a baby dragon?_

_"Master, no! Don't kill it! It's just a baby!"_

_"Are you an idiot? You know he'll become just as vicious as his mother once he grew up."_

_"I agree. There's no need for us to spare such a wretched creature. Black dragons are the most dangerous of all the dragon races."_

_"Milly! You can't just—Uurghhh, hey, Arty! We're sparing the baby, right?!"_

_That day, we ended up sparing him after all. With a big cheerful smile on her face, my apprentice named him Eldrad and made him her pet. She taught him all sorts of things, even human morality. She clearly didn’t want him to turn out like his mother, an evil monster who demanded human sacrifices just to satisfy her sense of cruelty._

_Of course, a human cannot make a pet out of a dragon, especially a black one. In just one month, right when he’s old enough to hunt on his own, he disappeared. He was merely using her to survive. That idiot of an apprentice even cried over him._

_When I heard of an elder dragon terrorizing the area, I decided to come just to check if it was him, out of pure curiosity_

_No, I suppose I wanted vengeance. He made my idiot apprentice cry. And I couldn’t forgive that._

\---------

"U-urghhh…"

"You've waken up. Here. Have a glass of water."

The gnome mage blinked rapidly—her expression was akin to a dumbfounded animal. She sat up and took the glass from the elf. She then stared at it for a few long seconds, before she gulped it all in one go.

“What were you thinking, trying to take an Elder Dragon all by yourself?” 

The gnome put the cup down. “I… This isn’t the afterlife, is it?”

“I am very much alive, thank you very much.”

“And you fought off that dragon?”

“I did.”

"And my arm? H-how is it still here?"

"I healed it."

"You… just who are you? Those long ears… you're a high elf, aren't you? And that staff.. you're a mage too!"

"I am."

At this point, her eyes shone brightly like the stars above.

“Please!" She clapped her hands together. "Tell me! How did you do it? You’re a mage too, right? How did you bypass his Magic Devour spell?”

The elf didn’t respond. She simply stared at her from where she sat. They were sitting across each other, with a small bonfire between them.

The two were camping out in the open, under the eternally night sky of Einzelschwarz. Beyond the overpowering light of the red moon, one could see thousands of stars adorning the pitch-black canvass. “Not going to answer, huh?” Vera grinned in defeat. “I understand. A mage can’t just divulge her magic secrets to everyone they met.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” Ilymhyrra responded. “Maybe I’ll consider answering your question once you answered mine.”

“Fine.” She smiled. “As my savior, I guess you deserve to know the life story of the not-so-great Vera Marjoram.”

_That day, she told me everything about herself—the depths of her ambition and to what end she would go to achieve it._

_She then begged me to make her my student. I refused. I was not interested in making an apprentice of a mage who was only using her magic for power and fame. She told me why she went after Eldrad. It's simply to make herself be a famous hero._

_What a fool. I warned her to change her ways, but there's no melting a rock that had hardened over decades of shame and anger._

_And now, she’s gone. Once again, she overestimated herself. But no one was there to save her. And her stay in the Magocracy only worsened her vice._

_...Tell me, Mira. Is such a country truly a place you dreamed of?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I get to write a little about Arthur’s party. I already have my image of them way back at the Childhood Arc.
> 
> Vera’s backstory is still not elaborated upon. It’s for later.


	137. Marina’s Side — Another Reunion

**Marina**

“And these are…”

“The seeds I mentioned before. Please plant them on your soil.”

The burly man sitting in front of me scratched his bearded chin. He didn't even try to hide his disbelief.

"Spring is coming and I wish for you and your guild members to plant these. They're similar in every way to the wheat and potatoes you always planted, only they would yield a higher result in this cold climate."

I stared at him right in the eyes as I said those words. I had no doubt in my seeds. None whatsoever. I had worked on them for months and I would see to it that they were utilized by the farmers in this region. This man in front of me, Mr. Falagor Redstone, was the head of the Farmers' Guild. As long as I could convince him of the efficacy of my seeds, the rest of the Farmers' should follow.

"And what if they don't grow?" His eyes narrowed. "How would we be compensated?"

His words were bold and brazen. The Guild had quite the influence in this region. Some even said it was more influential than Grandfather's own authority as an Earl. Such was the fate of an Earl with barely any assets to his books.

"Then we shall levy the taxes on farming goods this year and the next. We are also prepared to pay each of you the fair amount in compensation according to the market price of wheat and potatoes this year."

Of course, Grandfather didn't have the money for such compensation. However, he had authorized me to present this bluff. He had his faith in me and the seeds I had created.

By the way, I learned of this negotiation trick from Elise. She was surprisingly knowledgeable on how to deal with this kind of stuff. As you would expect from Reinhard’s assistant.

He took a deep sigh. “I don’t know, Milady. Us farmers around here… we don’t exactly trust all that fancy magic stuff…”

“If I might ask, is there a special reason for that distrust?”

“We just wanna grow our crops with our own hands. Not with somebody else’s power.”

“You would grow them with your own hands. If I wanted to, I could grow an entire farm worth of crops in an instant. Surely, you have heard of who I am, right?”

“Y-yes, Milady. You’re the Verdant Witch of Death.”

“Then would you doubt my abilities?”

“O-of course not, Milady.”

“Then good. See to it that it’s done. As Lord Archimond’s granddaughter, I shall see to it that this region prospered under his rule.”

With a polite smile, I bid him farewell. As decorum dictated, I stayed in place, letting him leave on his own with my maid opening the door for him. It was how you were supposed to show your superior position in the negotiation, which I had as the Earl’s granddaughter.

And when he was gone, at last, I could let out a deep, relieved sigh.

_Haah, playing a noble’s granddaughter really is tiring…_

“Tired, Miss?” Henrietta giggled as she walked towards me. “That was excellent! You really looked cool and lovely there! You deserve a full massage course from me tonight!”

I gave her a weak smile. “I felt bad, having to scare him like that."

The rumors about my actions had reached this region at last. And with my escapades with the bandits and a number of monsters I helped Reinhard exterminate, it wasn't hard for the masses to put two and two together. And to my pleasant surprise, it wasn't all that bad. Sure, some were afraid towards me because of it, but it also earned me respect. They recognized me as a great mage and thanks to my deeds here, they decided that the rumors were overblown and I wasn't some monstrous butcher who slaughtered people for fun.

"It's fine, isn't it?" The maid giggled once more. "You need to be respected. You're the Earl's granddaughter after all!"

I gave her a wry smile. With my current look, I really did look like I was Marina Archibald, the granddaughter of an Earl. Instead of my usual day-to-day adventuring dress, I was instead wearing a luxurious green dress, tailor-made to my specifications. I also wore a pair of emerald earrings, a diamond necklace, and a crimson red lipstick—something I wouldn't even consider doing if not for Henrietta's insistence. The dress was like one a noble lady would wear, with many layers of skirts and fabrics—petticoats and the like. It had an open shoulder design, generously showing off my cleavage (I objected to this design but Henrietta insisted). As for the footwear, they were uncomfortable high-heeled slippers made out of jade. I also had a pair of white lady gloves attached to my hands.

I knew very well how much funds Grandfather must have spent to order this outfit. Even if the jewellery were hands-down from Grandmother, the rest of the outfit was still custom-made by the city’s best tailor. He believed that I should have at least one dress that would fit for the granddaughter of an Earl, so he ordered Henrietta to not hold back and chose the best and most fitting dress for me.

 _I just hope he didn’t bankrupt himself to pay for all of this..._ I thought with a sigh.

“Take me to the baths.” I told Henrietta once I sat up. “This dress really is stuffy…”

“Aaw, don’t be like that! I want to see Miss with them for a little bit longer!” She grinned. “And you haven’t shown it off to Master Reinhard yet either! He would definitely be surprised by your new look!”

"Why would I show it to him?"

"Oh, don't be such a grump!"

I could only sigh in response. It wasn't just her. All the other maids and butlers seemed to want me to marry Reinhard. I didn't know why if I were to be honest. Perhaps they wanted him to stay being Grandfather's heir. Makes sense. He had done great running this place for years. I would never marry someone who already had two wives, no matter how good of a man he was.

Afterwards, I went to the baths as planned. But not before meeting with Reinhard on the way there. 

"O-oh, well, you look… different…"

The sight of me did indeed surprise him. He started to stutter and his cheeks gained a little color. We only chatted for a little bit though, with him asking about the meeting and me replying that it went swimmingly. He was on his way to report to Grandfather so he couldn't stay for long.

Once he disappeared over the corner, Henrietta broke into a giggle.

"You really charmed him there, Miss!"

Unfortunately, I had to agree. I wasn't a fool. I noticed him looking up and down, checking me up. For a married man with two wives to do something like that, it was quite shameful of him. I suppose he's one of those men who just has a higher libido than normal, judging by all the noises he made his wives make in the bedroom every night.

Once in the baths, as always, Henrietta helped me with my undressing. The zipper for the dress was located at the back, so it would be difficult for me to unzip it by myself. I suppose a lady's dress was just designed to be worn with the help of the lady's maid.

With the dress off, only my panties remained. Just like the dress, they were expensive, tailor-made garments. I didn't know why they would bother, since they would be hidden under the many layers of skirts I wore. You should only buy and wear expensive panties if you wanted to impress your lover in bed, like Mother did with Father (I happened to accompany her lingerie shopping in town once). And what I wore now definitely belonged to that category. They were a pair of low-rise green fishnet panties that exposed a lot of skin.

I looked at myself wearing them through the mirror in the changing room. _Hmm, they don't actually look that bad to be honest. They have that mature appeal I'm quite fond of. Still, I would definitely categorize them in the lewd and provocative category. Not something I would wear day-to-day outside where there's a chance for an upskirt. After all, that kind of sight should only be given to somebody you like._

_I wonder how he would react if he saw me wearing them…_

"Oh, what's this~? That's a happy smile if I ever see one. Are you thinking about something good, Miss? Maybe showing these sexy panties to a certain someone?"

"N-no, I was just—"

"Oh my, you're blushing, Miss! You **do** have someone you want to show them to!" The maid giggled. "Come now, tell me! Who is it? It's Master Reinhard, isn't it? If you want to, I can make it look like an accident~"

"I-it's not him, alright? It's my little brother."

"...Eh?"

"I-it's just me teasing her. He's a bit perverted but he's a gentleman through and through, so whenever he gets a peek of my panties, he will go all flustered and it's really adorable."

When I finished my sentence, I realized I probably shouldn't have done that, judging by Henrietta's shocked expression.

"...I-I see." She forced a smile. "W-well, i-I guess I can help with that if the opportunity comes."

"Indeed..." I sighed with a wry smile. "I can only hope that the merchant could arrive soon."

It had been months since Grandfather told me about the good news. And yet, still no hint of the merchant and their orb whatsoever. Perhaps they were still busy settling their businesses in the southern countries. Or perhaps they just decided not to make the transaction in the end.

_Oh Hugo, how much longer will we be separated? You're fine on your own out there, right? I forgive you, so please, forgive yourself as well._

With those grim thoughts, I stepped into the water.

***

Spring slowly but surely crept into the snowy region of Grandfort. One could start to wear two layers of clothing instead of three and some brave (or poor) men started to stop lighting their fireplaces at the day.

And with it, arrived the blessing Marina had wished deeply in her heart.

“Brr! It’s already spring yet it’s still this cold! I’m jealous of you two and your cold-adaptable bodies!”

A certain hobbit had entered the city of Lochestat. Immediately she drew attention from the locals as with her, she brought two lizardmen retainers, in charge of pulling the large cart she had on tow. She was dressed in a thick fur coat while said retainers were only dressed in light clothes, with the large male one even going shirtless. Like she said, thanks to the race of the two, they had no need for fur coats and the like to be comfortable in the cold. Their blood allowed them to be adaptable, with organs that could survive in a temperature range far bigger than humans’ could.

Of course, she was stopped by the guards at the front gate, with them asking for her business and eyeing her for being a “suspicious person”. However, with a letter shown, they immediately changed their attitude 180 degrees, apologizing over and over for their rudeness before giving them directions towards the Earl's estate.

Her name was Sophie Bramblewood—the head of the Bramblewood Trading Company who specialized in magical items. And currently, inside that cart, there was a wealth of items expensive enough that you could buy a large mansion with it if you were to sell them all. And the most expensive of them all was the Dream Orb, an ancient artifact capable of sending messages through dreams. She had come all the way here to sell it. Well, that, and one other reason, which would come later, if the opportunity arrived.

"Here we are!" She declared once they stood in front of the building. "Greetings, Sir Guards! We came here as a guest of Lord Archibald! Here's the letter if you don't believe it!" She cheerfully handed over the same piece of paper she had shown to the town guards.

The two estate guards exchanged confused looks with each other, but ultimately, they couldn't find any fault in the letter. And so, they told her to wait there while one of them brought the word to the Earl.

"Aah, it must be nice, having a big house like this…" The hobbit mumbled to herself as she looked around the place. The lizardgirl followed suit, while the lizardman stood by like a statue, eyeing his surroundings with less of an awed look and more of a suspicion-filled one.

It didn't take long until the guard returned, telling them that the Earl was ready to receive them.

With a big grin on her face, the hobbit declared, "Well, let's do business, shall we?"

***

**Marina**

"Miss! Miss!"

I was in the middle of my reading when Henrietta barged into my room, all sweating and panting.

"T-the merchant! She—she came! She's talking with Lord Archimond right at this very moment in the study!"

My book hit the carpet with a muffled thud.

Naturally, I made my way there at once.

When I arrived there, I saw Grandfather already being in the discussion with the merchant. Two lizardfolk were also there, standing away a fair distance, along with Grandfather's maid. If I had to guess, they were her servants.

"Ah, there you are." Grandfather stood up, brushing his stache. "Here. Meet Lady Bramblewood."

The merchant stood up, turned around, and—

"M-Marina?! Y-you're Marina, aren't you?!"

"And you… you're Sophie… that hobbit I met all those years ago."

We were both speechless. We stood there staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, until—

"Marina!"

She ran straight towards me before hugging me as tightly as she could.

"Ooh, I miss you so much! To think I would meet you here again of all places!"

Naturally, the rest of the room was looking at us with a bewildered look.

***

We then sat down on the sofa located in the room as we exchanged our stories with each other. Grandfather sat beside me while the two lizardfolk took their seats with her after she insisted.

She began her story from where we last met, back at Aarom all those years ago. After our “fateful meeting”, as she put it, she went to Tulpio and crossed the sea to head to the Holy Continent. There, for several years, she wandered in the region, building her wealth as a merchant bit by bit. “Those days weren’t easy, you know.” She bragged with a smile as she lit up her pipe. “I was scammed and swindled a few times more before I really got a hang of the business. But I never gave up. I always bounced back and looked for the next big opportunity. Eventually, I had enough capital to purchase these two on the slave market, along with the big wagon I parked outside.”

As she took a deep huff of said pipe, my eyes wandered to the two lizardmen beside her. _So she purchased them as slaves to be her assistants. I’m not sure how to feel about that. But they seem happy with their position, so I have no reason to complain._

“Oh, by the way, hope you don’t mind me smoking. Tell me if the scent is unpleasant to you, alright?” She smiled.

The smoke she produced actually had an oddly sweet scent to it. Hobbits did indeed have a custom of being a smoker of grasses and herbs, and if I had to guess, she was smoking Remgrass, one of the more popular types of plants to smoke. The sweet scent matched its description and this feeling of calmness it exuded was certainly one of its effects on the smoker and anyone who happened to inhale it in the vicinity.

“Afterwards, I decided to make my fortune back in this continent, so I returned back to the south and crossed the ocean once again. And then, at Tulpio, I was met by a pleasant surprise.” She grinned at me as she seemingly paused to raise the tension. “Guess who I met. Come on, guess!”

And then, it hit me.

“Correct! I met your little brother! I had no idea what he was doing there but it was definitely him! Although, if you asked me, something was certainly wrong with him. He seemed angry and frustrated with himself. Human puberty, perhaps?” She chuckled. "Out of nowhere, he lifted me up and slapped me, all while crying. You two just got into a fight, didn't you? It's odd though that I couldn't find you or him again in that port city after that."

“N-no, he’s—”

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Marina? What’s with that grim look?”

It was then my turn to tell her my story.

When I finished, her countenance had changed considerably. Her eyes were glossy, and she had brought out a handkerchief to blow her nose in and to wipe her tears.

"That's… that's terrible! I-if I had known, I wouldn't have been so harsh to him…"

"He's suffering, wasn't he? And I wasn't there to comfort him… If I hadn't been so stubborn, then we would still be together… me, him, Father and Mother…"

"W-wait, d-don't cry!"

She was right. Before I realized it, tears dripped down onto my knee.

"L-look! That's why you wanted the Dream Orb, right? I'll give it to you! It's the least I can do to repay your kindness all those years ago!"

I looked back up and forced a smile. "You're right. I'll tell him that I forgive him. That silly boy really should stop being so hard on himself."

_You're doing fine, aren't you, Hugo? You're strong after all. You'll pick yourself back up in no time. I only need to tell you where I am right now and you'll come running straight here._

_Or, have you decided to start your adventure on your own instead? You always said you wanted to do that. If so, then I won't hold you against it. Go out there and see the world. Your big sister is fine on her own._

_...No, that's a lie, isn't it? I'm not fine. This feeling of loneliness… its cure is only him and him alone._

_But, as a big sister, I shouldn't be selfish. What I want is irrelevant. I should support him in all his endeavors, no matter if he leaves me behind in the process._

_Yes, that would be my message to him. I will not be a needy and shameless big sister who begs for him to come home. My duty is to relieve him of the self-guilt he must be plagued with._

_I just wish… in your travels… you'll always remember me—your family._

***

**A/N:**

**Here, we see Marina being both a cool future Duchess and a brocon who just wants her little brother to be with her. It's interesting to see the duality.**

**And I like the idea of a lady wearing skimpy undergarments underneath a big, layered fluffy dress. Technically, you can even go nopan underneath that kind of outfit.**

**Also, I kinda want to write something like Re;Zero. Not with the time loops probably, since I’m bad at writing that kind of stuff, but just by the amount of suffering the MC has to endure. And it would be a clean, non-harem story without a perverted MC.**


	138. A Message From Dear Sister

**Hugo**

I accompanied Anton and Anne back to town. Or rather, I tailed them from behind as Anne still refused to talk to me. She would just hurry her steps if I tried catching up to her.

_Might as well let Anton take care of her. I’m going to leave them soon after all._

I dried my drenched clothes with my warm wind spell. I would do the same to those two, but I didn't want to intrude. Adventurers were supposed to be used to wearing dirty and wet clothes after all.

Back at the town gates, from the distance, we could see Amelie standing back and forth—no doubt waiting for us with the utmost worry. The moment she noticed the two, she threw herself onto the archer the moment, crying tears of happiness while hugging her as tightly as she could. Anne gave her a smile and a headpat in return. Looking at this scene, it really was as if Amelie was Anne’s little sister.

Anton was smiling as well as he stood beside me, watching the scene unfold.

“Don’t worry.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll be fine on our own. In fact, you should worry about yourself more, with the kind of guys that are after you.” He smiled bitterly.

“Yeah, you’re right. I should be more careful indeed.”

_I still need to get stronger. If that high elf mage ends up siding with the Magocracy, there will be nothing I can do against her in my current state._

_Perhaps I can never reach her strength, since she’s apparently the teacher of the legendary archmage and all, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try._

_For starters, that anti-magic spell she used… I wonder if I can copy that… If I could, then maybe I can use it to counter her spell, thus preventing her from sealing my magic like that._

_I still remember it… that odd sensation at my hand… it’s as if her mana is invading my own, scrambling it all over so it can’t form the formation needed to produce a spell. Can I really just send my pure, raw mana on a distance like that? I don’t think I could. The best I can do is extending it for around a meter, when I created my Boom Cannon spell. I shaped the mana around that radius. Other ranged spells make you send an already shaped mana through the air to trigger the spell. It doesn’t have the capability to scramble the opponent’s mana. It has to be chaotic in nature, triggering a disturbance that could—_

“Hugo! Hugo! Hey, are you listening to me?”

That loud yell brought my mind back to reality. It belonged to Anne, who was now standing right in front of me with her hands placed on her waist. Amelie was also there with folded arms, giving me her cute frown.

"Hugo! How could you do that to Amelie? Stripping her in public like that? You really are a pervert, aren't you?"

_Oh, that. Yeah, I should apologize for that_

"Sorry about that." I flashed the most charming smile I could muster towards my victim. "It's the only way to make you not follow me. And as promised, I brought them two back safe and sound, right?"

Amelie held her frown in that pose for a few moments more, before replying, "Fine. I forgive you. But in exchange, I want you to stay with us a bit longer."

"Huh?"

"Anton, I demand us to go with him until he leaves the continent. We have agreed on the matter so it's two against one."

The young man shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous. And we're heading west, not east. We can find a lot more work there."

"With all the conflicts going on in that part of the continent? Sure. But the risks are high as well. It would be safer for us to head east instead."

Anne had joined the argument and it was clear from her expression that she wasn't intending to back off the matter.

Anton sighed. He gave a look towards me, urging me to rebuke them.

"The Magocracy—"

"They're not coming back anytime soon, right? You beat them after all."

"I've told you they managed to escape. They could be planning for another attack right this moment."

Of course, I knew that probably wasn't going to happen. Ilymhyrra had promised to keep an eye on that Elun woman, and she didn't strike me as the type of person who would lie. In fact, she's the opposite—blunt and brutally honest in her speech.

Anton sighed. "Fine. We can go with him. But only until Misfon, alright? From there, we’ll follow the road west while he left to the northeast.”

In the end, the great big brother relented. And judging by the looks on Anne and Amelie’s expression, they were probably thinking of some scheme to make him change his mind once we got there.

“Great!” Amelie clasped her hands. “Then Hugo! That’s your real name, right Charles? Anne just told me. You’re going to teach both me and Anne how to be better fighters!”

“And we won’t take a no for an answer,” Anne followed with a smirk as she folded her arms. “If you really feel bad about getting us into your trouble, then why not repay the favor that way?”

“Huh? I don’t know how to do archery though…”

“I know that. But you still can help me in teaching about your movements. You might not realize it, but you’re moving far faster than what the usual mage is capable of doing. You’re even faster than me, and I’m pretty proud of my speed. So teach me how to do it. That’s all I ask from you.”

“As for me,” Amelie put her hands on her waist with a grin. “Teach me how to do all those fancy spells, alright?”

I could only respond with a deep sigh.

_Guess I’ll still be stuck with them for a while longer._

We decided to depart from the town the next morning, so once again, I had to spend my night sleeping in that treehouse inn. Really, at this point, I started to wonder if Miss Innkeeper was tired of seeing my face every day. Sorry, Miss Innkeeper. I’ll leave the next day and then you’ll never have to see me again.

We had dinner together at the nearby tavern, courtesy of Anton's invitation, and then, once that's done, I returned to my room and threw myself on the bed.

*******

_Huh, this fog..._

_This is the same as that time! When I got that message from Sherry!_

_Am I going to get another one from her?_

"Hugo, can you hear me?"

_That voice… that's not Sherry's voice!_

"Hugo. It's me. Your big sister. Can you hear my voice?"

There was no doubt about it. It's Marina's voice!

_I'm sending you this message with a Dream Orb and I can only do it once, so listen well._

…

_YOU IDIOT! WHAT WERE YOUR THINKING? RUNNING AWAY LIKE THAT? ARE YOU MAD? DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS WHEN I WOKE UP AND YOU WEREN'T THERE?_

I could only stand in silence as I hung my head low. She was right. I was an idiot. No, not was. I still **am** an idiot.

_Heh, I expected this, really. Of course she would scold me like this. It's well within her right._

_LISTEN HERE! IF I HAVE MORE TIME WITH THIS THING I WOULD'VE MADE YOU SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO ME UNTIL YOUR EARS FALL OFF! SO LISTEN WELL!_

…

…

…

I waited, expecting another outburst from her.

But it never came.

"Please… come back…"

"Erika and I… we both miss you dearly…"

"Don't blame yourself for Father and Mother… if there's anyone to blame, it would be me. I should have been less stubborn and accept his offer. Then that tragedy would have never happened…"

My heart sank.

"No! It's all my fault! I wasn't strong enough!"

I yelled those words, knowing full well that she would never be able to hear me. I had to, or else I would die from my guilt.

"If I had to guess, you're heading to Sherry's place, aren't you? That's fine… you go there and fetch her. And then, you two come here, alright? I'm now living in our Grandfather's place, at The Kingdom of Ferus in the Grandford Region. Go to the region's capital there and ask for the Earl's manor."

"There's no need to rush. I understand if you want to have some adventures first out there. Don't worry. We might miss you but we're doing fine here. Grandfather has been very kind to us."

"But promise me this. You'll come here before you have any ideas on marrying her, alright?" I could hear her all-too-familiar giggle. "I want to be present in your wedding. That's a must. Or else I would never forgive you for real."

"And of course, I won't get married until you come home either. Not that I have anyone in mind anyways…"

"A-anyway, that would be all. Don't forget to eat your greens! Oh, and always get a good night's sleep. That's really important for a growing man like you."

"Love you always, your dear big sister."

The moment she finished her message, I woke up from my slumber.

It was already morning, judging by the sunlight pouring through my window.

I let out a yawn, stretching my arms upwards.

_Huh? I feel like I'm forgetting something very important…_

_...Oh right, that dream! That was from Marina, wasn't it?!_

I flew off my bed, grabbing the nearest paper and quill I could find. My hand moved with lightning speed, writing down the address she had described to me.

And then, I returned to bed. I laid down and thought deep about the message she had sent.

_Sis, I'm sorry… I really shouldn't have left you then…_

_But I'm glad… that you're still fine and healthy… and Erika as well…_

_Grandfather's place, huh? I know he's a noble from Mother, but an Earl is pretty up there, isn't it?_

_Well, they should be in good hands. He can give them protection from the Magocracy._

I let out a sigh. My old guilt was now blossoming again, heavying my heart with its weight.

_She's lonely. She admits it herself. And I can hear it clearly in her voice._

_And yet, she still tells me to continue on with my adventure if I wanted to._

_It’s just like her. Really, I don’t deserve a big sister like her._

I let out a weak chuckle. _Aah, what am I doing, really? Would Sherry really accept me like this? After what I did?_

I took a deep sigh before my lips formed a bitter smile.

_No, I won't run away. I'm done doing that. I'll face her judgment head on._

_And then, I'll be able to face Marina with my head held high._

And so, with a newfound spirit in my heart, I promptly went to my desk.

I had finally found the words I wanted to send to Sherry.

***

Our trip back to the capital took around five weeks, give or take. As promised, I taught them all that I could in that short period of time. For Anne, I focused on teaching her Graceful Step, so she would have even greater mobility like she had requested. For Amelie, I drilled to her the idea of chantless magic, as well as teaching her more Advanced-level spells, particularly hybrid ones. As for Anton, even he decided he could use some pointers from me. For him, I focused on Fortissimo, since he was the tank of the group and all. Fiora already said that the technique could be used by shield-wielding fighters after all.

The result? Far better than I expected.

Near the end of our trip, Anne was starting to get the gist of the technique. Her agility had increased considerably as a result. Anton's defense had become much tougher, as he now could properly use his aura in a defensive matter, instead of simply doing it out of instinct. 

As for Amelie, well…

"Magma Burst!"

The earthen mound in front of her immediately burst into flames as lava spurted out from the depths of the earth.

"I-I did it! I did it, Hugo!"

"Great job! I knew you can do—w-whoa!"

She threw herself onto me, hugging me as tightly as she could.

_Aah, this softness… I'll miss it for sure._

She then released me—a large grin plastered on her face.

"My first hybrid spell! I can't cast it without a chant like you do yet, but just you wait! I'll master it in no time!" She patted her chest.

_She sure is optimistic. Well, better that way than being a negative nancy like my old self._

"Alright! It's your turn now, Hugo! I'll help you train that odd magic of yours!"

I nodded. Once again, she started the same Magma Burst chant as before. However, my goal now was to stop her from successfully completing the spell. But not by any raw force. Instead, I would use the same spell Ilmyhrra had used to stop me from casting my spells.

Indeed, I had decided to imitate what probably was one of her super secret special hidden high elf spells. None of the magic books I had read ever mentioned such a spell, and neither did Marina. I didn’t expect to succeed at it, knowing that it’s something probably leagues beyond my current magical ability, or even understanding, Hell, for all I knew, it might be a spell that could only be done by a high elf. I wouldn’t count out that possibility.

Still, I had to try. I had to get stronger. Especially if I might end up facing off against her in the future. If she ended up siding with the Magocracy, and then I ended up having to fight her for real, then my current me would stand no chance whatsoever. As long as I couldn’t do something about her magic sealing spell, I might as well just be an ordinary nobody in front of her. And with her inhuman ability in striking with her staff, my swordsmanship wouldn’t suffice either. If I could at least prevent her from taking away my spells, I could bombard her from a distance with my spells.

_Wait, she had that other magic dispelling spell too, didn’t she? Yeah, I need to do something about that as well. Maybe a Boom Rifle would work? It’s really fast after all. It might be fast enough to hit her before she could dispel it mid-air like she did with Boom Cannon._

_Thinking about it, that was also something completely improbable. That thing flies at Mach speed, you know._

_...Gah! She really is the mentor of the Great Archmage herself, isn’t she?!_

Perhaps I really had no chance against her, even if I devoted myself to magic and swordsmanship for the rest of my days. 

Even so, I had to fight. I’m fine with me dying. But if I had to see Sherry or Marina die as well…

And besides, somehow, I had this certain sense of excitement, trying to decipher this “magic puzzle” she had inadvertently left behind. My only clue was the mana scrambling sensation I received when she casted it on me.

My goal was simple. I had to, at the very least, disturb the process of gathering mana all spellcasters had to do before casting their spell. Not to destroy the spell entirely, just to make it more difficult for them.

And since I certainly couldn’t try it on myself, not having the capability of Dual Casting (that’s another thing I needed to work on), I decided to use Amelie as my guinea pig.

And so far, she had been really cooperative in that role.

“O Beast of Flame that resided in the earth! Hear my call!”

Here we go. She had her wand pointed at the same mount of rocks from before. Her mana should be forming right at that very tip.

I pointed my wand to said spot and began concentrating as hard as I could. We were about ten meters away from each other. That elf casted the spell from a further distance, but hey, baby steps.

_Send your raw mana over there, Hugo. Try to counteract the shape she's conjuring._

I knew perfectly well how her mana would be shaped. I was well familiar with the spell after all. The question was, how would I disturb such a pattern?

"Manifest your power upon this world and let the world be scorched by your flames!”

The shape moved and transformed as she continued her chant. I could do this entire process much faster, but she obviously still needed to do it in the normal, slow way.

My current method was to force my mana on top of hers. It was really just a wild guess, really. I imagined mana acting similar to how waves acted in physics. Or, to be more exact, how radio waves worked. So if I could just create the same shape and “wavelength”, which would be the resonance of the shape (higher-level spells required you to resonate your mana, which somewhat meant something like “making it move back and forth in a harmonious frequency”), I could create a similar effect to how radio jammers worked.

“Turn those that defy me into ash! Magma Burst!”

The spell finished, and the result?

A total failure.

In my part anyways. She casted the spell successfully for the second time.

As I feared, the further the range, the strength of my raw mana became exponentially weaker. Ten meters were already impossible. Yet that elf could do it while she’s ten times further away than that. Or maybe even more. I didn’t exactly remember our distance back then.

That’s why just firing raw mana as an offensive spell was not feasible. If not shaped into the usual elemental forms, it would lose its strength terribly quickly once it left the caster’s wand.

“Yay, I did it again! The first time wasn’t a fluke after all!” Amelie cheerfully clapped her hands together. Rightfully so, if I might add.

“Do you feel anything odd there? Like your mana being less stable than usual?”

“Hmm…” She tilted her head. “I guess I did feel something.”

“Really? What did you feel?”

“Like something trying to scatter the spell away, you know. Hey, that was you, wasn’t it? You said it was like an anti-magic spell? I’m not sure how that would work though…”

_Well, at the very least, she does feel something._

_I just had to find a way to either make the effect much stronger, or to somehow disturb the mana shape by using something much weaker. Either way, it won’t be an easy task._

_Should I even be spending my training time on this instead of working on other, easier spells?_

With that question ringing in my mind, I ended my mentoring session with Amelie, before resuming our journey back towards the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news! I might just have an idea for a male character that can be Hugo’s friend/retainer in the future!
> 
> That, and a possible new harem member as well!
> 
> And we won’t see them with Hugo first! Sherry will be the one to meet them! Yes! Might have a lot of chapters starring her for the next arc!
> 
> Speaking of Sherry, yeah, I think I’m omitting Hugo’s message for her. You’ll get to see from her perspective instead.
> 
> As for the anti-magic spell thing, it’s a shame I can’t find a detailed description on how to do it from Mushoku Tensei. Rudy tried it for a bit, and then two volumes later, he already mastered it.


	139. Nobody Expects The Inquisition

Sherbury Plains. In all aspects, it was just an ordinary, wide-open grassy plains, located to the northeast of Misfon. It was largely uninhabited, owing to the fact that the ground wasn’t fertile in the slightest. It was hard and cold, and the only thing that could grow on it was the cold-resistant grass that was native to the region.

And yet, today, it had gotten quite the spotlight, thanks to the peculiar “visitors” that had graced the place. What kind of visitors you might ask? Why, nothing else than a thousand men marching under the banner of the Church’s Inquisitors—a special organization whose job was to root out anything and anyone the Church deemed heretical. 

Why are they here? Simple. The Feudal Lords of the human-controlled part of the Demon Continent had asked for more army, due to the increasing tension between them and the Demon Lord of Wisdom. The Church obliged. The Inquisitors were naturally well-trained in combat, and they were certainly filled with the kind of zealots who would love to die in combat against the demons so they could enter Valhalla.

They had marched all the way from the Holy Land to the West, going through the winter. They had crossed multiple countries in the process, even those not affiliated to the Church like the small kingdoms of the Feuding States. No one dared to say no to them, or else they would risk angering the Inquisitors, who wouldn’t hesitate to raze a city to the ground and kill all the inhabitants if they deemed them as heretics, which, wouldn’t be that hard if one were to be honest, since many believed a heretic was just anyone who wouldn’t bend over to the Church’s authority. It's far easier to just let them through, even profiting from supplying them with food and water—two things they usually paid in their fair price. They might be zealots, but they were well-funded zealots.

And now, they were in the middle of resting their laurels in the middle of said plains, creating a large encampment there with numerous tents laid in a circle, with the large tents of their officers in the middle. There was also one tent exclusive for strategy meetings and reports, where you would find the two top dogs of the army, which would be the Head Inquisitor and the Vice Head Inquisitor. They looked as if they were in their thirties, with the woman being younger than the man. Oh, and they were a married couple, a bond formed out of years of working together as a pair of Inquisitors beforehand. The man was the one who confessed. Bluntly, if I might add, by saying that he would like her to be the mother of his children as she was a good woman with a good pedigree and morals. Nothing about how attractive she was or how much he was in love of her.

And yet, she accepted, proving that the two were really peas in a pod.

It was a fact not many knew since they always acted professionally around each other, never showing any signs of affection. They even slept in separate tents and rooms during this trek to the Demon Continent. Were they having some sort of a personal, or even bedroom issue? To those who knew them, they would know those reasons to be unlikely. They were simply followers of the dogma of marriage stoicism, believing that the Saint wouldn’t want passion to rule marriages. One should marry only to raise kids that would become devotee of the Church’s teachings, nothing more and nothing less.

It was early in the morning, and yet, the two were already there, barking orders to their subordinates. They were sitting on a pair of wooden chairs with one shared long wooden table between them. Piles of what looked like reports were scattered on said table, along with a couple of unrolled map scrolls as well.

As for how they looked, the woman certainly stood out more than the man, with her long blue open-shouldered dress and long golden hair. She was the perfect example of the cool beauty-type, as she rarely, if ever, smiled. Her gaze always pierced through your soul, searching for any taint that might corrupt it.

As for the man, he was also good-looking, with a tall figure, a sharp nose, and curly black hair. He was dressed more simply however, with only a long black robe not that dissimilar to those worn by priest apprentices. And, just like his wife, he too had a similar piercing gaze, though for some of the less well-mannered female inquisitor knights, it only added to his handsomeness.

The two were intending to leave early, as tardiness was a sin in the eyes of the Saint, so they were busy making sure that their men were performing their departure preparations well.

“Y-Your Holiness!”

A man dressed in a full steel armor ran towards the two—the clanging heard from miles away. He immediately gave them a bow before continuing his speech.

“T-that matter you told us to check! You were correct!”

The two’s expression promptly turned into a frown. They exchanged looks at each other, before the woman spoke.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Very sure, Your Holiness! There is indeed a reasonable chance that there is a necromancer working their unholy magic in this kingdom!”

About some time ago, they had gotten an anonymous letter basically telling them that the court mage of the Fiania Kingdom was a necromancer. And not just tell. It gave them some reasonable proof, enough so that they decided to send a group of Watchers, that is, the Inquisitors’ scouts and spies, to investigate the matter further.

And now, their leader had given them the report that there was indeed a high chance that a necromancer was present. Which meant, they would have to do something about it. Necromancy was one of the vilest dark magics, and anyone who found practicing it would be burned at the stake as their punishment.

The woman stood up from her chair. “I’ll go,” the woman spoke as she looked at the man, placing her hands on the front of her dress. “I will take some of our soldiers. You can go ahead. We’ll catch up before you cross to the Demon Continent. And no, like we’ve discussed, there’s no need for us to send our entire force there. I would rather not give the heretic any chance of escape.”

The man sighed. “Very well. You have my authorization to do whatever you deem necessary to bring this necromancer to justice. Go, and may the Saint be with you.”

The man was not worried in the slightest.

After all, he knew perfectly how strong his dear wife was.

***

Being a relatively small country, and away from the cultural center from the continent, there weren’t many sites in the Fiania Capital that you could call tourist-worthy, other than the towering castle that resided in the middle of the town. They said that originally, the entire town was inside said castle, thus making it a castletown—something much more common in the tiny nations of the Feuding States Region. However, as the town grew, the space inside no longer sufficed, thus the growth of the town outwards of said castle. Eventually, the ruling king at that time decided that he wanted the castle exclusively to himself, thus ending the castle town concept completely.

Like any other castles where a monarch resided, it was guarded heavily by knights and soldiers. They even had ballistas aimed at the ready on the walls. Certainly excessive to some, but the king believed it was necessary as a show of force to his citizens, so no one would ever have any ideas to rise up against him.

Oh yes, the king. He was… quite the individual. To the people of the capital, his infamy was well-known. For what you might ask? Why, for being a big, fat, womanizer.

No, that would imply that he had any charms with the ladies. That would simply be untrue, even if he believed otherwise.

No, he's a woman hunter. That's what he was. Any woman that caught his eye, he would tell his knights to bring to the castle, whether she wanted to or not. He would have his way with her, until the day he got bored, in which she would finally be free to leave him.

And no, this didn't only include the commonfolk. Even noblewomen would fall to his schemes. Any nobles who tried to resist would be put down swiftly. And many even welcomed it, as the king would be willing to compensate their families handsomely if they would just lend their nubile, young girls to him.

The king wasn’t always like this, however. Once, he was a relatively well-adjusted king, with only one wife by his side. However, once she birthed his daughter, the lame princess, he changed. He ordered her to be executed and he became the perverted woman hunter that he was right now.

Thankfully though, that’s all in the past, as lately, he hadn’t been going out woman-hunting anymore. This change of demeanour was surprising, but a welcome one to be sure. His prime minister was certainly much happier that his king was finally becoming a decent person, and that he would have to be less on edge against possible assassins sent by disgruntled nobles whose daughters he violated. No one bothered to suspect further that a certain court mage might be involved with this sudden change of heart.

No, to be more exact, some of the smarter retainers of the king already knew that she must be responsible in one way or more. However, they liked the new king better, as he was always obedient to whatever they had to say to him. And the court mage wasn’t going around ruling the kingdom. She was content staying in the shadows, while occasionally making her frequent and lengthy trips outside the castle.

In short, everyone involved would rather have this arrangement last forever.

Unfortunately, it was simply not to be.

***

“Halt! Identify yourself!”

At the front gates, just before the drawbridge that led to the castle grounds, a group of horse riders had made an uninvited visit. They were all wearing brown cloaks that hid their features, which only added to the guards’ suspicions. They immediately surrounded them, pointing their spears and swords towards their general directions. There were about twenty of them, while the riders’ numbers could be counted on one hand.

“What business do you have, o cloaked ones?” The guard captain chuckled. “The king isn’t expecting any visitors today and I can’t imagine him wanting anything to do with people who can’t even be bothered to show their faces like that.”

“Move aside.” The one on the front spoke with a cold, commanding tone. “This is an official Church visit. Obstructing us would be akin to obstructing the Saint herself.”

“Oh? A woman? That’s a surprise. Why hide under that stuffy cloak then? Too ugly to show yourself?” He chuckled again. “And no, we don’t want any of your proselytizing kind around here.”

The woman sighed. “You are truly a fool, aren’t you?”

She reached inside her cloak, taking out what looked like a necklace with a dragon-shaped ruby decorating it in the middle. She dangled the object in the front of the guard, swinging it back and forth like a pendulum.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to be? Lady, if you think you’re bribing me with that, it ain’t gonna work.”

The woman sighed once again, this time louder than before. “So I am truly really dealing with a Rank 1 class idiot.”

“No matter. We’ll gain entrance whether you like it or not.”

Before the guards could react, a barrier enveloped her and the rest of the group. 

“H-hey, what do you think you’re—”

She moved her index finger upwards, and a platform appeared underneath them all. Said platform then flew upwards, heading straight towards the castle proper itself.

Naturally, this triggered a mass state of panic for the rest of the guards.

“S-sound the alarm! We’re under attack!”

“Fire! Fire all the ballistas! Hit those goddamn people down!”

Unfortunately for them, not a single one of their attacks managed to pierce the barrier the woman had erected. The arrows, bolts, and even the magic fired by the mage guards—all of them were repelled perfectly by her holy magic.

They soon landed on the front door, where the melee-oriented fighters waited on the ready. They ended doing the same damage as their ranged counterparts, which was to say, none at all. The cloaked figures then descended from their horses, before walking casually towards the entrance of the castle building, as if mocking their incapability to present any danger towards them.

“Attack! Attack! Don’t let them get to His Majesty!”

One of the cloaked figures opened the door, making way for the woman. They continued like that as they made a beeline for the throne room in the second room. The woman gave another gesture with her right hand, and one of her subordinates immediately fired a light so blinding that it incapacitated all the soldiers that were chasing after them.

“A-aarghh, m-my eyes! My eyes!”

Blinding Light. It was a relatively simple spell, but it could occasionally blind people permanently.

When they arrived at the throne however...

“Empty. The king isn’t here.”

Instead, what stood there was a tall man wearing green steel armor, with only his head exposed. Behind him was fifty or so soldiers, all aiming their spears and bows towards them.

Behind them, more soldiers poured in, thus surrounding them completely.

He was a man around 60 years old, with white hair and beard. And yet, other than the wrinkles on his face, none of his age’s common weaknesses showed on him. He casually carried with him a large double-sided battle axe with his right hand.

“You’re quite bold, assaulting the castle in broad daylight like this. I have to applaud you for that.” He grinned. “Alas, the king isn’t here. Instead, you got to meet his general. Lord Ephraim Basilisk, at your service.”

“Move aside,” the woman spoke. “I can feel it—a subtle dark magic infesting the air in this castle.”

“Huh? Dark magic? Sorry, lady. We don’t have anything like that around here.”

“Of course you don’t know. Only an inquisitor can detect a magic this subtle.”

“Hoo? An inquisitor? You mean, from the Church?”

“Correct. And, by the authority the Saint and the Divine Dragon bestowed upon me, I order you to stand back.”

“Then why the cloaks? You guys look like a bunch of dark mages with those on.”

For the first time, the woman paused, She gave a gesture with her left hand to her subordinates, before, in perfect sync, they all took off their cloaks at the same time.

There were six of them, including the woman. The biggest of them all was a grave-looking middle-aged man with dark hair, wearing a white steel plate and a cape adorned by symbols of the Church. Then, there was a girl, younger than the woman. She wore a pure white nun’s outfit, only the skirt was a short one. She had silver hair and she currently had a grin on her face that could be described as sinister and off-putting.

Behind her was another girl, wearing a simple light brown dress with a long slit to the side. Unlike her, she was a redhead. Her expression was one of absentmindedness.

After that was another man, blond, younger and more lightly-dressed. If he wasn’t wearing the official light armor of Church knights, he might be mistaken for a noble, what with that cocky of expression of his. His weapon of choice was a sword.

Last of the least, there was another man, similar in age compared to the blond. Instead of an armor, he opted for the usual black robes of a priest. He had dark blue hair, and his expression was that of caution, with his eyes not only paying attention to the general, but also to the rest of the room.

“My name is Aether Whitebloom, the Vice Head of the Inquisition. The tall man behind me is Eldan Firmshield, the silver-haired one is Tina Valentine, the redhead is Engel Blackroot, the blond man is Feter Grefeu, and the blue-haired one is Asan Silvermane. They are all officers of the Inquisition. Would that be enough?"

She rushed through their introduction, not even trying to hide her displeasure from being forced to do such a worthless task.

"Alright, alright, that would be enough." The general chuckled. "So, what heresy and dark magic do you accuse our king of doing?"

"Necromancy," she answered without hesitation. "But he should be the victim. The culprit instead would be your court mage."

At this information, the cheery look on the general's face promptly turned into a frown.

"Her? Necromancy?" He scratched his beard. "Damnation!" His eyes lit up. "So that's why His Majesty has been acting like that!"

"Unfortunately, she's not here at the moment. She's away doing Saint-knows-what somewhere, as usual. As for His Majesty, I can take you to him."

"Very well. Then I shall take you on your offer. However, I would ask of you to lend your men. I just so happened to know where that dark mage might be hiding, and I would like to launch a full-blown assault to her location at once."

Satisfied by their answers, the general ordered his soldiers to stay put. He then led them to the safe room at the basement, where the king had been escorted to.

"General Basilisk!” The soldier who stood in front of the room saluted him. “Why are you here? Has the attack been repelled already? And who are those people behind you?”

He was one of the King’s Royal Guards, an elite group of soldiers selected from the best of the best to defend the king’s life as if it was their own.

“There was no attack. It was just a misunderstanding. These people are from the Church, and I’m afraid our king has been afflicted by a terrible dark curse that has been controlling him. They’re here to heal him.”

“A-a curse?” A look of fright was visible on the soldier’s face. “W-what do you mean?”

“Move out of the way. We don’t have much time.”

The soldier could only do as he was told. Royal Guard he might be, the general was still in charge, second only to the king in military matters.

There, inside, along with a number of other Royal Guards, was the king. He was sitting in the corner of the room with a book on his hand.

When the Inquisitor woman saw him, she walked over to him immediately. She tossed the book aside before grabbing his hand with her own. And then, a few seconds later…

"He's dead. The man you see in front of you is just a living corpse puppet."

"W-what? What do you—”

Before the Royal Guards could protest, her hand moved to his face, grasping it as hard as she could.

“Aaa..aaaaarghhhhh!” The king suddenly gave a searing yell of pain. The Royal Guards all unsheathed their weapons, but the general yelled, “Wait! Let her finish!”

Before long, steam started to come out from his skin, as if he was being boiled alive on the inside. And then, slowly but surely, the state of his body deteriorated, turning exactly how she had described it—a decrepit, decomposing corpse.

He fell to the ground afterwards, before evaporating into flames and dust.

“You’ve been fooled. Your court mage, Cordelia Flameu, had killed him a long time ago, before reanimating him with her dark arts.”

She turned to face the general and said, “Fetch your troops. We’re moving out right now.”


	140. In Which Hugo Accidentally Refuses A Threesome

**Hugo**

As we made our way to the capital, we saw how the scenery slowly changed, leaving behind the cold winter and welcoming Spring’s warmth.

_Just like my heart._

After receiving Marina's message, and then sending my own to Sherry, my heart was as light as a feather. I felt this overwhelming sense of relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted off it. I now knew that Marina had my back. And I also could relax, now that I had told Sherry about my situation. Not in detail, of course, but enough that I should be able to wait for her near the port town to the Demon Continent. I was still planning to try out the World Dungeon there, after all. It would be wonderful if I could get another Dream Orb to send a message to Marina. She deserved that much. I wouldn't know how she got her hands on hers, but it couldn't have been easy.

Well, that's still a long time coming. I should focus on the present for now.

We arrived at a village not that far off from the capital. Just a few days more of travel and we would finally reach our destination.

We visited the local Adventurer's Guild as per usual. We were still taking jobs even as we traveled southwards, just like how an adventurer should be. Technically, I didn't need to since I still had a lot of money left, but hey, what's the harm in getting more? I had no need to rush, not after telling Sherry where she should wait for me if she ended up arriving on this continent sooner than expected.

"Hey, you guys!"

Suddenly, we heard someone calling for us. It was a bald, middle-aged man with an ax holstered on his back.

"You're the Flaming Arrows, aren't ya?" He crossed his arms with a grin on his face. "Heard about you guys, you know. Said that you're friends with that Divine Tempest guy. Where's he, by the way?"

I exchanged looks with Anton before shaking my head.

"Wait, you're him, aren't you? Young, blonde-haired, expensive robes…" He scratched his smooth chin. "Yeah! You're that Charles Pendleton kid!"

_Dammit. He recognizes me after all._

"Yeah, that's me alright." I walked forward, putting on a smile. "Is something the matter?"

"Just giving you a heads up of a job you might be interested in. Have you heard about the necromancer?"

My heart sank.

"T-the necromancer?"

"Yes! Can you believe it? The court mage herself was actually a necromancer all this time! And not only that! She had murdered the king and turned him into her corpse puppet so she could rule the kingdom from the shadows! Terrible stuff! Thank the Saint the Inquisition came and exposed her like the evil witch she is!"

_T-the Inquisition?! And what does he mean by her killing the king? Did she really do something crazy like that?_

I glanced towards Anton and the others. Judging by their expressions, they were surprised as well.

“Yeah, scary stuff, isn’t it? I won’t blame you for turning pale like that!” He flashed his pearly white teeth. “However, if you’re up to it, and you should, being a famous dragonslayer and all that, the kingdom is now recruiting all skilled-enough adventurers for a campaign to capture and bring her to justice. They'll pay you handsomely, you know!"

I gulped. _This is it, huh? Her time has come at last. I have a hunch it would end like this. She couldn't stay hidden forever. Now, once again, she has to flee for her life._

_Necromancy. Is it really that evil of a magic? Isn't that just them being prejudiced towards it? After reading all those fantasy stories with a heroic-type necromancer, I can’t automatically think necromancers are bad. That trope has gone out of style in the genre._

_But then again, if what he says is true, Felicia really did kill the king. That's already a death sentence right there. Not to mention desecrating his corpse further._

_I thought she's a good woman. Was I mistaken? Or was there something going on behind the scenes that no one knew about?_ My thoughts turned towards her nursing that young girl. _That kindness she displayed… it can't be fake, can it?_

_No, that's not an excuse. She can still be a caring person to sick children, but would absolutely be willing to kill adults if it suits her. There's no such thing as an all bad person. Everyone has a redeeming quality, no matter how bad they might be as a whole. Thinking otherwise is a mark of childishness and naivety._

"Oh, you guys can come too, of course." He turned his attention to Anton. "You're B-ranks, right? They're accepting B-ranks."

"Thank you for the information," Anton replied, giving him a cordial smile. We have to discuss it first."

He put his hand on my shoulder, waking me up from my thoughts.

"R-right…" I nodded, agreeing with him. _We shouldn't be discussing the matter here._

***

There weren't any quests that interested us, so we went to the inn straight away afterward. After we entered our room, we began our meeting.

"Hugo," Anton spoke first. "That's your lady friend he was talking about, wasn't he?"

"We didn't know then," Anne followed, staring at me with her sharp eyes. "We thought she was just some random alchemist you met on the streets."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have acted so impolitely in front of her!" Amelie commented with a huff.

"But now, it turns out that she's a necromancer." Anne sighed, crossing her arms. "You didn't notice anything off when you were with her?" 

"N-no, I didn't," I lied.

"Then she's an outstanding actress. To think that she's pretty popular amongst the populace for curing that plague and opening free clinics for the poor… Haah, I admired her too…"

"Hugo." Anton looked firmly straight into my eyes, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You're not thinking of getting involved, are you?"

"Well, I—"

"If you dare go against those Inquisitors, they’ll brand you a heretic as well. Then you'll also have the Church chasing after you as well."

_He's right. I can't afford to make another country my enemy._

"I… I just want to check up on her, that's all."

"And then what? You're just going to leave her to her fate? We both know you're too nice for that."

Anne was the one who spoke. She had an all-too-obvious frown on her face.

"Look. I just think—"

"She's not a bad guy? Do you even know what necromancy is? It's the darkest of dark magic. A necromancer will gleefully play with human corpses, turning them into their personal puppets. Imagine seeing your dead loved ones as zombies and ghouls. Do you believe someone who practices something like that can be a good person?"

"But what if… what if she only uses necromancy on bad guys? The king she supposedly killed… he's not a good guy, you know."

I then explained to them my meeting with the princess, and how she told me about her father's terrible deed.

"If I were to be honest, I wouldn't mind if someone like that gets killed. Or turned into a zombie puppet."

I chuckled internally, hearing myself speak like that. _I really have changed, haven't I? I don't even mind killing other living beings if I disagree with their actions._

"T-that's horrible!" Amelie clasped her mouth. "How can he do that to his own wife and daughter?"

"Hmph, nobles. Can't trust them." Anne commented.

"To think that you actually had a meeting with a princess… you're more impressive than I thought." Anton grinned, patting my shoulder. "Was she pretty?"

"Yeah, she was," I answered with my own grin (earning a glare from both Anne and Amelie for it).

His grin soon disappeared, however.

"All the more reason why you should not involve yourself with her. Do you think the princess would be happy with her father being murdered like that? No child would ever be happy with their parents dying, no matter how awful they might be."

“That’s…”

 _He’s right. I don’t know how she feels about all of this. I can’t just assume that she’s alright with it. If it were me, I’d be fine, but she seems to be the gentle type that doesn’t hate her father even after all the bad things he did to her and her mother._ “You know what? You’re right. Which is why I’m paying a visit to her place again.” _If I don’t know the truth, then why don’t I ask?_

Hearing my answer, Anton let out a sigh. “Fine. You do that when we get to the capital. I’ve given up trying to change your mind a long time ago.”

“Hey Hugo, can I come?” Amelie suddenly spoke. She put on her best puppy face, like she always did every time she asked something of people. “I want to meet the princess too! It’s not fair that you’re the only one who gets to see her!”

“Uhh, I don’t know. I was only allowed to meet her because I got a letter of introduction from Flameu. They probably won’t allow anyone else to enter.”

“Then, at the very least, let me accompany you until the front gate! That would be fine, wouldn’t it?”

"No, it wouldn't."

Anton took a few steps forward, giving her a stern glare that seemingly shrunk her on the spot.

"You know they would be in an uproar right now. With the king gone, the next in line to the throne would be the princess. And they would make sure that she remains safe by all costs." He then turned towards me. "And you, as the necromancer's friend, I don't think they would allow you in either. In fact, they might just decide to arrest you for interrogation. Do you still believe it's worth the risk?"

"Yes. I have to know how she feels from her own mouth."

I didn't hesitate. I answered his question in an instant. I had to know more about Flameu—about Felicia. I knew I would regret it forever if I just left without knowing the truth. And I'm done living my life with regrets.

He could only reply with another sigh.

"As I said, it's up to you. But I would suggest you to be careful. Maybe sneak in to talk to her privately, if you could afford it. Whatever you do, do not provoke the soldiers. You don't want to be another nation's fugitive, I assume, after the whole thing in the Magocracy."

"Don't worry." I flashed him a smile. "I won't do anything dumb, I promise."

_Heh, he really is worrying like an older brother would._

***

We resumed our journey towards the capital afterward. We only had to go through a few more villages like the one we just left behind until we got to our destination.

The night before we reached the capital, however, I received a particular surprise visit in my bedroom. I had just been to the outdoor privy to take care of business before I went to bed. And when I returned, I was greeted by the sight of Anne and Amelie sitting on my bed, both wearing their nightdresses.

"Uhh… can I help you with something?" _Wait, don't tell me that they're here to force me to do_ ** _that_** _with them! This is bad! If it's just one, I might be able to resist, but if it's a threesome..._

“D-don’t get the wrong idea! We’re only here to ask you about something!” Anne was the first one to speak as she bolted from my bed, a blush all-too-obvious on her face.

"Y-yeah!" Amelie spoke next, her standing up as well. "It's just… as your friends, we are…"

"Concerned…" Anne spoke again. "...that the necromancer had bewitched you."

_...Ah, now I get it._

"Look, you're not going to change my mind. Even though we only worked together for a short time, I liked her and I don't believe she's a bad person."

"It's because she's pretty, isn't she? You like the mature, older woman type, unlike us who are just a few years older than you." Anne pouted as she crossed her arms.

"That’s unfair!" It was now Amelie's turn to yell. "I thought you said you already have that Sherry girl but now you're wooing another woman? If you don't think I'm good enough for you, then just say it! I know I'm nowhere near as smart as you! And even though you're younger, you are more mature as well! Of course you would only want girls who are on your level!" She yelled, her eyes turned watery in the process.

Oh great. It seemed I had to correct their wild delusions before our conversation could progress further.

"I don't know what rumors you guys have been hearing, but I assure you, she had done nothing of the sort. Back then, you saw us leaving to cure Leila and her village. That was her name by the way—the little girl I found on the streets. Unlike you guys, she was willing to risk her life going up against a dragon just to save a stranger she didn't know. Don't you think a person like that deserves some praise?"

I still remember—how they attempted to stop me from going with her. I know they did it because they cared, but I didn't like how Anton told me that she wasn't my problem. He might be right but I'll hate myself if I just leave a child to die. 

"...I see. You are right. Now I understand." Anne was the first to answer with a noticeably bitter smile. "Does your Sherry act like her too?"

"Well, not exactly. Her personality is far removed from Flameu's. She's honest to a fault and always headstrong in her beliefs. She might think that's a bad thing but I believe it's her most admirable trait. Hell, I'm even jealous of her. I'm not as strong minded as she is. I'll cower and run if things get bad. But she won't. She'll face her problems head-on. I admire that from her."

The two girls exchanged looks with each other. Amelie looked like she was about to cry (even more than before) while Anne's smile grew even more bitter.

"Aahh, we can't win, can we?" The latter sighed, shaking her head. "When a guy speaks of a girl with that stupid, goofy grin on his face, you know he's completely smitten by her."

_Eh? A goofy grin? Did I really— Oh, I guess I did. I didn't even notice!_

"You know, we both have talked about it, how we both fell for the same hopeless guy.” She smirked in my direction. “We even considered sharing. But now, we really know we’re just not good enough for him."

_Wait, sharing?_

"Aahh, there goes my dream of having a cool husband like you." Amelie put her hands behind her head. "Then again, Papa wouldn't approve someone who's a fugitive assassin." She then proceeded to force a smile, no doubt to comfort herself.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you two will find good husbands in the future. If I hadn't already had Sherry, I might actually consider choosing you two. You two are good girls. Any guys who have either of you would be a lucky man."

I gave the two my brightest smile. Inside however, I was cursing myself.

_Urgh, I hate this._

_For once, I actually got girls to like me. Yet I can't return their affections._

_It's different than with Fiora, where I'm still suspecting she's only interested in me as someone who can help her gain the throne. These two are genuine in their feelings._

_But of course, Sherry won't like it. She's definitely not the sharing type. I don't understand how a girl would be willing to share, really. I certainly will never like it if my girlfriend sees another man._

"Maybe we will." Anne huffed. "Maybe one day, when we meet again, we'll show you our lovers, and then you'll cry yourself to sleep, regretting for the rest of your life that you don't accept our offer today."

As usual, she acted tough to hide her weakness. The Anne she showed when she was drunk—that was her real self.

_I'm sorry. For not being able to be the one to cure your loneliness._

"Yeah!" Amelie followed. "We actually wanted to sleep with you tonight! But I guess that's not going to happen…" She sighed.

_W-wait, seriously?_

"Sorry, Hugo, but you just have to wait to do it with your precious Sherry.”

Anne now had a triumphant smile on her face, knowing that a pervert like me had just accidentally turned down an offer to have a threesome.

_...Yeah, she wins this one for sure._

The two then left the room after biding me goodnight. There were no tears in their eyes. It seemed they really had wholly accepted the fact that they couldn’t get me to be their lovers. Ironically, now that they had a common similarity, that is, being rejected by me, they had become much better friends than before.

_All’s well that ends well, I suppose._

_I thought they might end up forcing me down and just have their way with me there, but they’re more mature than I expected. Or maybe that’s just my overactive imagination. I’ve read too many doujins with that premise._

I threw my back on the bed.

_Don’t worry, Sherry. My virginity is still yours for the taking!_

Even so, that night, I ended up having a lewd dream involving the two.

Thankfully, dreams weren’t the real world, so they didn’t count.

***

The next day, around mid-afternoon, we finally arrived at Misfon.

And immediately, we could tell that something major had occurred.

The atmosphere was heavy, and the streets were filled with soldiers patrolling back and forth, replacing the citizens that used to be there when I first visited the place.

The gate guards interrogated us heavily before we were allowed to enter. We were asked our names, our occupations, where we came from, how long we would stay, and all that stuff you would only find when you were filling out a visa form to visit another country.

Thankfully, in the end, the soldiers cleared us to enter. They didn’t realize my identity—the Dragonslayer who had worked with the court mage turned necromancer.

_Yeah, I’m not sure if I can visit the princess in this state._

_Would she even be in her mansion? Or would she be in the castle right now? She might just move there since she had to fill her father’s role in his absence—not to mention the whole thing with security and what not._

“Oh, one more thing.” One of the soldiers suddenly stopped us just before we were about to enter. “Since you’re B-ranked adventurers, you might want to participate in the subjugation force for the necromancer. You should be able to make it if you hurry to the castle. The higher-ups will pay you handsomely for it, I heard.”

He had told us about the situation with the king, and just like that man told us a few days ago, they were recruiting high-rank adventurers for their fight against Flameu.

_This means she must be cornered somewhere she can’t run away from. And they can take their time gathering their forces to crush her. If she’s a competent necromancer in any ways, she would have an army of the dead to combat their troops. That’s what a necromancer does, after all._

_But if she’s not an evil necromancer, then she won’t have that kind of army, would she? She wouldn’t be going on a killing spree to gather corpse soldiers. Or maybe she can replace that army with dead monsters instead? I don’t know how necromancy in this world works so I could only guess whether it would be possible or not._

_I don’t think I can ask these guys. They would only give strategic information like that to people who actually participated in the operation._

Once we entered, we had our lunch and booked our inn. And after that...

It was time for me to visit the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just read the latest chapter of Sousou no Frieren.
> 
> Never thought I would see Frieren attempting to seduce someone.


	141. The Mourning Princess

_As expected, the place is guarded much more heavily now._

I now stood merely a few hundred meters away from the mansion she lived. And from here, I could already tell just how much security had been increased after the king’s death (or to be more exact, after his death was revealed. He had been dead for a long time, I presume).

_Yeah, sneaking in seems to be a bad idea. I don’t have any spells I can use to help me with stealth, and if they catch me, they will no doubt think I’m there to assassinate the princess under Flameu’s bidding._

_I got no choice. I just have to walk through the front gate and ask for permission. If she’s there anyway._

I straightened my robes and combed my hair. Naturally, I had to look my best in front of those soldiers.

As expected, the moment they saw me walking in their direction, they immediately surrounded me while pointing their spears towards my direction. There were at least twenty of them, all geared up in chainmail armors and steel helmets. There were even a handful of mages, all aiming their staves towards me as well.

“Halt! Identify yourself!” The man who seemed to be their leader shouted at me.

“My name is Charles Pendleton and I’m here to have an audience with the princess,” I spoke as clearly as I could. “She had received me before and she could vouch for my character and loyalty. I had served her before and I shall serve again.” 

I said all that while looking at him straight in the eye. That was how you proved to people that you weren’t lying—show them your firm and unbending confidence.

“Charles… Pendleton?” He scratched the stub on his chin. “Can’t say that I have heard of such— Wait, you… you were that Divine Tempest kid who beat that Frost Dragon, didn’t you?”

“That’s me.” I flashed my brightest smile. _Come on, just let me through. You must know you guys can’t win against a mage of my caliber, right?_

That hope, however, was soon dashed to the rocks when one of his subordinates just had to decide to open his mouth.

“Sir! We have a report that he was actively collaborating with Lady Flameu! I don’t believe we can trust him, Sir!” _Tch, this telltale!_

The look on the knight captain's face promptly darkened. _Crap, it's crisis management time!_

"That might be right, good sir, but that was in the past. I thought of her as a simple court mage, nothing more and nothing less. In fact, I felt betrayed by this recent development. I thought of her as a friend and this is how she repays my trust? That filthy necromancer needs to be hanged and burned at the stake, I say! Right in that order!" I finished my acting by folding my hands and giving him my frown. _There! That should do it!_

The man paused for a second or two, before replying with nervous sweat. “I-I see. So you’re not with her anymore, Milord?”

“That’s right. What would I have to gain by associating myself with a necromancer? I might be young but I have my house’s name to uphold, even all the way out here.”

If I assumed correctly, they should already know that I was a son of an Earl from the Holy Empire, thanks to all the rumors. So, I could intimidate them by that alone. The nobles of the Empire were highly respected, not just in the Empire itself but also in its annexed kingdoms.

"M-my apologies, Sir." He quickly bowed. "I have wrongly misjudged you. You idiots! Lower your weapons!"

And with that order, I gained access inside.

\------

I was then escorted to the mansion proper, where I had to meet with this Edge person first before I was granted a meeting with the princess. To my relief, she indeed was still there, and not in the castle. Though as compensation, the prime minister had assigned to her the king's old royal guards to be her bodyguard. And that Edge person was their leader. Naturally, as one who was most responsible for her safety, he had to screen me first to decide whether I was a threat to her or not.

And so I was brought to the living room, where I was told to wait for his presence.

_Damn, this thick atmosphere… it's like I'm in a police station, about to be interrogated…_

The soldiers didn't leave as I sat on the sofa. They just stood there, guarding the two pairs of doors to my left and right. 

Around 15 minutes later, he finally made his appearance.

He was what you would expect from a typical young knight guarding a princess—blue eyes, blond hair, good looks, and a frown that showed you he meant business. He didn't wear armor though. He instead wore a green semi-formal long coat, with a blue and white shirt underneath.

"So, you're the boy that wants an audience with Her Highness."

He took his seat across me, crossing his legs in the process. I could see his sword peeking out his coat.

"My name is Edge Sterling, and I am the head of Fiania's royal guard, and the son of Duke Wellington, the Prime Minister. It's a pleasure to meet you, Charles Pendleton."

_This attitude… he's being intentionally impolite. You don't cross your legs in front of your guest. He doesn't offer his hand nor does he give a bow. And most importantly, he doesn't crack a smile._

_He’s the son of a Duke. And not just any Duke, but the Prime Minister himself. That’s why he can afford to act so cocky. I’m just the son of a no-name (and nonexistent) Earl to him._

"I’ve heard of you. You have visited Her Highness before, correct?"

"That's right!" I gave him a smile. "She'll tell you that I am welcome."

"And you did it with an introduction letter written by Flameu. And you made the princess pay you quite the handsome amount of money. How curious. Tell me. What did you do with that money?"

Damn, he sure did his homework. And just like that, he began his interrogation.

"I sold Flameu the carcass of the dragon I slew. And she told me to get the money from her. It was a loan from the princess to her."

I decided to answer honestly. Lying would only make things worse.

“You don’t find it odd—” Here, his eyes narrowed. “—that she told you to come to Her Highness instead of paying it out of her own pocket?”

“Back then, I trusted her,” I answered. “A shame that trust had been wasted on a necromancer.”

“I see. I would hold it to your poor judgment, but we all have been fooled by her.” His lips turned into a smirk. “So, what would be the purpose of your visit now? As you should know, we are in quite the state of disarray like now. Not to mention that Her Majesty was still in the middle of her mourning. Do you truly believe it is wise to bother her with your visit?”

“It is necessary.”

“Oh? If it is, then you should speak to me first. I am in charge of her safety, in case you haven’t noticed.” His smirk grew bigger.

_He doesn’t want me to see her. That much is clear. Now how should I handle this in a polite and non-confrontational manner?_

“I apologize, but this is something I can only speak with her. I promised to do so when I first met her. I am not to speak of it to anyone, even the son of the prime minister himself.”

I looked at him right in the eye. I didn’t break eye contact, but I tried to make my expression as polite as I could. “Show firmness but not rudeness.” That’s what Fiora told me on how to speak with a noble.

His smirk disappeared. “Fascinating. So she trusts you that much. I wonder why. Sometimes, Her Highness can be too trusting for her own good.”

_And now a subtle insult to my trustworthiness. This is how nobles are supposed to mock each other._

"Very well." He stood up. "I shall escort you to her room. As much as I am responsible for her well-being, I cannot go against her wishes. When I informed her of your arrival, she ordered me to bring you to her room, and so that’s what I will do.”

_So all this time you’re just being a dick for no reason. Yeah. Sounds noble-like, alright._

He then brought me to the princess' chamber with an entire squad of knights in tow. On the way, he explained that she was still in mourning, so she had no interest in taking in the matters of the state into her own hands yet. For now, his father, the prime minister would be the one running the country.

_Sounds like the perfect setup for his dad to be the new de-facto king with the princess just being a puppet. But hey, it’s not my problem. If she doesn’t want to rule, then maybe it will be better for the kingdom overall to just make the prime minister do all the work. Not that I know what kind of guy the prime minister is._

After climbing up two sets of stairs and walking towards the east wing of the mansion, we finally arrived in front of the princess' room.

"Here it is.” Edge spoke. “Her Highness’ chamber. Now, mind your manners while you’re in there, alright? Unfortunately, she has ordered that she wants to speak with you in private, so we are unable to accompany you inside. We’ll be standing out here, ready to come in if anything happens.”

“Of course.” I gave him a respectful smile. “I will only give the princess of the Fiania Kingdom the utmost reverence she deserves.”

 _I wonder if he might have any designs on her. Usually, that’s how it goes, right? The son of the prime minister wants to be the next king so he tries to woo the pretty princess. That might be why he’s so hostile to me. He doesn’t want me to get close to her in case I end up making her fall for me._ I chuckled internally. _Hah, he must think of me as some womanizer, thanks to the rumors._

He then gave a firm knock on the twin mahogany doors. “Your Highness. He’s here.”

“Send him in.”

Two knights walked forward and opened the door for me. I walked in before they closed it once more behind me.

And there, I saw her, standing on the other side of the room, looking right at me.

The first thing I noticed was the dress she wore. No longer she wore an all-white dress. Her dress was now as dark as the night itself. Fitting considering she was in a state of mourning. Black was also considered the proper color to wear for a funeral in this world.

And then, her smile. It was tainted with bitterness. No longer was it the bright, spring-like smile she showed me all those months ago.

“You came, Milord.”

“I did,” I replied. “I just had to make a visit after hearing what happened to your father.”

“Father… To think that Lady Flameu had done that to him… Oh, please, don’t just stand there. Take a seat. Anywhere you want.”

I looked around the room. Naturally, as befitting for a princess, it was a large and luxurious room. The chandelier, the curtains, the carpet, and the two paintings decorating the room—I bet all of them are really expensive.

I decided to be bold and chose the bed to sit on. When else would I get the chance to sit on a cute princess' bed? If I could, I would even smother my face all over that dark red sheets and pillows, enjoying the scent of a princess.

Ah, I really shouldn't be thinking about perverted things now. It'd be bad if I get a stiffie in a time like this.

"Milord, I have a request to make." She clasped her hands with a nervous look on her face.

"Yes?"

"Please, save Lady Flameu! She might be a necromancer but she’s a good person! I’m sure of it!” She bowed as low as she could to the point that her hair fell down to the front.

_Well, this is… unexpected._

“You don’t hate her? For killing your father and using him as her corpse puppet?”

She straightened herself. With a forlorn smile, she replied, “Father… he had done many, many terrible things… things I never knew about, being the naive girl that I am. And Lady Flameu… she had told me everything. His crime wasn’t only ending Mother’s life.”

To my surprise, she decided to sit right beside me.

“He… would take any woman he fancied to sleep with him, no matter if she agreed or not. Commoners, nobles, even adventurers… there were no limits to his desire. Some, mostly the nobles, he would allow to return once he was bored with them. But others, he would just kill after he’s done with them.”

Her voice shook. I could see her palms whitening as she gripped her dress.

“Some have tried to stop him of course. Once, there were a group of nobles conspiring of a coup d’etat to overthrow him. But Lord Sterling and Lord Basilisk put a stop to them before their scheme could happen. Their punishment was for them and their entire family to be quartered in secret, but not before Father had his way with their wives and daughters.”

At this point, tears started to trail down her cheeks.

“There was also a commoner, who tried to assassinate him after he took his betrothed, right before the day of their wedding. His attempt was also foiled, thanks to Sir Edge and his royal guards. His punishment? He was whipped over and over until he died from his wounds. All the while his betrothed was forced to watch. She ended up slicing her own throat out of grief.”

She’s now actively choking in between her words. She even had some snot falling down her nose, which she quickly wiped with her handkerchief. Normally, I would be disgusted by the sight, but I would be a cruel and heartless person if I did not excuse her haggard appearance right now. Gently, I put my hand on her shoulder and spoke, "it’s fine if you don’t want to continue. I understand your—”

“No, you **must** hear it all! Every vile deed Father has done! Then you'll see why it's unfair for Flameu to be hunted down like this!

Suddenly, she snapped in anger, moving her face uncomfortably close to mine. Just as quickly, however, she retreated, before returning back to her tears. 

_She’s torn. Between loving her Father like a child should, and hating him for all the things he did, she didn't know how she should feel._

_She's a good person. I'm glad Flameu managed to heal her. She deserves that and more._

"And then… and then there's the matter with—"

I decided to do something even bolder. I wrapped my hands around the back of her head and pulled it down to my chest.

Naturally, this took her completely by surprise.

“M-Milord? What are you—"

“Shh. That’s enough. You don’t have to say anything else."

And then, she exploded into tears.

I let her cry into my chest, patting her back like an older brother would. Ironic, considering I'm certainly much younger than her. Well, biologically anyway.

I couldn't help myself. I had to comfort her. I'm just weak to a girl's tears, especially when it came from an innocent princess like her.

_Damn, she sure smells nice…_

I scolded myself. What am I getting turned on for? She's sobbing like a wreck right now and all I can think of is perverted stuff?

_Munyu~_

_Goddamnit, now I’m noticing her breasts pressing onto me as well. Come on, Hugo, bear it! Activate your Sage Mode!_

Thankfully, it didn’t last long. She promptly recovered, and with a bashful smile, she straightened herself and wiped her tears with another pair of dry handkerchiefs.

“A-apologies for that… shamefully emotional display."It's alright." I gave her the best comforting smile I could muster. "Anyone would react like that with that kind of a father."

She then took my hands and grabbed them firmly with her own. And they were still as soft as ever.

"I'm glad I met you, Milord. Before you came, I only had Lady Flameu to converse with like this. Ever since we met, she had been very kind to me. She would listen to my word and tell me how to solve it. Thanks to her, I learned that a princess must be strong for the sake of her subjects. And with Father gone, I will become Queen soon. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the responsibility, but I have to try, for the sake of my people."

Once again, I had been charmed by her innocence. Normally, I wouldn't buy such a rhetoric right away, but I sensed no falsehood in her words and expressions. It's just like Fiora when she said she wanted to rule for the sake of her people, though in her case, she was far more confident in doing it compared to her.

"But," she continued. "I broke one of her rules today. I had cried in front of a stranger. A ruler should not show weakness, she said, for there are always snakes slithering around them. Though, I couldn't imagine Milord being one of those snakes. You are a friend, just like her.” She giggled.

_Wow, Flameu's not holding back, is she? Though it's better that way. A ruler can't be as naive as she is. She'll just end up being a puppet that can't see through the lies of her advisors._

"So,” I decided it’s time for me to ask my questions. “Did you know that Flameu was a necromancer?”

She shook her head. “No. I only know about it now. I only thought of her as a master alchemist all these years, ever since she appeared and served under Father.”

“How did that happen anyway? Did she just walk into the castle and ask for a job as a court mage?” It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

She smiled hearing my question. “You want to hear about her, Milord? Then I should start from the very beginning.”


	142. In Which The Princess Shows Hugo Her Panties

The princess began her story with a nostalgic smile illustrated on her face.

"I still remember that day like it was merely yesterday. It was the early Luxus morning where she first paid her visit to me. Back then, it was only around a month or so since she first appeared and was accepted as Father's court mage.

"Can you elaborate on her appearance? How did she get accepted into that position?"

Her expression promptly darkened.

"She… she was pretty. That's all she was to Father. In exchange for the job, she had to visit him at night and tend to him."

_...I see. That's why she's so nonchalant in offering her body to get the dragon heart back then. She's already used to it._

_If I had to guess, she wanted to become a court mage to gain the kingdom's protection. She needed to keep herself safe from the agents of the Magocracy, and what better way to do that by making yourself a court mage of one of the Empire's conquered kingdoms? Perhaps she learned about the king's promiscuity and decided to take advantage of it. I couldn't blame her for it, even though it's something I would never be able to do myself. Selling your body to a wretched person like him, I wouldn't be able to bear it. Call me traditional, but I only want to give myself to someone I love. Then she can do whatever she wants with me in bed. As long as it's nothing too extreme anyway._

"Milord?"

"A-ah, right, continue."

She gave me a short confused look before resuming her tale.

"It was then when she first examined my condition. Back then, I thought of her as just like any other healer. None of them managed to cure me over the years, so why should she be any different? And indeed, the first medicine she gave me did not work. Not the second. Nor the third. And yet, she kept coming back." Her smile brightened at this statement. "How belligerent I was to be rude to her! I was annoyed that none of her supposed cures worked. I even screamed at her one time, telling her not to give me false hope." She hung her head down with a grim smile. "And yet, she remained patient. She promised that she would make the cure. And she did, just one year after our first meeting." Her hands gripped her skirts. "She's a good friend. Better than what I deserve."

It's all too obvious now just how much she meant to her. To her, who hated her father, and whose infirmity and loneliness had been cured by her, she would naturally side with her, even if she was a necromancer.

"About that knight who's always with her. Do you know anything about him?" I had always been curious about the matter.

“Ah, Lord Berault.” She lit up. “That’s another tale in itself. You see, unlike the other knights, he wasn’t a noble. He was of the common folk. He only became a knight recently, after he saved Father from an attempt to his life. Before that, he was just a wandering mercenary."

_This king really has a lot of enemies, huh? It's only natural with that kind of attitude. I guess the Empire doesn't care until he starts scheming against them. That's how hands-off the Empire is to its satellite kingdoms. If Fiora was speaking the truth._

"Do you know how he started serving as Flameu's personal guard? He seemed quite loyal to her," I asked further.

"I don't know the details but apparently she helped him with something. Him serving her is his way to repay his debt," the princess answered. "Aah, how romantic." She clasped her hands with sparkling eyes. "I do hope he will marry her. He deserves it, after what happened to his late wife."

"What happened?"

"She died of illness, just a year after their marriage. It broke his heart—made him the silent and somber man he is now."

_Ouch, that's gotta hurt. No wonder he goes full angst with that black armor of his._

"Now, thanks to Miss Flameu, it looks like he has received a new lease in life. Which is all the more reason I don't want her to lose her life to those Church people."

Her smile turned bitter once more. She looked down at her knees for a bit, before moving her gaze at me, grabbing my hands once again.

"I beg of you. Please, save her. I know she'll never be able to return to this kingdom ever again, but she deserves more than to be burned at the stake! And tell Lord Berault he should follow her as well! He's with her right now so those Inquisitors might just brand him a heretic as well!"

Once again, she got too uncomfortably close, crossing that personal boundary as her face was just inches from mine. I could lean forward a little and steal a kiss from her. Uh, not that I would do something like that, of course.

“Oh, I know! I can’t just ask you to do something that dangerous without any payment! What do you want? I can give you a lot of gold again like before!”

“It’s not about that really—”

“O-or do you want something else? I-I’ve heard the rumors… how you're fond of older girls! I-I'm definitely older than you so I can do this!"

Without any warning that could prepare my poor heart beforehand, she stood up and lifted her skirt all the way upwards.

_P-pure white lace panties… a-and garterbelts on top of it! They are so tight-fitting and low-rise I could see her womanly mound clearly!_

I nearly fainted from the divine sight. Never before I saw a sight so beautifully provocative. My princess-loving, panty-loving self could only gawk with my mouth wide open at it. And not only that. The lovely view was only enhanced two, no, **tenfold** with how embarrassed she was right now. Her cheeks were beet red and she was shyly looking away. Truly the epitome of the beautiful yet shy princess!

_T-the Goddess! The Goddess has descended from the heavens!_

“I-I’m willing to marry you i-if you can save Miss Flameu! T-this is what wives do with her husband, right? Showing off her undergarments? That’s what I read in my books…”

_B-books? What kind of books has she been reading?_

I stared and I stared for what felt like an eternity before I finally regained control of my senses. Swiftly, I walked forward and pulled her skirt down. 

"Your Highness, you shouldn't show such a sight to my worthless self. You should only show it to a man who's worthy of your affections. I might be the son of some Earl in the Holy Empire, but I am just an adventurer right now. I'm a vagrant with no aspirations to do his noble duties. Surely you can do better." I flashed her my most gentlemanly smile. In the meantime, my hands went down to my shorts, adjusting it so my boner would become less noticeable. 

_Phew, that was dangerous. Of course my little guy is going to wake up from that._

“And I must apologize.” I continued, now looking her straight in the eyes. “You’re pretty, that much is true, but I already have a lover waiting for me. So I can’t marry you. Not that I would ever force you to do so. If I’m going to save Flameu, I’m going to do it because I want to. And in that matter, I can’t make any promises. I agree with you that she seems to be a good person, but necromancy… I don’t know why she’d want to dabble in such a dark art. She’s already perfectly fine as an alchemist, yet she still wants to reach that forbidden land. Until I know the reason why she decides to learn it, I don’t know if I really want to save her or not. It can be that her goodness is just a front she puts up—to pull away suspicion from her. And that’s something you should learn as a future queen as well.”

She sat back down, dejected, and defeated by my words. I followed, sitting beside her once more.

“Y-you’re right.” She slowly released my hands. “Even Miss Flameu herself said something similar. Not everyone nice to you is your friend.”

“And from your story, I can also infer that she’s the ruthless sort, willing to do almost anything to achieve her goals. If I had to guess, the reason she killed your father and reanimated him as her puppet was so that she would have more freedom to do her necromancy stuff. Tell me. Her outings away from the castle—it became more frequent ever since your father had his ‘change of heart’, correct?”

She paused for a bit, thinking before answering, “Y-yes, I believe so. She would often disappear for weeks or even an entire month. The official reason was that she had a secret order given to her by Father, but now, we know that’s not true, isn’t it?” She smiled bitterly, before letting out a sigh. “Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps she is actually an evil person. I just don’t know anything about good and evil, other than from the stories I read in my books.”

“Don’t worry.” I stood up with a smile. “I might have not decided to help her or not, but it doesn’t mean I will abandon her. I’ll go to her place and ask the person herself. Then I’ll decide whether she really is a good person like you believe she is.”

I believed that’s the best option for me to take. Personally speaking, my current impression of her was that she was a well-intentioned yet ruthless necromancer. She’s somewhat similar to Fiora, in which she’s willing to do morally questionable things to achieve her goals. Fiora’s goal is to fulfill the dream of her mother by ruling the Empire as its Empress, and she’s willing to start a war over it. I don’t know what Flameu’s goal might be, but it has to be related to necromancy. If it’s something selfish like gaining immortality or ruling the world via undead armies, then it makes her evil. But if it’s something more benign… 

I don’t know what that may be though. What kind of a noble goal one can only achieve through magic that manipulates and controls the dead?

“T-thank you so much!” She jumped off the bed with glimmering eyes.

“Now, don’t get too excited yet. If she’s being guarded by the Inquisition, I might not be able to meet with her. And I don’t think I want to pick a fight with them. I don’t need the Church to chase after me too.”

“A-ah, right... “ Her complexion turned gloomy again. “I heard they already know where she is. And with Lord Basilisk already mobilizing the soldiers, they might have already surrounded her hideout. It would be too much to ask Milord to sneak through them just to talk to her, wouldn’t it?”

_She’s right. Like I’ve said before I went here, I have no good magic to sneak around. Most of my magics are just direct, offensive ones, not suited for anything else other than direct combat. And if I force myself to do it anyway, I would be doing something stupid, which I already promised Anton and the others not to do. I already have the Magocracy on my tail. I don’t need the Church in tow as well._

Silence. The only sound was from the large grandfather clock on the other side of the room.

I couldn’t reply to her right away. I was trying to think up a solution to this dilemma, something that could satisfy both myself and the princess. She, on the other hand, just nervously stood there, fidgeting with her fingers as she waited patiently for my answer.

“Oh, right! Milord! Why don’t you join the other adventurers?” She broke the silence. “They’re recruiting high-ranked adventurers for her capture and you would fit right in, wouldn’t you? You can just aid them with capturing her, and then talk to her afterward! You can even free her afterward if you think she’s a good person!”

Her complexion considerably brightened. It seemed once again, she believed there was hope for her friend.

“That’s… that might work actually.” _If the Inquisition doesn’t just decide to kill her on the spot, that is._

“See?! You can do it, Milord! Surely, it’s not that difficult for someone who has slain a dragon on his own!”

She’s now back to her full-smile mode. Really, there’s no in-between with this girl.

“I should just go to the castle to register my name, right?"

"Yes!" She clapped her hands. "They will receive you right away! I'm sure of it!"

"I'm only a C-rank adventurer though. I thought you need to be at least a B-rank to participate."

"Oh, I'm sure they won't mind bumping you up a rank or two after your achievement!"

"Well, if you say so… It's worth a try, I suppose."

"Thank you!"

Without warning, she threw herself at me, burying my face in her cleavage.

_Aah, the Goddess's bosom… how delightfully warm…_

\-------

After giving her prayers to the Saint for my safe passage, she called that Edge guy, telling him to escort me outside. At first, he thought I must have offended her somehow, judging by his glare, but when he noticed the smile on the princess' face, that glare transformed into a confused look. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. He must have never expected me being able to comfort his dear princess. He's probably the kind of hardheaded guy who always thinks he's right while never being considerate to others. That's why he's not sensitive enough to comfort her and be her friend instead of just being her bodyguard.

_Even so, he probably is going to end up marrying her, just so the prime minister can secure his power in the absence of the king._

_Well, nothing I can do about that._

I gave a smile to the man as I thanked him for his courtesy. A barely polite smile, mind you, just the minimum so I wouldn't be considered rude.

After he bowed towards the princess, he did just that, walking me back outside to the gates with his groupies of knights.

"I don't know what you did, but I have to thank you," he said without looking at me. "You cheered up Her Majesty. As her loyal bodyguard, I also wish for her well-being mentally."

_Huh, I guess this guy isn't as stuck up as I imagined._

_Glad he doesn't know his beloved princess had just flashed her panties at me though. I can only imagine his furious reaction._

\---------

I made my way back to the inn afterward. I intended to inform Anton and the others about our meeting before I made my way to the castle.

“You’re back. So, how did it go?”

When I entered the building, I was promptly greeted by Anton, who seemed to have been sitting in the front lobby all this time, waiting for my return.

“It went well, of course,” I replied with a smirk. “If not, I wouldn’t be here, would I? I would already be running out the city with a brigade of soldiers on my tail. Where are the others?”

“Gathering information.” He stood up from the couch. “Or rather, they just can’t handle the boredom of waiting for you to come back. Did the princess tell you what you want to know about her?”

“Not entirely, I’m afraid.” I sighed. “I still want to speak to her.”

“That would be difficult, considering the current state of affairs. If I had to guess, you’ll probably plan on joining the other recruited adventurers. Funnily enough, we are considering doing that as well,” he added with a smile.

“Eh? I thought you don’t want to—”

“I had just finished talking with the Prism Casters, another B-rank party like us. They told me that for us B-ranks, we’re only there as a rear support. They’re not asking us to be part of the frontline fighters. Even so, the reward they give you is really generous. It’s even more than the amount of gold we got from that escort mission. And we had to waste a month and a half doing that.” He crossed his arms and smirked. “And now, with you entering as well, we gotta be there to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Oh, that’s right. I should probably go to the Guild to ask for my rank to be raised. I’m still a C-rank after all.”

“Ha, a C-rank that can defeat a dragon on his own. You really are something.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Go. I’ve no doubt they would be willing to make an exception for you. Especially when this kingdom is badly in need for strong adventurers like yourself.”

“Alright,” I nodded. “I’ll be off then.”

Once I was back outside, I noticed how the sun was already setting on the horizon. _Guess I’ll visit the castle tomorrow then._

I made my way to the Adventurer’s Guild at once, hoping that it would really be as easy as just talking to the higher ups of the Guild and getting my rank raised. I believe every branch of the Guild is led by a Guildmaster so that’s the person I want to talk with.

The building was located in the central district. It was a large and distinctive three-story structure, placed right in the middle of a four-way intersection.

I pushed open the large wooden doors on the front, only to be greeted by a peculiar sight.

_Huh, it's empty. That's surprising._

Besides a handful of adventurers, the floor was practically deserted. Maybe it's because of the whole thing with Flameu?

_This place sure is lavish._

The floor was carpeted in red, in contrast to the usual stone floor most of the guilds I had frequented in my travels. There were ten lanes available, though for now, only two guild receptionists were in their seats, with one attending to the handful of adventurers I mentioned. I moved my feet to the other one. Putting up my brightest smile, I walked up to the lady and said, “Excuse me. May I ask for a meeting with the Guildmaster?”

Her smile immediately turned into a confused frown. Before she could say anything, I handed over my Adventurer Card to her. She took it and gave it a quick read.

“Charles… Pendleton? Wait, that’s… You! You’re the Dragonslaying Tempest, aren’t you?”

“Yep, that’s me!” I grinned. Her expression had completely turned into a shock. “You see, I want to participate in the subjugation force against that necromancer. But I’m still a C-rank adventurer. So I figure I would ask the Guildmaster if they can bump my rank up to B.” _Let’s be humble here. No need to ask for A or S rank._

“O-of course! Please! The Guildmaster would certainly be honored to meet someone of your personage!” She immediately stood up and instructed me to follow her, after telling her friend to handle things for a bit.

_Well, that was easy. Guess I really have become quite the celebrity around here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hugo really is an older girl killer :p
> 
> Tell me if you like his reaction to her panty flashing. I was trying to write something funny there, similar to the perverted monologues you can find in many different LNs.


	143. Hugo, the S-rank Adventurer

The receptionist led me to the third floor where the office of the Guildmaster was. I walked behind her, making sure I didn't lose her as she made any corner turns.

That, and enjoying the sight she was providing generously to me.

_Damn, what a nice behind._

She was wearing the usual receptionist uniform, meaning, she was wearing the usual tightfitting knee-length black pencil skirt. And boy, it barely hid anything. I could see the firmness of her butt, only enhanced by the sight of her pantylines.

Thinking about it, I had encountered a really lewd Miss Receptionist like her before, back when I first set foot in the continent. She also had a great ass just like her.

_Aah, adventurer guild receptionists really are the best!_

As I enjoyed the perfectly wholesome sight in front of me, I noticed something off in our surroundings. It came to my attention that the second floor was seemingly not used in the slightest. And even most of the third floor for that matter. It was silent, eerily so.

“Umm, excuse me for asking, but why is it so quiet around here? Isn’t anyone else around?” I decided to ask her.

“The second and third floor are not intended to be frequented by common adventurers,” she replied as she continued her walk. “Instead, we provide private rooms for A and S-rank adventurers to hold their meetings and such. Also, we have a library on the second floor that adventurers could peruse if they're in need of information, while on the third floor, we have our offices where we manage and archive requests. Though at this hour, they all had gone home for the day, which is why this place is pretty empty. But do not worry. The Guildmaster is still upstairs at his office."

"I see." I nodded. "That's a relief. Though this place is pretty luxurious, isn't it? I haven't seen an Adventurer's Guild building with this much stuff in it."

"I am pleased to hear that, Sir Tempest," she replied with a giggle. "Though our facilities pale in comparison to some of our other branches. Our central branch at the Demon Continent even has a school of its own to train aspiring adventurers."

_That's right. The concept for Adventuring Guilds all started from the city-states of the Frontier. Thanks to their neutrality, and to how profitable the whole concept is for everyone involved, they are able to spread the concept all over the world. Though naturally, they would have to obey the nations they're setting shop in._

We stopped in front of a large mahogany door. The receptionist knocked. "Sir! He's here!"

"Come in!"

Flashing a smile towards my direction, she opened the door, revealing a spacious study with a large table on the other side of the room.

Naturally, it was where the Guild Master sat.

He was an older gentleman in the portly side. He wore a robe of green and red that reminded me of something a European monk would wear. He had a bowl cut for his black hair, as well as a smile that really made his drooping cheeks rather more pronounced.

"Please, sit." He gestured with his right hand towards the chair on the other side of his table.

Once I entered, the receptionist closed the door behind her. And I couldn’t help but feel a tad intimidated, just alone in this room with this guy.

When I approached him, he stood up from his chair and offered his wrinkly hand. 

"Greetings. My name is Rowan Vertigo, the Guildmaster of this establishment." 

I accepted his hand. We then sat back down on our respective seats. 

“Forgive me for asking again, but you are Charles Pendleton, correct?” He moved his nearsighted glasses upwards. “Nickname: The Divine Tempest. Responsible for taking down a Frost Dragon and her brood pretty much on his own.“Well, I did get some help from the Emerald Exodus. They were the ones who originally took the extermination quest. I just happened to help them in their fight.”

“Ah, no need to be modest.” He smiled, sending chills into my spine due to how creepy his face looked. “My eyes and ears have confirmed that if not for you, they would have been wiped entirely. Only a few refused to accept you as their saviors.”

_Arcturus is probably one of them since I pretty much destroyed his reputation and all that._

“So, for what purpose do you come here in this late hour? I very much have wanted to meet with you but I couldn’t imagine you to have any reason to want to speak to me.”

“I seek for a promotion to a B-rank.” I went straight to the point. “I wanted to join in on the subjugation force against Flameu.”

For a few seconds, he seemingly froze, as his smile slowly transformed into a concerned frown.

“Ah, you did work with her for a bit, didn’t you? I assume you wish for revenge, now that you know she has been hiding her true nature all this time?”

“That’s right.” I nodded. “She had betrayed my trust. Not to mention the trust of the people in this country. They looked up to her for her kindness, only to find that it was a lie."

"Hmm…" He sighed. "Normally, I wouldn't recommend it, considering where she's hiding herself right now, but if it's you, perhaps there would be no problem."

"Is something the matter?"

"She had hid herself inside an undiscovered dungeon. We had no information about the place's existence until now. And she had filled it to the brim with her zombie army, mostly zombified goblins and local beasts, but there were also sightings of human zombies as well. An investigation of their identity led us to believe that they were bandits. She must have slaughtered them all and added them to her army. Truly horrifying." He shook his head. "Excuse me for asking, but have you ever participated in a dungeon exploration before?"

I shook my head.

"Then you should know how dangerous it is for us adventurers to explore a fresh dungeon like that. We would have no idea where the traps are, how the layout is, what kind of monsters lurk within, and so on, and so forth. Information is vital for the survival of an adventurer and we barely have anything on the place. Not to mention how both the Inquisitors and the general wanted us to rush inside. Perhaps they believe we are expendable," he added with a grim smile. "But with your strength, perhaps we would be able to make our way to the dungeon core, where we expected her to be. The good Lady Inquisitor believed she was controlling the dungeon with her dark magic so she should be somewhere close to the core."

_She can manipulate dungeons now? Does that even count as necromancy?_

"But, if you still insist, then you should go to Mern Valley. You’ll find her dungeon there, along with the army and those Inquisitors. You know where it is, yes?”

I nodded. The valley was located not far from the capital. I still remembered its location just from all those times I spent reading this region’s map.

“As for your rank up request.” Here he smiled creepily again. _I think this guy’s smile is just a cursed sight._ “I can approve that. But you shall not be a B-rank. You are far too good for that. You shall be an S-rank. You shall get a special card made out of platinum with your title printed below your name. If you don’t know, most S-ranks have a title of their own that others call them with it. Some choose it themselves, championing it everywhere they go, while others, like you, are already chosen by their peers. You shall be Charles Pendleton of the Divine Tempest! And you should be proud of that. Not many adventurers could reach S-rank. And even less can do it when they’re still so young.”

 _W-whoa, S-rank? Isn’t that a bit too early?_ “I thought the ranks are also about your contributions to the Guild, not just about your strength,” I tried to argue against his decision. “And I certainly haven’t earned my dues yet to be an S-rank. I’ve only been an adventurer for a year.”

“Oh, but you already have. Saving all those adventurers… that’s more than enough in my book.”

I paused for a bit, still trying to process what he just said, before a grin appeared on my face.

_S-rank, huh? Just skipping right to that from C-rank. Heh, it’s like in those stories where the protagonist just gets to S-rank straight away._

_There’s nothing bad about accepting his offer, is there? I can apply to the most well-paying jobs out there and I can get the prestige I always wanted as an adventurer. And since the Magocracy already knows where I am anyways…_

“Fine!” I smiled at him. “S-rank would be fine too!”

“Excellent! Then I shall write you the recommendation letter. Take this to the receptionists down below and they’ll update your rank straight away. And of course, I would also write you a referral if you indeed wish to go after the necromancer. Show that to the good general and he would allow you to join on the expedition for sure.”

"Oh, can you make that referral for the Flaming Arrows as well?"

"Ah, your friends, if I was not mistaken. Of course. They're B-ranks, so they could participate."

_This guy sure knows a lot about me… He’s probably keeping his ears wide open for any rumors about me after what I did with the dragons. Well, as expected from the master of the Adventurer’s Guild, I suppose. Though with his… less-than-fortunate looks, I can’t help but feel he’s stalking me or something..._

Shrugging off the bad vibes I got from him, I bid him goodbye before going back downstairs to process my fancy new rank.

When I got back there, it was even emptier than before. The adventurers from before had left, leaving basically only me in the room.

"Oh? You're finished, Sir?" I was greeted by the same receptionist from before. "I assume he gave you the letter?" I nodded, giving her the one stating of my promotion to S-rank. She gave it a quick read-over before replying, “Please wait just a moment.”

I stood there awkwardly as she was busy shuffling through the drawers under her desk. The silence of the place certainly did not help.

"Uhh, is this place always this empty?"

"Of course not, Sir!" Her idle friend answered with a giggle. "It's just that due to recent developments, most adventurers were either hired by the kingdom or they decided to avoid this city altogether. They don't want to get caught up with the politics, you see."

_Makes sense. This kingdom is in a precarious situation right now and they don't want any of it._

Her friend soon finished her work. She stamped some documents, printed a brand new card using that magical impression device they always used every time they had a need to make a new card, and then handed over said new card to my hands.

"Congratulations, Sir Tempest! With this, you have been promoted to S-rank!"

I looked closely at the card she just gave me. _Whoa._ It was indeed the most luxurious card I had ever held in my hands. It looked like one of those elite credit cards only the wealthiest of the wealthy could afford back in my old world. It was platinum white, with my name and title etched artistically on the front. “Charles Pendleton. The Divine Tempest.” And beside it, a large S was etched as well, signifying my rank. Looking at it, I felt I could just hand over the card to any shops to receive special treatment.

The receptionist then proceeded to explain what perks I had as an S-rank. Basically, it’s just that some certain shops and inns would give me discounts, and I could lend books from the Guild’s libraries for as long as I wanted to, if the branch had a library, that is. I was also allowed to form my own adventuring clan, though you could already do that when you reached A-rank.

"And that would be all. Would there be any question?" I shook my head. "Great! Then, I bid you farewell, Sir Tempest. And thank you for your patronage." She stood up, placed her hands on the front of her skirt, and bowed.

And with that, my visit to the Guild was over.

\-----

By the time I was outside again, nighttime was already here. I returned to the inn at once, where I was greeted by Anton and the others.

"Finally." Anne sighed with a smile. She was crossing her arms as she leaned backward to a wall. "We've been waiting for you. Did you get your promotion?"

"I did." I grinned. "Straight to S-rank."

"Wow, that's amazing, Hugo!" Amelie clasped her hands together.

Anne clacked her tongue. "Hmph, of course. Only to be expected from the Divine Tempest himself."

"I also got referral letters for all of us. Since you guys seem to want to come along, I figured I'd ask for them from the Guildmaster. With these, we don't even need to go to the castle. We can go straight to Mern Valley tomorrow where the necromancer is currently hiding."

“Good.” Anton smiled. “Then we’ll depart early in the morning. I’ve hired us some horses we could take there.”

“Hugo, you can ride a horse, can’t you?” Anne asked with a grin.

“Umm, n-no, actually.”

“Heh, that’s unexpected from the great and mighty S-rank adventurer.” She chuckled victoriously. “It can’t be helped then. You’ll ride with me tomorrow. Anton will be with Amelie. She can’t ride a horse either.”

"T-that's not fair!" Amelie protested, pointing her finger towards her. "Then you'll get Hugo all to yourself!"

"It can't be helped, can it?" Anne shrugged with a big grin on her face.

"It can! I ride with you instead!"

"You're too heavy!"

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"With those two fatty mounds of yours slapping me on my back, I won't be able to concentrate at all!"

Anton and I could only exchange exasperated smiles before sighing in unison.

\---------

The next morning, before the sun even rose fully, we already made our way to the valley.

As promised, I rode on Anne’s horse, while Amelie rode with Anton. As a gentleman, I took an oath not to try anything perverted on her, but she seemed to desire otherwise.

"H-hey, you should hang on tighter." She whispered to me as our horse began to move. "I don't want you to fall off."

Currently, I was resting my hands on her shoulders. I guess she wants me to wrap my hands around her stomach.

_Well, don't mind if I do._

"Hyah!"

She yelped the moment I had my arms around her.

"You alright?" I asked with a grin.

"I-I'm fine! Hold on tight, alright? I'm going to speed up!"

Looking across to the other horse, I noticed Amelie pouting as she saw our current pose. As for her own pose, she too was wrapping her hands around Anton's waist. Normally, I would think that he would be happy having her breasts pressing into his back like that, but I know Anton had no interest in her whatsoever. She might have a mature body, but she's too childish for his taste. I know that after he had too many drinks that one time, admitting that he indeed prefers older, mature women.

We rode like that for the entire day, stopping only for lunch in a small village we passed through. We arrived at the valley proper when the sun was setting, where we made a beeline to the all-too-obvious encampment the army had built. We left our rental horses to return on their own. They were already trained by their owner to do so.

“Adventurers?” The guard in the front of the camp said once he approached us. “Papers, please.”

I handed him the introduction letters the Guildmaster had provided.

“Let’s see here…” He squinted his eyes as he began reading. “B-rank Flaming Arrows and S-rank Divine Tempest… hold on, Divine Tempest?" He looked up towards Anton. "Is that you? The dragonslayer himself?" He broke out into a smile. "Oh, I've heard so much about you! My daughter—"

Anton chuckled. "That would be him." He patted me on the shoulder. "I'm just a humble B-rank adventurer."

"O-oh, r-right… A-apologies…" He gave me an apologetic bow.

_Well, that was awkward. Makes sense though why he thinks it's Anton and not me. I'm just too young for the role._

"Please, let me take you to the lieutenant. He'll surely be happy by your arrival."

_Lieutenant? Not the general himself?_

We followed him through the camp. Counting by the number of tents alone, there had to be at least hundreds of soldiers there, perhaps even reaching up to a thousand. It was really a full-blown military operation. _Isn’t it too much? She's just one person, you know._

We were led to a large tent who looked to be their command center. "Wait here." The soldier told us before he went and spoke to the two guards that stood in front of said tent. We were told to wait quite far away from the tent itself so we couldn't make out what they were saying. Afterward, he entered the tent, and not a moment later, he came out with another man in tow—a middle aged mustachioed man dressed in a well-polished chainmail armor. Before we could say anything, he took the initiative and started the conversation.

“Well met. I assume you’re here to assist us with the necromancer problem?” His voice was silky smooth with a tinge of snobbery into it. “Then you would be welcome to join your other, fellow adventurers. For B-ranks, your job would be to secure the already captured sections of the dungeon. As for you, the S-rank,” He specifically stared at me while he said those words. “You are to go directly to the general in the frontline. You will serve as our frontline fighters. The details would be given by my subordinates. Ask around for directions for where the dungeon entrance is.”

And just like that, he left. _Wow, how rude. He doesn’t even bother introducing himself._

The soldier from before approached us again. "Apologies for the lieutenant's attitude. He's been real busy with this whole expedition. He barely gets any sleep so he gets cranky like that. Anyway, if you would, I will be your guide for the evening." He bowed.

"Tell us everything." Anton spoke with a serious look. "Especially any information you know about the dungeon."


	144. The Crimes of Felicia Myne

A millennium ago, in the era where the Demon God ruled, demons proliferated through the entire world. They would transform natural caves and ruins into their own breeding grounds, where they could produce more monsters to be part of their army. In human tongue, those places would be called dungeons. For that purpose, they utilized magic of the dark, demonic variety, forging dungeon cores and placing them in the center of said places, slowly filling them with demonic mana and transforming them to suit their purposes more.

One of such places was the mausoleum Felicia was currently hiding herself in.

Once, before the kingdom of Fiania even existed, there was another kingdom. Its name was lost to history as the demons had wiped it off the map, not leaving even a single ruin behind. Only the mausoleum survived, as the demons decided to transform it into a dungeon instead of destroying it. However, over the years, thanks to earthquakes and storms that caused landslides, the whole place was swallowed by the earth, thus erasing the last remnant of the ancient nameless kingdom.

How did Felicia discover the place, you might ask? Simple. By pure accident.

She was traveling through the valley one day, looking for ingredients for her alchemic concoctions. The previous day, a tempestuous storm had caused a landslide on the area, and it actually opened just enough of the mausoleum that she could detect the demonic mana leaking from inside it. And so, with the help of Berault, her loyal knight, she dug through the rocks obscuring the entrance, only to reveal that there was an entirely undiscovered dungeon.

Naturally, she decided it would be the perfect place to conduct her unholy experiments.

With just the two of them, they entered the accursed mausoleum. Thanks to her expertise in dark magic and his expertise in the sword, they managed to make it all the way to the center where they met the dungeon boss and the core it guarded. It was a hard-fought battle, since it was an S-rank monster, but they managed to triumph over it. With the dungeon core in hand, she learned how to utilize and control it, just like the demons did. And thus, she gained control of the dungeon, becoming it's de-facto dungeon mistress.

It was perfect in every way. The abundance of demonic mana helped her necromantic research massively and its secrecy meant no one would know of all the dark experiments she did there. And she did a lot of them indeed. She would lure monsters from the outside to enter the dungeon using the core's ability and then either kill them herself or make them fall for the many traps the dungeon had. And then, she would dissect them before turning them into her undead minion. It wasn't just limited to monsters either. Once, a bandit troupe came into the region. As their first act of villainy, they raided a nearby village—killed some people, stole their harvest, and kidnapped their women. The news came to Felicia's ears, and she decided they would make the **perfect** experiment fodder for her research.

_I_ **_do_ ** _need a live specimen—someone I can poke and prod while their heart is still beating. And what better candidate for such a purpose than a number of bandits no one would miss?_

And so, she and her loyal knight paid them a visit.

"Look who we got here, boys! A mage and her knight in shining armor!" The bandit leader grinned. He was a dark-skinned, tall, and well-muscled man who only wore a red vest and black trousers. "Let me guess. You're two stupid adventurers who think you're hotshots who can win against a whole band of bandits. Or are you simply a poor lost soul who took the wrong turn and now found herself in a bandit fortress? Either way, the result would be the same. We ain't gonna let ya' off the hook even if you beg and apologize. Gotta keep this place nice and secret after all. And besides…" His grin turned into a lewd sneer as his eyes wandered towards Felicia's braless chest and exposed long legs. "You're just too pretty to let go."

"Your looks… you’re a Westernese, aren’t you? Interesting.” A grin appeared on Felicia’s face. It seemed she had opted to ignore the bandit's crude remark entirely. “I heard the people over there have higher strength and vitality than the average humans.”

“Heh, I’ll show ya’ our strength and vitality, alright,” the bandit leader replied, before breaking out into a roar of a laugh, followed by the rest of the bandits. "You'll be so sore you won't be able to walk anymore."

It was clear that the mage was not threatened in the slightest by the bandit leader’s threats. And yet, in their arrogance, the bandits still believed they were going to win. After all, she had just waltzed into their fortress in the middle of the valley, and now she had her and her companion completely surrounded. The bandits believed that no matter how strong she and her companion might be, there was no way they could win against fifty Westernese warriors.

They were terribly, **dreadfully** wrong.

The moment they decided to attack was the very moment they decided to seal their fates. In a flash, her knight took down five of them with a single sword move. Another five then fell as shadow tendrils appeared from their shadows and pierced them in their hearts.

And so, with a hearty grin, she began the slaughter.

To her, they were nothing more than beasts and monsters. Scum like them were more useful for the world to assist in her research in death than to live in their worthless, vile lives.

However, she left the leader alive, for she had something special planned for him.

"T-thank you! Thank you for sparing me!"

The once proud and tall man was now reduced to a whimpering coward as he supplicated himself to Felicia. He was crying and his breeches were soaked with fear. Never before had he found an opponent as terrifying as them. To think that he would stumble upon a dark mage here of all places…

"Show me where you keep those kidnapped girls," Felicia ordered.

"R-right away, Ma'am!"

What she found then truly disgusted her.

Only a few of them survived. The rest had died due to the roughness they received when the bandits had their way with them one by one, to the point that their womanhood bled. The survivors didn't fare better. Their eyes were hollow and lifeless. They were broken. They had been captured for a whole month. Anyone would break under such a treatment for that long.

Felicia cured whom she could. But, she didn't have amnesiacs in her possession to cure their trauma. She wouldn't know if it would even be right to just erase the memories of everything that had happened here.

She told her knight to escort them home while she returned to her dungeon with the bandit leader in tow. Hearing that, the man began to grin, thinking that he had just escaped death. He even started to scheme to hit her captor on the back when she let her guard down. He would then ravish that whorish body of hers over and over before bashing her head on the nearby rock he could find.

Of course, he would never get such a chance.

\--------

"Aaaaaahhhrggg!"

The man let out a scream of pain before he puked blood on the floor. His legs soon failed him, and he fell down to the cold stone tiles of his prison.

"Hmm, I see. Fascinating. Westernese physiology makes you more resistant to my poison for a lot longer than normal humans. Four minutes and twenty seconds to be exact."

"K-kill me… p-please just kill me…"

"Now now I can't have you quitting now, can you? I still need to do **so many** tests to you, my dear live human."

"Y-you… you're a monster…"

It had been a week since he was captured by Felicia. And yet, to him, it felt like an eternity. If he had known he would end up like this, he would have taken his own life back then for sure. He thought that she was an idiot to enter a dungeon with him in tow. But when he noticed that she navigated the place as if it was her second home, and how every single monster he saw avoided her entirely, he realized that he was dealing with something far beyond his capability. As a Westernese who was raised as a warrior from birth, he had no idea what kind of witchery she was using, but he knew there was no way he could take her off-guard. The difference between their strength was simply too much.

And now, he’s stuck being her personal experimental mouse. These past week, she had kept him in a pitch black room. Lights would only turn on when she entered and began her accursed experiments. Meals and drinks would only be provided on a whim, and they would appear out of nowhere in the dark room. He had scoured the place for any tunnels and such, but so far, every single stone there hid nothing. There weren’t even doors. He had no idea how he even entered this room in the first place, since she drugged him and transported him here when he was unconscious.

He looked at her right in the eyes with flames in her eyes. He believed that they were flames of courage in the face of evil, but the truth was, it was only the flames of desperation, for It was the only way he could give himself any sense of control. Never before had he ended up in a situation like this where he had to kowtow to others.

Felicia’s expression, on the other hand, was simple.

It was one of pure glee.

“That would be all for today. Tomorrow, we shall move to the second stage. I want to observe just how humans handle losing their limbs. Goodnight, Sir Bandit.”

With those ominous words, she left, disappearing in the dark just like the way she came.

With whatever strength he had left, he banged his head over and over to the floor, hoping that he would be able to put an end to this torment. However, just like the other times he had tried to do the same, sleeping gas began to spread around the room. The moment he could no longer hold his breath was the moment he lost his consciousness.

The next day, Felicia fulfilled her promise.

She gave him a paralyzing agent first, making him lose control of nearly every muscle on his body. With a large knife, she chopped his right arm first, all with the same glee, or even more, when she poisoned him yesterday.

He would scream in pain, but he could not even move his mouth anymore.

She began scribbling, taking notes on the rate his blood left his body. He then injected a drug into the stump, stopping the bleeding entirely.

“Good. My Blood Coagulation potion is a success. It’s effective even for a Westernese.”

She then reached her palm forward, manipulating the blood to re-enter his body using her blood magic. “Can’t have you dying from blood loss after all~” she mumbled with a singalong voice.

She proceeded to do the same with his left arm, followed by his right and left leg. And the man felt the pain. Every single bit of it. The drug made sure he wouldn't pass out from shock as well.

She took note of his pulse and heartbeat, undisturbed by the paralysis poison. 

If there was one thing Felicia absolutely despised, it's people like him. To her, he had stopped being human the moment he did all those things to those village girls. He was now lower than an insect—he was a vile and wretched existence.

And then, once all his limbs were gone, she lifted the paralysis drug, for she wished to hear his scream.

She left them like that afterward, letting him die of thirst before turning him into one of her collections, just like his subordinates. In his last hours, he could only curse her over and over. He didn't even know her name, nor did she know his. Felicia had no intention of giving him the pleasure of knowing who tortured him and she didn't find it important to know his name. After all, what use was a name to a creature lower than an insect?

It was the only time she ever did such a cruel experiment. But it was enough to take her necromantic arc to the next level.

_The old bastard has become too suspicious of me lately. He wants me to stay in the castle at all times, no matter how much I pleasure him in bed._

_He has to go. And I shall make his corpse be my puppet._

Killing him was terribly easy. She just had to put some poison powder on her breasts as he loved sucking on them like an overgrown manchild every time they slept together. Afterward, she had the rest of the night to convert him into one of her so-called “perfect zombies”.

When dawn came, the king had become her puppet completely—body and soul, with no one knowing any better, for it was preferably for him to be a doll than a living man. Such was the fate of one so wretched in their act.

She wouldn't have done it if her daughter had professed any love for him. She would bear having to pretend to be his lover at night, no matter how disgusted she was at doing so. But after she revealed all her father's wrongdoings to the princess, she agreed that someone needed to stop him. She even begged her to persuade him, thinking that Felicia was in the position to do so. Little did she know that the king only saw her as his bedwarmer and nothing more.

And so she executed her plan. For no one was really inconvenienced by it. Now, the kingdom would be led by the prime minister instead, which was a much more reasonable man. Everyone would prefer if he was in charge.

And so, everything went swimmingly for the necromancer. She could do her research as much as she wanted, having the freedom to do whatever she wanted and to go wherever she wanted to. She had not seen any Magocracy agents in years after she defeated that bubble girl.

It was perfect. 

Until the Inquisition came.

\--------

_Tch, why? Why must they come now? Now out of all times? And how do they even know this location?!_

Felicia bit her thumb with her teeth as she paced around in the circle—an unmistakably distressed look drawn on her face.

She was now in the heart of her dungeon, in her laboratory to be exact. Using her control over the Dungeon Core, she was able to transform part of the dungeon to suit her own needs. So now, she was standing in a large well-ventilated room filled with numerous alchemical equipment. The ventilation wouldn't transfer the contaminated air to the outside though. Instead, it dumped it deeper into the earth.

There, as she was doing her work, her knight arrived, delivering her the bad news. While she was absent, a group of Inquisitors had stormed the castle and exposed the king as an undead she was controlling. And now, the entire nation was marching here to have her head.

"You should escape, Milady. Take Rowana and Miss Leila with you. I can give you a diversion."

"No no no! I can't leave now! I am so close! So very close in completing my very own Soul Gate! I'll have to spend years constructing it all over again if I leave now!"

Her thumb was now bleeding from the force of her teeth. _To think that someone would be able to detect the dark mana emanating from that old fool’s puppet. So that’s the power of the Inquisitors. I have heard about them, but to think that they’re not just a bunch of zealots who lack any brains whatsoever…_

_No, there’s no possible way they can stumble upon my creation by accident. They should be on their way to the Demon Continent, that much I know. They would not make a sudden detour, unless something, or someone, gives them a hint that a necromancer is here._

_...Don’t tell me that…. No, their pride shouldn’t allow them to do so. They want me alive, don’t they? To be dragged and paraded among their citizens before being executed? They won’t just decide to let the Church have the glory of finishing me off._

_Still, it’s a possibility. They would already know where my base is, judging by the ambush they tried on me all those years ago._

_It doesn’t matter. All I should be concerned about is how I should get out of this situation._

She continued to pace back and forth, thinking to envision a scenario where she could come out on top. All the options she had however were unsatisfactory. She couldn’t take the Soul Gate with her. And she certainly couldn’t last against an entire kingdom’s army and a group of Church Inquisitors who were no doubt well-trained to fight necromancers like her.

Or could she?

_If I utilized the advantage I possess by being the master of this dungeon, then perhaps I still have a chance! I can thin out their numbers considerably by laying down traps and ambushing them from the shadows! And if I can take those Inquisitors by surprise…_

A grin appeared on her face.

“Rejoice, Lord Berault. For there is no need for us to abandon our Soul Gate. Your wish of being reunited with your wife will truly be fulfilled as I have promised. You shall no longer have to content being with a mere replica.”

“I am gladdened to hear that, Milady, but it is unwise to—”

“No, we have a chance. But you would have to do a lot of dishonorable combat. I hope you are fine with that, Milord.”

“But what about Miss Lelia? Surely we can’t drag her into our fight.”

“True.” She bit her lip “We would have to remove her from the premises.”

Her little apprentice was currently sleeping right now in her room, together with her resurrected father. Naturally, Felicia had created their room to be as cozy as she could. The girl had been afraid of the place when she first arrived, but soon she found it to be akin to her own home back in her village. And in these past months, she had proved to her that she was brimming with magical talent, not just in alchemy but in dark magic as well. She had proved to herself that she had made the right choice.

And Felicia had never been happier, for the necromancer was a lonely woman who always wanted a family. These past months, not only was she her master, but she also acted almost like her surrogate mother. She cooked her delicious food every day and read her books before bed, just so to see her smile. The poor girl was lonely as well, as she never had a mother in her life, as she died from birthing her. So it was the perfect arrangement.

In truth, what she sought was not an apprentice necromancer. She just wanted a family of her own.

“We wouldn't want her to see the carnage after all." She grinned.


	145. The Siege Begins

“I don’t wanna!”

“Now, Leila, don’t be stubborn, we can’t—”

“If you’re staying, then I’m staying too!”

Felicia held her hand on her forehead. Just as she feared, the girl was too stubborn to leave.

After ordering her knight to prepare for their “guests”, the necromancer went to the girl’s room to speak with her. Just like her laboratory, it was a modified room, designed to be as comfortable-looking as it could be, for an underground room anyway. If the dwarves could learn to like it, then humans should be able to. The little girl never complained about it anyway, especially since every day she could go outside and play with her father, using the hidden shortcut that would take them straight to the surface from the depths of the dungeon. That shortcut was, of course, something she made herself as well, using the Dungeon Core.

And, as she had feared, the little girl was less than receptive to the idea of leaving the place.

“If those Church bad guys are coming, then I wanna fight too!”

The little girl had no love for the church. They never really cared about her people. They charged exorbitant money for their healing services. She still remembered how a wandering priest refused to help her father’s back pains, while her dear Miss Felicia did it for free. That’s why she quickly agreed to Felicia’s teachings that the Church just comprised a bunch of power-hungry, money-grubbing, close-minded idiots. _If Miss Felicia says that dark magic isn’t evil, then it isn’t! I don’t care what they say!_

“No, no, you cannot.” Felicia sighed her head as she took a seat beside her on the bed. “I’m doing this for your own safety.” She put her arm around her with a smile. “The battle would be dangerous, so I can’t have you around.”

“So, you’re saying… I’m useless?” Her eyes watered.

Felicia responded with a gentle tap on her scalp.

“Naughty girl. That won’t work anymore, you know.” She smiled. The necromancer, having spent four months with her, knew that she liked to use her puppy-like face to get what she wanted. “If you’re going to fight with me, then you should get better at your magic first.” Truth be told, the young girl’s talent truly surprised her. In just the four months that she became her master, she could already cast Beginner-level Shadow spells, along with producing the most basic of alchemical compounds. She believed that she truly would be the companion she wished to have in her ambition to obliterate death from the world. The little girl wasn’t bothered in the slightest when she was told that her father was actually a zombie reanimated by her spell. For her, as long as he was there, acting like his usual self, it was already enough. It was exactly the pragmatic, open-minded attitude she desired.

“Come. I’ll send you and your father to hide somewhere. Give me a week at the very most and then I’ll be there to take you back, alright?” She put her hand on her two little shoulders.

“Fine…” She pouted. “But promise that you’ll come back, alright? Miss Felicia… you’re just… you’re just like Mother! So I don’t want to see you hurt!” She shouted. Now, the watery eyes were real.

“Good girl.” Felicia kissed her on her forehead. “Now, pack your things. I’ll send your father to help.”

The place she chose for their temporary hideout was a certain unmarked cavern near the dungeon. She believed it was far enough to be safe from all the fighting while still being close enough that she could fetch them right away in case anything went wrong. She had a good reason to believe that the Inquisition wouldn’t spare Leila if they caught her, even if she was just a little girl. Since when age would stop their zealotry?

When she finished hiding Leila and her father, it was just hours away until the army arrived right in front of her footsteps.

And when they did, she was more than ready.

\----------

The soldiers soon arrived, and they immediately made their encampment in front of the dungeon. The general then took one hundred of his troops as a vanguard force, to see just how dangerous the dungeon was. Thankfully for him, the dungeon had a wide entrance, easily capable of supporting such an army.

“Welcome, good people of Fiania! Welcome to my humble abode!”

When the soldiers first entered the dungeon, they would hear her voice echoing from the walls. It was yet another ability the Dungeon Core granted her.

“Go further at your own peril! I wish no evil on any of you, but if you insist on trespassing my domain, then I shall not hesitate to end your lives!”

“Silence, witch!” The general yelled back, his voice far louder than hers. “To kill your own monarch, someone that had taken you in from the streets, you have done something unforgivable! As the general of this kingdom, I shall put you down like the snake you are!”

“Oh, I’m sure you would, General.” She chuckled. “But what about your Inquisitor friends? Do they have anything they wish to say to me?”

The Inquisitors were indeed there, standing with the general. They had kept their silence until now.

“We have nothing to say to a heretic,” the lady named Whitebloom said in a serene expression.

“Nothing? Are you certain?” Felicia replied in a mocking tone. “You don’t wish to tell me to repent or anything like that?”

“There is no redemption for you. You shall be burned at the stake and your soul shall be condemned to oblivion.”

In the Milicis faith, the ultimate punishment was the destruction of the soul, forbidding oneself from being reincarnated altogether. Some believed it to be a complete cessation of existence, while others believed that the soul would wander in nothingness for eternity.

“Ooo, scary. Then, come and get me. If you could, that is.”

No other words would come from her after that.

And, as she had expected, they weren’t backing down. They decided to march on, despite the warning she had graciously given them.

_Fine. I can use more zombie soldiers after all._

\-----------

The necromancer made true of her threats soon enough.

“Aarghh!”

“Ugyaahhh!”

Another explosion. Another trap being triggered.

And another squad of soldiers completely obliterated.

The wide opening of the entrance didn’t last long. The structure of the dungeon soon narrowed, splitting off into multiple small paths and branches. It wasn’t just a two-dimensional maze. It ran on three dimensions, as the passages and corridors went up and down as well.

And one by one, the necromancer thinned their numbers down.

Using her alchemy, she had outfitted many of the rooms with explosives and poisonous gases. The soldiers, having no experience in tackling a dungeon, fell from them over and over.

When the day ended, they barely made any progress, with most of that hundred soldiers becoming corpses. Thus the general, by the approval of the Inquisitors, opted for a retreat.

\----------

“Damn that woman!” The general slammed his fist on the table.

He and the Inquisitors were now outside the dungeon, inside the command tent the soldiers had set up. They were having a meeting to decide what their next move should be, after their abject failure.

“There’s no use of being mad, General,” Lady Whitebloom spoke with a disinterested expression. “It is to be expected from a person abhorrent enough to use necromancy in the first place. If I were to suggest a course of action, you should recruit adventurers to scour this dungeon. They’re more well-suited for this kind of expedition than your army.”

“Adventurers?” He paused, looking towards her with a displeased frown. “Lady, I do not take kindly to that statement! I’ve raised my soldiers like they’re my own flesh and blood! I will not let a bunch of untrustworthy sellswords steal their glory—”

“Your glory is irrelevant. What matters is that we caught that woman, and to do so in a timely manner.” She stood up from the rickety chair she was sitting on. “I can feel it—dark magic gathering into one great singularity. She’s preparing a dark ritual of some sort. And I would rather not have her complete it, wouldn’t you agree, General?”

She was now staring right at the General’s eyes. Even though she was shorter and daintier than him, the general couldn’t help but feel intimidated by her. She reminded him of his overbearing wife, only ten times worse. He knew she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he ever stepped out of line—something she could do as an enforcer of the Church.

“Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll send a messenger to announce the recruitment.”

“Limit it to B-rank at the very least,” she ordered. “We don’t need inexperienced buffoons to make things more difficult.”

As the general summoned said messenger, she stepped outside, moving her gaze towards the dungeon entrance below the cliff they were currently on.

Ever since she was little, she already had great sensitivity towards dark magic. When she was five, she could already point out a heretic that secretly practiced dark magic, even though she could only cast Beginner-level Holy spells at the time. And when her accusation was proven to be true, and not just a silly rambling of a little girl, the Church acknowledged her talent as an inquisitor, so she was given the best inquisitorial training that they could afford to give her.

This, naturally, granted much prestige and honor to her family.

The Whitebloom family was never amongst one of the so-called “top dogs” of the Church, thus for her to be a Vice Head Inquisitor like this, it was a great boon to them. Not to mention that it led her marrying someone from the house of Norn, which was one of those so-called top dogs. He was the one who asked her to be his wife too, which was an even bigger honor. All thanks to her ability as an Inquisitor. The moment the news spread that she could cast her very first Grandmaster-level spell, he proposed to her.

Was she happy? Of course. She had always admired his dedication to the Saint and the Church. Just like her, he was a man of holiness who chooses to use his life to do good and vanquish all that is evil, no matter what form they took. She still remembered how he coolly brought to justice a benefactor of his who had made a pact with demons in secret. He didn’t care that he had trained him for years as an Inquisitor, or how he only summoned a demon to cure the illness of his wife. He knew that no matter the person or the reason, evil is evil and it must be rooted out of existence without mercy.

The fool believed that a life corrupted by dark magic is better than death in purity. Does he not believe that the righteous shall enter the paradise of Sher where illness took no hold? And so, both he and his wife had to be cleansed by the fires of judgment for it.

And now, it was her chance—to prove that she was worthy of being his wife. This necromancer was the perfect great evil for her to slay.

\----------

**Hugo**

“So this is the dungeon, huh? I have no idea how they couldn’t find it earlier before now.”

In front of me was a towering gate-like structure made of white bricks. It was about as tall as a three-story building, but its wideness was far more than that. A hundred soldiers could indeed enter the place, as that soldier had told us. It led straight into the tall cliff behind it, though according to the soldier as well, the dungeon also went downwards, ever deeper into the valley we were currently standing on.

“Like I’ve said, this entire cliff side used to be buried by rocks. Not to mention that there weren’t that many people traveling here in the first place,” the soldier explained.

“Anton, have you ever been to a dungeon like this?” I turned around to face him.

“I’ve told you before, haven’t I? Every dungeon is unique. It’s unwise to assume that one dungeon is akin to another, even if they might look so,” he replied with a frown. “That’s why normally, it would take a long time to clear one. If we adventurers are to keep ourselves alive, we need to take it slow. We have to make a map, deduce the manner of traps the dungeon likes to use, notes the manner how the monsters operate, and so on, and so forth. It’s not a simple matter to clear a dungeon.”

“But if it’s Hu—I-I mean Charles, he can do it with his eyes closed, can’t you?” Amelie grinned at my direction. 

_Nearly let my real name slip there. Can’t be helped, I suppose, since she’s been calling me that for quite some time now._

“Don’t be an idiot,” Anne countered. “He might be strong against monsters, but without us to keep an eye for him, he’ll just walk right into a trap and die from it.”

“H-hey, I’m not that clumsy, you know,” I protested. _Though she got a point. I don’t have any experience dealing with dungeon traps._

“So, you came.”

I looked behind me and saw a person walking down from the nearby hill.

Silver hair, long ears, and a dispassionate expression—there was no doubt about it.

It was Ilymhyrra.

“I expected to see you here. Didn’t think you’d drag your friends with you though.” She gave a momentary glance towards Anton and the others. “Come. I wish to speak to you in private.”

It took me a few seconds to process her more-than-sudden appearance.

“Hey, you’re the elf that saved us back then, weren’t you?” Anne approached her with a smile before offering her hand. “I didn’t get the chance to thank you back then.”

The elf gave her a confused look but shook her hand nonetheless.

“W-why are you here? I thought you’re going to the Magocracy!” I finally managed to speak. “You promised, you know!” I put on my angry look. “And where is she? The one you’re supposed to keep your eye on?”

“Don’t fret about her,” she replied, still keeping her neutral expression. “She won’t do any mischief. I made sure of that. And she’s with me if you want to confirm it in person.”

She turned towards the hill. Sure enough, at the distance, I could see a girl standing there with a tall witch’s hat.

“Come. I need to speak with you,” she asked again.

I had no choice but to obey. After what she did to me back then, I had gained a certain amount of fear towards her. I knew for sure that she completely outclassed me in every way. If I didn’t comply, she might just decide to knock me in the back of the head before taking me anyway.

I gave a nod towards Anne. “I’ll go. You guys stay here, alright?” I looked at Anton and Amelie as well. Anne gave me a questioning look but said nothing.

The elf then took me toward said hill. Once we left the encampment, she began speaking once more.

“Do you think of saving her?”

“Her? You mean, the necromancer?”

“Yes. She’s your friend, is she not?”

“I wouldn’t say that. She’s just… an acquaintance.”

“Truly? Then why are you here? To slay her?”

“Do I really have to answer? It’s none of your business, is it?”

I could hear my voice rising in tone. I wasn’t sure why myself, but I was getting angry towards her.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. She turned around and looked me right in the eyes.

“If you think of saving her, then I suggest not doing so.”

“Why not? Just because she’s a necromancer?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, her glare intensified, seemingly burning straight into my head.

I think I might have angered her.

“Necromancy is a vulgar and disgusting magic. It is only used by vulgar and disgusting people. Making puppets out of the dead—all living things should see it as abhorrent.”

“If it’s done on monsters, then I don’t care.”

“But she doesn’t only use it on monsters, does she?” Her eyes narrowed. “Other than the king ,how many other humans do you think she had turned?”

“He’s an evil bastard so I don’t particularly care.”

I answered her frankly, even though I knew my answer didn’t really make me look in the right. It was a childish answer, placing the king as this pure evil person with no redeeming qualities. There is no such thing as pure good and pure evil, no matter what world you’re in.

Still, that was what I felt. And so I spoke it to her. To my surprise, instead of lecturing me about how naïve I was, she instead opted to ask me another question.

“And you believe she is a better person?” 

“Hey, she’s not the one who executed his own wife just because she gave birth to a disabled daughter. And she’s not the one who forced girls to sleep with him. She’s the one who cured plagues. And she did it for free too. She might be a necromancer, but I don’t see that as an evil thing. Unlike you, I think it’s not inherently good or bad. It’s just another form of magic after all. It’s like saying if a sword is good or evil.”

Those words seemed to hit her even harder. As her glare intensified even more, her grip on her staff tightened. For a second, I readied my hand on the hilt of my sword, as I felt she was going to hit me with it.

“I remember.” She spoke. “There was a certain someone saying such things a long time ago. That person ended up causing great suffering for everyone around them. She didn’t become a savior for anyone, not for him, or the world, or even herself.”

I had no idea who she was referring to in that sentence. Great suffering? Might she be talking about the Necromancer King? But it’s a “king” so it should be a “he”, not a she. 

She then took a few steps towards me until she stood right in front of me. 

“If you believe that she is worth saving, then I won’t stop you. But know this. If she remains on the path she’s currently walking, she will only become another calamity upon this world.”

She turned around, walking away for a few steps before stopping, resuming her speech but without sparing a glance towards me.

“Necromancy is an accursed magic. It is a demonic art that humans should never learn or use. One of the Demon Lords of old used it extensively against humanity back in those days. They would use it to make us fight against our own dead comrades and families, for they enjoyed the pained looks we would have. If you truly care for your friend, you would tell her to stop. After all, she doesn’t really need it. She’s a perfectly serviceable alchemist already. Tell her that it’s a fool’s errand to believe that one can overcome death.”

With those words said, she resumed her walk. 

And she refused to say anything else until we reached the top of the hill.


	146. Hugo’s Resolve

"Well well well, we meet again."

When we reached the top of the hill, I was greeted by, who else, Elun. She stood with a smug grin on her face—something that immediately triggered my desire to punch her.

"Aw, what's with the frown? Don't worry. I'm no longer after your head. Master Ilymhyrra would never let me hear the end of it if I break my promise to her."

_Master… Ilymhyrra?_

"Stop it. I'm not your Master," the elf interjected.

"Oh, come on now, Master Ilymhyrra! I have declared my intent to fully devote myself under your tutelage! You can't just reject me like that!" she replied with a playful smile. "Yes, I now have acknowledged her as the Founder's Master." She turned to face me again, putting one hand on her waist. "These past month, my observations of her conclude that yes, she's indeed the person whom she spoke of. Naturally, this means I should grovel on her feet to make her accept me as an apprentice."

"I'm not teaching you anything," the elf interjected with a glare.”

"Don't worry. She'll get around, eventually.” The blue-haired mage ignored her statement completely. “More importantly," She suddenly walked up close to me, making me take a few steps backwards in apprehension. "You, Hugo Greenwood, you are truly a madman, aren't you? You're thinking of saving Felicia, knowing full well that the Church will make you a heretic for it. Have you fallen for her charms? I know she's quite the looker."

"I'm not," I replied with a frown. "I just want to talk to her."

"Ha! As if I'm going to believe that! But it's fine. I like your gumption, boy." She smirked. "Are you sure you don't want to become my husband? I want that kind of man to be my significant other. Though you're just a boy right now."

"Not interested."

"Are you sure? Let's give that a test, shall we?"

She twirled her index finger, and suddenly—

*WOOSH*

A gust of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere, lifting the blue-haired mage's skirt. Its hem flew all the way upwards, revealing the blue-striped underwear she wore underneath. They clung tightly to her womanhood, adding a lot to their seductiveness despite being plain otherwise, especially compared to the fancy lace panties the princess showed to me just yesterday.

Naturally, they immediately charmed my poor, virgin eyes.

“Like what you’re seeing?” She had her hands on her waist, her skirt still fluttering to the wind. “Just so you know, I have a lot of suitors back home. None interests me though. They’re all inferior to me in the art of magic. But you. You are different. Even though you’re still so young, you are already capable of defeating me. If that’s not a sign of an unpolished gem, then I don’t know what that is. And so, I want you to become my husband. Under my guidance, and Mother’s, you will become the great mage you are always meant to be. I have no doubt about it whatsoever.”

I nodded, barely hearing what she was spouting out of her mouth.

"Hey, are you even listening?" She pouted. The wind finally died down, allowing me to regain my senses. "I see it now." She smirked. "The rumors of you being a perv were right after all."

To be honest, it wasn't the first time I saw her undergarments. When we fought before, she didn't really attempt to hide them either. With how short her skirt was, it was only natural I got a view or two.

"Eh, I've seen better," I put on my mocking smile. It's true. In terms of lewdity, that princess' lingerie was still lewder.

She huffed, crossing her arms. "From who? That blonde girl you're with? I doubt it. My panties are my biggest charm point. I've seduced many men by showing them off."

"Then they just have a low standard in panties," I fired back. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a panty-connoisseur per se, but upskirts were certainly one of my favorite ecchi tropes. And to think I could indulge in them this much in this second life, aah, it's truly a blessing.

"Hmph. I see you're not cultured enough to appreciate a good striped panties. Fine. How about this then?"

She twirled her index finger once again. And just like before, a gust of wind blew her skirt upwards.

Only this time, she added some hefty acting on top of it.

"Iyaahh!"

She let out a painfully obvious fake screech as she tried to both keep her hat in place and her skirt down. Ever so slightly, she turned her butt to my direction, allowing me to see her panties in a completely new angle from before.

"T-the wind! I-it's not stopping!"

The striped fabric didn't cover her buttocks completely, leaving a visible buttcrack in the middle. They were indeed a good pair of low-rise shimapan.

After a while, the wind stopped.

"Kyaah, such a perverted wind… I'm lucky no one is around to look…” she said as she gave a smirk towards my direction.

“I’m sorry, that level of bad acting won’t work.” I folded my arms and shook my head. “We both know you’re shameless enough to not feel any embarrassment whatsoever when people can see your underwear. Unfortunately for you, my type of girl is the shy, innocent kind, precisely the kind of words I won’t use to describe you.” That’s a lie, of course. I’m into lewd, promiscuous girls as well. As a guy who’s afraid to make the first move, I certainly want a teasing girlfriend who will throw herself at me. Not her, though. I might be a perverted virgin, but I’m not a naive one. She just wanted me for my magical talent. And my seed, if I had to imagine. To raise a child strong in magic so the strength of her family would be bolstered—that’s exactly what Vera wanted with Marina. I’m not going to fall for that!

She let out a huff once again, before putting up another act. This time, it was the classic puppy eyes. “Really? You’re not attracted to me in the slightest?”

“Nope. Not even a little.”

She let out a long sigh. “Fine. I guess I’ll have to use my ultimate weapon now.”

_Ultimate weapon? What is she—W-whoaaa!_

My heart nearly popped out of my chest, for she started to pull her striped panties downwards, right in front of my very eyes. Noticing my reaction, she gave a victorious smirk, before continuing with the process, teasing me as the fabric slowly traveled down her luscious thighs.

Until a certain person stopped her anyway.

*SMACK*

“Ooww! What was that for?!”

“That’s enough. I’m not here to see you flirt with him.”

It was Ilmyhrra, of course. She had hit her with the end of her staff.

“Fine.” She grumbled, lifting her underwear back in place.

"Tell him."

"Ah, right, I guess he deserves to know." She put her hands on her waist, her usual smug smile forming on her lips. "You see, I have a confession to make. I was the one who gave the hint to those Inquisitors of Felicia's presence."

My stomach suddenly churned.

"It was simple, really. I knew they were passing by, so I sent them an anonymous letter, detailing everything that she had done. The zealous fools wouldn't be able to ignore it, of course, and when they sent their men to investigate, they would find that the letter was speaking the truth. And so, they would take care of her. I didn't have to do anything other than providing the information. Isn't my plan genius?" She grinned. "Originally, I wanted to bring her back to the Magocracy, but now, my orders were to kill her by any means necessary. So I chose this. Less exciting, for sure, but I don't have to risk making the kingdom send a complaint to the Empire about our presence here."

I suddenly remembered her words after we first fought. _"You might want to check on your redheaded friend."_ I didn't realize it back then, but it was clear now that she was referring to Felicia. That was her other goal—the one she had accomplished.

"You're quite the snake, aren't you?" I said in a surprisingly cold tone.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she replied, patting herself on the chest. “As one of the spies of the Magocracy, I have to take care of its possible future enemies after all.”

“What about me? You think I won’t become an enemy in the future?” I confronted her.

“According to my assessment, you would.” She still kept her grin. “But, you have gained the protection of Master Ilmyhrra. And I’m not going to go against her wishes. Nor would the Council, if they believed her statement, which, after a few demonstrations, they should. After all, she’s the master of our Founder.”

I turned my attention towards Ilymhyrra. "And I guess you don't want to grant her the same protection?"

"Why would I?" the elf replied with a questioning look.

_...Yeah, of course not._

"Is that all?" I returned towards the blue-haired mage. "Got any other schemes or plans you want to tell me?"

"Nah, that's all of them." She smiled. "Though I have one more thing to say."

"And that is…"

"If you really want to do something stupid like killing the Inquisitors, then I suggest you get stronger. Much, much stronger. As strong as a Council member, at the very least. Or else you won't survive when they come after you in full force."

"Do you think I don't know that?! Why do you think I kept up my training every day?!" Before I realized it, I had raised my voice. "And why are you telling me that anyway? You don't want me to be around, do you?"

"Just a simple friendly advice, nothing more." She smirked. "You might think you're a hotshot after beating me, but there are people much stronger than both of us out there. After this, I would return to my training. As someone who would inherit the Brine family name, I still had a long way to go, if I can still be beaten by a kid half my age."

My eyes went to Ilymhyrra. _People like her._

"Why are you guys here anyway? Just to give me advice that I already know?" I asked the elf.

"I simply wish to observe, that's all," she replied.

"Observe? You're not going to interfere?"

"Interfere? My days of interfering have long passed. I am now just a simple wanderer, nothing more. Though I do have another advice for you." She walked closer towards me. "The way you're living right now… you're going to dig your own grave, sooner or later."

"I'm going to live however I want, thank you very much,” I readily answered. I could feel I was starting to get annoyed by the sanctimonious way she spoke. “It’s better to die early than to rot away living a life you don’t want.” _Like my old self._

“So you wish to play the hero.” A look of disgust came onto her face. “Who are you to do so? You’re not chosen by the Heavenly Dragon. You’re just a kid who thinks he’s special, just because he’s a little better in magic than the average people. You should learn your place, before the world forces you to.”

Y _eah, that's it. Now she's_ ** _really_** _seriously annoying me._

"I know I'm not special. I know I'm not like you who got to be the mentor of the Great Archmage herself. I know I can't even land a scratch on you at my current strength. But know this. I'll fight for what is precious to me, no matter who the opponent might be. That's how I'm going to live my life." I stared right at her eyes without flinching. " What about you? You're a thousand years old. Maybe even older. What have you done with your life? If you spent all those years just wandering around without purpose, just observing things without actually involving yourselves into them, you'll only regret it once you left this world.”

In my old life, I would laugh cynically at people who dreamed big and tried to change things. Activists, politicians, or even wide-eyed newbies who devoted themselves to the company I was working under. I believed myself superior to them, as in my cynicism, I believed that all their efforts were for naught. I scoffed at the idea that it’s better to try and fail than never try at all, while at the same time, hypocritically feeling jealous towards those more successful than me.

I was just being a coward. I was afraid to put myself out there, outside my comfort’s zone.

So I remained a mere observer, having nothing to be proud of in my own life, while criticizing others’ life as if I had the right to do so.

It was an empty and hollow existence.

“Though perhaps that doesn't apply to your kind, being immortal and all,” I added with a bitter smile. “We humans don’t have that luxury, unfortunately. So keep your platitudes to yourself.”

I then realized what irked me about her statement.

It was the same words given to me by those bullies back in my old life.

I still remembered it clearly, even if it happened a long time ago in another life. I had stood up to a girl who was being harassed by them. I was really naive back then, with no idea on how cruel other people could be. I didn’t know that they already hated me, thanks to how popular I was with the girls.

It was a memory I would rather forget.

\--------

“Ahahahaha! Look guys! He’s pissing himself! Some Hero of Justice, you are!”

“P-please, s-stop…”

“Hmm? What’s that? I can’t hear you! Speak louder, you idiot!”

Another kick to the stomach. “Uurghhh!” My stomach retched. I puked out what I had for lunch.

That fateful day, we were behind one of the large buildings in the school complex, hidden away from the eyes of the public. After I tried to stop them, I was dragged here by force, before they started pummeling me over and over. I tried to fight back as best as I could, but naturally, with them bigger and older than me, I couldn’t do anything. It didn’t take long until I was on the ground, paralyzed from the pain.

“Pathetic, isn’t it?”

The one who spoke was their leader. Unlike his subordinates, he wasn't as big and muscled as they were. If I had to compare his face, it was akin to that of a rat, with two teeth too big for their own good at the front. He wore a pair of thick, unfashionable glasses. Add his bowlcut of a hair, it was clear that he wasn’t the fashionable type.

Fujiki Chiyama. It was a name I would rather forget as well.

He crouched near me with a vile, victorious grin on his face. “You know, I’ve hated you ever since you came to this school. Just because you have good looks, you think it gives you the right to pick up any girls you wanted. Don’t you understand how it makes the rest of us feel? Us who are not blessed by your looks?” He stood up and placed his right foot on top of my head.” Now you see that you’re nothing special. You’re just a nobody. Just from some upper middle class family who thinks they’re good enough to enter Tenjouin. They didn’t get the memo that this is supposed to be a school exclusive to rich and influential people. Like me, the son of the owner of Chiyama Incorporated. And so, even though I do this—” He kicked me in the face once more. “I won’t get into any trouble in the slightest. You know why? Because I am important while you are a nobody. Without my father’s support, this school wouldn’t thrive as it is right now. And if you’re involving the police, then I have an army of lawyers that can protect me, something you certainly cannot afford.”

After another kick to my stomach, he left the rest of the job to his goons. I was beaten black and blue until I soiled myself as well. And then, I was thrown to the middle of the school grounds, just in time before the afternoon bell to ring.

The whole school saw me in that humiliating state, exactly what he wanted. 

And when I returned a year later, my popularity had vanished into the wind, and my spirit with it.

\---------

_He believed I wasn’t special, that I was just a nobody._

_He was right. Just like how Ilmyhrra is right. I am not the hero of some isekai story with their cheat powers. I am just a guy who somehow reincarnated into a fantasy world where I was given a second chance in life._

_Still, it doesn’t mean I’m going to debase myself in front of these “heroes” and “Chosen Ones”. I have my own life to lead, even if it means crossing their paths._

“Elun.” I turned to the blue-haired mage. “Use a spell. Just a basic one.”

“Hmm? A spell? What for?”

“I’ll show her.” I gave a glance towards the elf. “I’ve gotten stronger since the last time we met.”

“Ooh, interesting!’ She grinned. “Alright then! One simple bubble spell coming up!”

She opened her right hand. I walked closer to her and reached out with my own hand near hers.

And then, I could feel it—the shift of mana near said hand. I responded quickly, sending my own mana to disturb hers.

“Hmm?”

She continued gathering mana, only for me to scatter it, over and over and over.

Her grin now turned into a nervous one. “N-no way… You learned it, didn’t you? Master’s technique…” I looked at Ilmyhrra from the corner of my eyes and saw her surprised expression as well.

“I learned that, just by remembering when you used it on me a month ago.” I faced the elf. “Sure, the range is still really short right now, but eventually, it’ll reach your range.” I walked closer to her. “Know why I did it? Because I don’t trust you. Maybe you’ll come after me and those I care about one day with your full, terrifying strength. I would curse myself forever if I don’t prepare myself for that day. I don’t care if you’re Mira’s master or whatever. I’ll fight you with all my unimportant, insignificant self.”

She returned my gaze with her own. We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, until she broke hers.

“Then you shouldn’t have shown it to me, you brainless buffoon.”

To my surprise, a smile appeared on her lips.

“That’s what I used to call her. In a sense, you are terribly alike to her. You both have the same flaws and strengths. You both have hero complexes. You both like to charge into danger without thinking first. You both have foolish pride towards your magic, even when you're not that good at it. You both can't stand it when you're being underestimated. You both want to prove yourselves very badly. And of course, you two are already this strong even at such a young age. I still remember that day when I found her in the flaming rubble of her town. She had managed to take out the Demon Lord that invaded it, all by herself, without anyone ever teaching her magic beforehand. She was just around your age." She gave me a mischievous glance. "Though a dragon might not be on that level, for your case."

I could only stand in silence. The sudden change in her behavior really took me by surprise.

She averted her eyes once more. "I shall be watching you, Hugo Greenwood. You and your short, human life." She started to walk away. "I'll be observing you. I wish to know what kind of life you will lead."

With those totally-not-ominous words, she and Elun departed, with her short tale still echoing inside my mind.

_Me? Similar to Mira?_

_Perhaps the heroes of old are more human than I thought they were._

I watched them disappear into the horizon. _She’ll be watching me. Until the day I die, I presume. To me, that’s a lifetime of stalking. But to her, it’s probably just a short note in her long history._

_...Welp, I think I just picked up quite the troublesome person to be interested in me._

_But I’ll show her. And my own self for that matter. That I wouldn’t waste this second life of mine._

I looked towards the entrance to the dungeon where Felicia had hidden herself. 

_Starting from her._


	147. Glory Seekers

_This is it! This is my chance to regain my glory!_

Such was the thought that flew inside Arcturus’ head when he heard the news about the necromancer. It turned out that the bitch who had scorned his advances was a necromancer all along and now the kingdom put a bounty for her head! And that bounty was open to them high-ranking adventurers!

He quickly gathered any members of his clan who hadn’t left the capital. After his honestly not-that-big-of-a-deal minor mistake, a lot of the member parties had left, unfortunately. Still, he managed to gather about 20 people, give or take, including his best friend Red. Not his own party, though. They had all left him—those traitors.

And now, after reporting to the castle, they were on-route to the dungeon, with Arcturus and Red leading at the front.

“Tch, to think that she would be a necromancer… how dare she try to seduce me to sleep with her back then?!”

“I’m pretty sure you were the one who wanted her to sleep with you,” Red replied with a sigh.

“Oh, shut up! You haven’t heard how she seduced the king to get her position in the first place? And look at how she dressed. She’s asking for men to leer at her.”

Red could only shake his head in response. He thought that after his blunder with the dragon, he would change at least a little. Apparently not.

_Another reason why I need to watch over him._

To be honest, Red himself wasn’t really that interested in taking down the necromancer. If not for the large payment they were promised, and the fact that he wanted to watch over his friend, he wouldn’t have taken the job.

He too was disappointed that Felicia was revealed to be that kind of person. Though if he were to be honest, she already gave that shady vibe ever since he met her.

\----------

They promptly started their dungeon exploration once they arrived, after reporting to the general. They were given authority to make their way through the dungeon on their own, with no supervision from the army or the Inquisitors. Of course, they were led through the already discovered and secured part of the dungeon, until they were left on their own, as vanguards of the capture effort.

There were, of course, a couple of other adventurer parties that had taken on the offer, but none were as numerous as their group. Most of them were just B-ranks, with only a few even reaching A-rank. For them, their tasks would mainly be to secure the already conquered paths of the dungeon, to make way for the rest of the army to travel through, once they could decipher the exact route one should take to get to the center of the dungeon.

Red quickly took charge of the group, assigning roles and positions and such according to his wisdom as an experienced adventurer who had ventured into several other dungeons before. Arcturus tried to do the role, but judging by the distrustful looks on the other adventurers, it was clear as day that they preferred Red to be their leader instead.

_Damn it! Just you wait, you shitty necromancer! I’ll claim your head and regain my honor! I swear on my adventurer pride!_

Once again, Red could only sigh at his fallen friend.

\-----------

An hour into their exploration, it was all-too-obvious to Red that this was no ordinary dungeon. The way it laid down its traps and monsters—it was far more intelligent than the usual dungeon. Just before, they were ambushed by a rain of acid, right as acid slimes, who were naturally immune to said rain, surrounded them. Before that, a band of goblins tried to flank them, while baiting their group to separate with each other, using the small and winding corridors they had to go through. And before that, a pitfall nearly swallowed them whole, if not for the rogue of their party noticing that something was off at the floor they were standing on.

It was easily the most treacherous dungeon Red had been in.

“Alright everyone, let’s take a break, shall we?” He told the group.

They were currently inside a large stony room, filled with statues of ancient figures none of them recognized. They weren’t informed on the history of the place, nor they particularly would care. The place didn’t seem to have any traps or monsters, so it was the perfect place to take a break.

They sat down for a bit, tending to any wounds they might have and to catch their breath.

Just when they were about to relax, however…

“What’s this? Having a picnic, aren’t we?”

Immediately they stood back up, drawing their weapons while standing with their backs touching each other.

And then, from the ceiling in front of them, black shadows crawled down through the air, before manifesting into a redheaded woman they were already familiar with.

“Greetings, adventurers,” she said with a grin. “I’m sure you still remember who I am, so let’s skip the formalities, shall we?”

Red promptly leaped forward and moved his fists downwards towards her, only to find that it was merely a shadow, and not the real person herself.

“Come on now. Do you truly believe I would actually be here?” She laughed.

“You bitch! I should’ve known you were evil all along!” Arcturus yelled. “Come out here and stop hiding like the coward you are!”

“Oh my, it’s the idiot who wanted to sleep with me.” She giggled as she turned to face him. “What a disappointment you are. To think that a fully grown man can lose to a boy barely out of puberty.”

“J-just you wait! I’m going to defeat you and I’ll become even more famous than he is!”

“Ha… ahahahaha!” The shadow held her stomach in pain. “I’m sorry, but that’s never going to happen!” She suddenly vanished, before reappearing on top of one of the enormous statues, standing on its head. “Hear me, adventurers! I have no qualms against you and your kind! So I warn you. You’ll never be able to kill me, even if you use all your strength! If you had such trouble against a mere Frost Dragon, then you have no chance whatsoever in fighting my elite minions. So leave! Spare yourselves painful and untimely deaths!”

“As if the likes of you could intimidate us!” Arcturus yelled back.

“Then so be it. Let it be known it was your own foolishness that led you and your friends to your early graves.”

The shadow disappeared, leaving nothing but murmurs amongst the adventurers.

“H-hey, maybe she’s right.” A skinny-looking man spoke in a hushed tone. “Maybe we should just quit this entire goddamn job. I don’t like the vibe of this place. Not in the slightest.”

“Ah, being your usual cowardly self again, aren’t you, Grey?” His fiery lady friend pat him on the back with a grin. “Don’t worry! Unlike last time, Red is the one leading the charge!”

Similar opinions spread all around the room, with one side still wanting to continue on and the other wanting to leave.

“W-what’s wrong with you guys?!” Arcturus shouted with an exasperated, sweaty face. “We can make it through this! None of the monsters or traps are too much for us!”

No one listened to him, however. They continued speaking and arguing with each other, to Arcturus’ chagrin.

“That’s enough!”

It was another matter entirely when his friend spoke.

“If anyone wants to leave, then leave. I won’t hold it to them. But me? I’ll continue. That woman was merely bluffing. Didn’t you remember how she barely did anything back then while Tempest did all the work? She’s not as strong as she made herself to be. No matter what tricks she used against us, as long as we work together as a team and watch each other’s backs, there is nothing we can’t overcome. Haven’t we conquered both the Serpent’s Spine and the Dragon’s Graveyard—two dungeons no other adventurers could conquer? Have faith in our strength!”

This brief speech, combined with the passionate and heroic way Red delivered it, was enough to rouse their confidence.

“That’s right! This dungeon isn’t that dangerous compared to those two hellholes! And we can overcome them just fine!”

“Yeah! So what if she’s a necromancer? It’s not like we haven’t fought off a swarm of skeleton soldiers before!”

Arcturus looked at his friend in a mixture of awe, disbelief and anger. _Damn it, Red! That’s supposed to be my moment! And he stole it right under my nose!_

Still, he was thankful to him. Thanks to that speech, everyone present was willing to continue on deeper into the dungeon. Loathe he was to admit it, he had a hunch that he would need every single person there to even make it to where the necromancer was hiding.

\----------

The group marched on deeper and deeper, making their own map that they would share with the soldiers if they ever met with them. They were currently traversing an entirely different section of the dungeon. The place was really much bigger than it looked from the outside. No one knew whether the original construction was already like this, or the dungeon simply grew over the years thanks to its Core.

After another hour of traversing endless rooms and corridors, fighting off traps and monsters as they did, they stumbled upon a series of stairs leading downwards, hinting that they were going on the right path. After all, most dungeons’ last floors where the Dungeon Core should be located were their deepest floors. It was the same with those two dungeons they had conquered before.

They were confronted with a problem, however. The staircase corridor was narrow—so much so that only one person could enter. If they were all to enter using it, they would have to walk on a long line. And naturally, it wasn’t something they would want to do. Imagine how easy it would be to ambush them when they were in that state.

So, they looked for another option first, to Arcturus’ annoyance. To save time, they opted to split the entourage. Each party would go on their own, mapping their path as they went. And then, after one hour or when they found another set of stairs, they would return to the appointed place. Arcturus went with Red’s party, having no party of his own.

\-------

Seeing this development, a certain necromancer let out a sigh.

_The fools… they really want to lose their lives, don’t they?_

She was inside the dungeon's figurative heart, inside a small circular room where there was only a pitch-black crystal ball and the thin pedestal that prepped it up. There was also a chair she used to sit on, but that wasn’t originally part of the room. It would be too tiring to stand there for hours after all.

The pitch black crystal ball was, of course, the Dungeon Core. It was a small object, fit into one’s palm, yet it could hold so much power. Using her affinity with dark magic, she controlled it as its new mistress. It used to serve demonkind, but now it served her. After being so long without a master, it was overjoyed that it could once again be of service to one who held so much dark mana inside of her. It felt that it had regained its purpose.

Indeed, the Core was sapient. Perhaps closer to the intellect of a dog than a human, but it had the capability for thinking and feeling, however simple it was. And Felicia could synchronize with its very being, allowing her to oversee and change the layout of the entire dungeon as she saw fit.

_Fine. Then I shall take care of them first. They’re the closest to my current location now, and I don’t need them to join forces with the army and those Inquisitors. I have to dispose of them now, while they’re separated like this._

_I feel bad for them, but it is their choice to march here like this, despite all my warnings._

_Those fools. They’re blinded by the promise of riches and glory. Just like how the soldiers are blinded by their sense of duty and how the Inquisitors are blinded by their zealotry. I had done nothing but good using this power, yet they still think I’m evil._

_No matter. Once the Gate is complete, I can finally show them—the power that could transcend death itself._

Once again, she rested her right hand on top of the crystal before closing her eyes. 

_Bring me once more to those adventurers._

The Core obeyed, and it showed her a vision of Red and his party heading down to a certain room she was well-familiar with.

_Perfect. I’ll begin with them then._

\------------

The room Red and his party entered was a long and narrow corridor, filled with statues to the left and right of them. Unlike the previous statues, however, who were decidedly humanlike, these were more demon-like, with horns, wings, and tails, similar to the classical portrayal of how gargoyles looked like.

“Mirth, lead the way,” Red ordered. “You know what to do with these statues.”

“A’right, boss.”

Mirth was the group’s expert on dungeon traps. He was a beastman of the dog variety, and his sensitive ears and noses could always tell where a trap lied in wait, or so he claimed.

He took point at the group’s formation, sniffing and twitching his ears around as his eyes swept through the room. He had aid from the party’s cleric, Majorka, who cast the light spell that gave illumination for the otherwise pitch black dungeon.

“Mmm, n’thing odd. We can go.”

The party continued that way as they slowly made their way through the long corridor, stopping every time the beastman signalled them to stop. It was one reason why dungeon crawling took a really long time if you wanted to be extra careful, which you should, if you know what’s good for you.

When they were in the middle of the corridor, however—

*CLICK*

“Majorka, barrier! Now!”

“R-right!”

With high speed, the cleric erected a translucent Barrier around her party members, under Mirth’s order. With his sharp ears, he could hear the click from a mile away and there’s only one thing a sudden click could mean in a trap-infested ruin like this.

They just triggered a trap.

…

“Hmm? Nothing is ‘appening.” Mirth looked around in confusion.

*CRACK*

*THUD*

“Across ‘ere room! Two of them!”

Without hesitation, he drew his bow and fired an arrow towards his front, even before the cleric could shine her light on who their assailant could be. The corridor was really long, so when they were in the middle like this, they couldn’t see what was hidden behind and in front of them.

And then, he could hear it—the sound of surging water coming from both behind and in front of them.

“Water! They’re going to drown us!”

“Ilfridil! Freeze the water! Don’t let them get to us!”

Ilfridil was the mage of the party. He was a tall, well-groomed elf who barely ever said anything.

He nodded and readied his frost spell. In the meantime, Majorka strengthened her shield, ready to protect the party from the oncoming wave.

“Cold Blast!”

The elf fired his Advanced-level Ice spell in an attempt to freeze the torrent of water rushing in. It worked, but only on one side. He wasn’t fast enough to cast another Cold Blast to stop the other side from reaching them. The cleric gritted her teeth as she felt her barrier being pushed back by the force the water exuded.

“Hold steady!” Red yelled. “Arcturus! Duke! Grif! Break the floor! It’s the thinnest side we can escape to!” The floor was their only choice, since the walls were already underwater now.

Duke was the tank of the party. He was a big, well-muscled bald man, only dwarfed by Red himself. The man wasn’t wearing any armor, however. He was content to wear his short-sleeved blue tunic that showed off his bulging muscles. His weapon of choice was an enormous axe he wielded with two hands.

Grif, on the other hand, was the lancer of the group. His job was to flank enemies from behind, wounding them mortally as Duke caught their attention. He actually wore armor, though not with a helm. He was a handsome man with silver hair and teeth as white as pearls.

But now, their job was one and one only—to make a hole they could escape to.

“Beast King Fist!”

*BOOM*

The stone floor shattered when Red’s fist landed. However, thanks to its thickness, it wasn’t enough to make the hole they wanted. Thankfully, Duke and Grit were there—all heavy hitters of their own right. The former followed with a strong cleave of his axe, while the latter pierced it with his spear. It continued like that over and over as they made their way through the stone floor into the hard soil underneath. All the while their cleric struggled, as the water became heavier and heavier, pressuring her barrier with its pressure.

“The water! I-it’s not normal!” She gritted her teeth as cracks formed on her barrier.

“Don’t you dare let go, woman! I’m not dying in a place like this!” Arcturus yelled as he frantically swung his sword downwards.

*CRACK*

The soil finally gave way, causing them to fall into the corridor down below, just in time before the barrier shattered.

“Majorka! Keep it together!”

The woman had fallen unconscious, so it was up to him to grab her before the current separated them.

And he did just that, right before the powerful stream carried them across the corridor, ferrying them to God knows where. Eventually, however, after a painful few minutes of being taken for a ride, they were dumped into an even larger body of water.

It was the dungeon’s very own artificial underground lake. 

Using their underground monsters, the monsters had dug into the nearby underground rivers. They cleverly gathered their water here, where they could use the water as they wished. Demons needed water to drink too, after all, with some even wanting to take baths.

“Gwaahhh!”

Red surfaced first, followed by Arcturus before the rest of the party followed. They were lucky that none of them got hurt through all that.

Still dazed and confused, they immediately looked around for dry land. The doorway into the corridor they had been through was still raining down water into the lake they were currently in so they couldn’t use it.

“Ilfridil! Cast a fire magic! Majorka is unconscious!” Red yelled. As his feet paddled in place, he tried to keep the young woman’s face above the waterline, just so she wouldn’t choke on the water.”

The elven mage nodded, before sending a ball of fire that hovered above them, sending illumination across their surroundings.

Only then they realized they had stumbled into an underground lake of some sort.

That, and the fact that there were two other people there that were not part of their group.

They eerily stood on the water’s surface, wearing ragged and tattered mage’s robes. Looking at their faces, they had exactly the same look and expression—a blank one. They differed in gender—one was a man and the other was a woman. They were teal-haired twins of opposite genders. The man wielded a wand while the woman wielded a staff. 

“Who are you?! Identify yourself!” Red shouted.

They didn’t respond. Instead, they started casting their spells, aiming them right towards the now weakened group.

The two were Felicia’s creations. They were Elun’s original compatriots who had fallen in battle when she first tried to assassinate her.

And now, she had reanimated them to be her loyal puppets.


	148. Slaughter

“Ilfridil! Freeze the water so we can stand on it, goddamnit!”

Red immediately recognized the precarious position they were in. Without their cleric, they had no capability to erect a protective barrier, meaning, they would be really prone to attacks. And with their feet being underwater instead of on the ground like this, their mobility would be severely limited, screwing over attempts to dodge any incoming attacks headed their way.

“Grif! You attack the woman! I’ll handle the man! Duke! Revive Majorka! Use the reviving potion we got in your back! Arcturus! Stay here and guard her!”

After giving out his orders, he let out a roar before catapulting himself towards one of the zombified mages. Using the sheer strength of his legs, he managed to leap all the way to the man. Grif did the same, with the two launching their assault near simultaneously. They knew if they didn’t interrupt their casting, they would doom their entire party to their spells.

“Beast King Fist!”

“Swift Thrust!”

Their blows landed inside the mages’ respective stomachs. Red left a gaping hole inside the man’s stomach while Grif’s lance pierced through the woman’s abdomen all the way through.

However—

_What? They’re not stopping?!_

As if nothing had happened, the mages finished their chants.

It was too late for either of them to dodge.

Light filled their eyes merely milliseconds before thunder struck their bodies.

“Gwaaaahhh!”

Red fell from the air first, plunging downwards towards the bottom of the reservoir. Grif followed as he lost grip of his lance.

And just like that, another two of them fell.

“Red! Dammit!” Arcturus yelled. Ilfridil had barely finished freezing the water when the inconceivable happened. Duke then yanked the rest of the party to above the ice before using the reviving potion as instructed.

“Stay here! I’m going to go after him!”

Without even waiting for a response from Duke, Arcturus dived into the water towards Red. He can’t just let his friend die, can he?!

Seeing his heroic action, Mirth, the rogue, decided to do the same, going after Grit instead.

“Damn it, you two!” Duke cursed under his breath. He knew those two were being reckless, but there was no other choice they could make if they were going to save Red and Grif from drowning.

“Come at me, you bastards!”

He then yelled as loudly as he could, hoping to attract the attention of the two mages. He was the tank of the group, so this was a frequent routine for him. 

The twin mages did exactly that, turning themselves to face him. It was now obvious that they weren’t human, but zombies instead, as no blood poured out from the wounds they had sustained.

“Ilfridil! Make another platform!” He ordered his friend. He was ready to sacrifice himself to the barrage of their spells as long as he could keep the rest of the party safe. It was his role, after all.

The mage nodded as he began casting. The two zombie mages started to cast their next round of spells as well. Ilfridil finished his spell first, allowing Duke to jump away from their platform to an entirely new one.

“Yeah, that’s right! Fight me, you rotbrains!” He readied his axe in a defensive stance.

Only to find out they had no intention to attack him. They fired their lightning spells downwards, right at the water of the reservoir.

The electricity spread like a wildfire. Thanks to the ice platforms being poor conductors, Duke and the others barely felt the shock. But for those who were under the surface…

“Red! Grif! Mirth!”

He could only yell in horror as he saw electricity crackling on the surface of the water.

“U-urghh…”

The potion finally kicked in, making Majorka regain her consciousness. She shakily stood up, tried to cast another Barrier spell, only to lose her balance. She would’ve fallen into the water if not for Ilfridil catching her mid-air.

Even if she was back at full strength, it was too late. There were only three of them now, against two zombified mages that could bombard them with ease from the distance.

Suddenly, Ilfridil, who had kept his silence all this time, spoke up.

“That’s enough! We surrender!” He yelled. “You won! We’ll leave this blasted dungeon at once! So please, let my friends go! You can hear me, can’t you, you damn necromancer!”

He couldn’t keep it in any longer. Normally, he would be the last to complain when things got tough, but he knew there was no chance for them to win from their current situation.

“Ilfridil, what are you doing?!” Duke yelled back at him. “Surrender?! Have you lost your mind, boy?!”

“Can’t you see? We can’t win anymore! Look at Majorka! She can barely stand!” The elf shouted back.

“I-I’m fine, Ilfridil,” she whispered weakly. “I just need to… regenerate my mana a bit… A-and I’m sorry… for being so weak…”

“That’s enough. Don’t blame yourself.” He held her tighter.

Indeed, the two were seeing each other. They just hadn’t made their relationship public yet.

“Cordelia Flameu! I beseech you! Forgive us for our arrogance!” For the safety of his love, he was willing to throw his pride away.

At first, there was no response. However, the twin mages just stood there on top of the water surface as they halted their assault.

And then, black shadows fell from the ceiling, forming the figure of the necromancer right in front of the elf and his lover. Naturally, he took a few steps back out of fear, nearly slipping on the ice in the process.

“Oh? Now you want mercy? After you’ve been defeated?” She gave a victorious grin. “How convenient.”

“P-please! Forgive us!” He released his grip on the cleric before kneeling down, prostrating himself before her.

“Boy! Don’t humiliate yourself like that! Do you really believe that she will let you go? If we’re going to die, then we will die in battle! Not like this!” Duke yelled before jumping back towards the elf’s ice platform, swinging his axe at Felicia’s shadow. Naturally, it only passed through.

“Well, I see your friend here still wants to fight.” She continued to grin. “How about this then? You kill him and I’ll spare you and your girlfriend’s life.”

The elf’s expression turned into one of shock, and horror, as he froze in place.

“See?! She’s a snake, through and through!” Duke yelled.

“What’s the matter? Not good enough for you? Very well, then. I’ll make the deal sweeter.”

A quake suddenly shook the room, nearly knocking the two off their balance. It was then followed by the sound of rushing water, as the reservoir drained itself. Before long, it dried up entirely, revealing Red and the others—all unconscious on the floor.

“Everyone!” The cleric yelled. She immediately bolted to the nearest person until Felicia blocked her path.

“Do you think I would just let you heal them? Your boyfriend over there has to do his little task first, then you might just have a chance to save your adventuring friends.”

“She can’t hurt you, woman! Just run through her! It’s just an illusion!” Duke yelled.

“Perhaps.” She chuckled. “But they could.”

The two mages promptly closed in with their water jet spell towards the cleric, earning an “Eek!” from the poor, easily frightened woman. The woman grabbed her from behind while the man aimed his wand at her neck.

“Get away from her!” Ilfridil yelled. He ran towards her, only to stop in his tracks as Felicia appeared in front of her.

“Move any closer and I’ll tell them to slit her throat.”

“G-gaah!”

The elven mage could only watch in anger as his lover cried in fear of the cold arms that grabbed her from behind.

“You cowardly bitch!” Duke yelled. “Fight fair and square for once, you corpse-loving whore!”

Unfortunately for him, Felicia wasn’t one of his monsters that could be taunted into charging straight on towards him. His cheap insults merely fell to deaf ears.

“Do it.” The necromancer smiled, full of satisfaction and triumph. “Kill him.”

“Tch!”

The elven mage could only curse under his breath as he turned to face Duke.

“Fine! Come, boy! Give me your best spell! I can take it!” The bald man held his axe forward as he flashed him a bitter grin.

The elf nodded and with a face that sweated profusely, he started his chant.

“O great fire spirit of volcanoes, grant me the strength to burn my foes into ash. Flame Strike!”

Fire burst forth from the tip of the staff. It flew like a fireball would, going straight towards the bald man, hitting him face first as he had no intention to dodge.

“Aarghh!”

Or so it would, if he didn’t spin his axe and deflected the fire towards the two zombie mages and the cleric.

Ilfridil could only watch in horror as the spell flew towards his beloved. Duke, however, had a grin on his face. ‘Tis a shame, but it was the only way to get out of this predicament. The spell would either hit all three, giving them victory, or the mages would block or dodge it with the girl, allowing him to follow up with a close range attack.

He didn’t care if the woman died. He always thought she was a deadweight in their party. She was too weak to even be an A-rank. She should stay as a B-rank and never join their party in the first place. And if Ilfridil didn’t like it, then so be it. He was a weak mage as well, in his humble yet true opinion.

People die all the time in this occupation. It’s her own fault for being too weak, to the point of making him have to resort to an underhanded tactic like this.

The man jumped forth, raising his giant axe above his head. He’ll take them both down in one powerful strike.

“Pathetic.”

Felicia’s shadow vanished. Shadows burst forth from the darkness of the room, forming a shadow barrier that protected the zombies and the cleric. The fireball exploded into a large burst of flames, but the barrier stood on.

Only for it to be split open with Duke’s axe.

“Primal Blow!”

The hardened shadow dissipated, revealing its occupants. The bald man grinned as he moved his axe for a second round. At this range, and with his speed, there was no way the mages could defend themselves.

“Dragon Cleave!”

The female mage responded by releasing her grip at Majorka and the male followed by kicking her out of the way, protecting her from the incoming attack.

Just in time before the two were cleaved into two at their stomachs and arms.

*plop* *plop* *plop*

Their bodies fell apart into pieces. Without the needed connections, the zombies lost their capability to move as well.

He wasn’t finished, however. Using his trusty axe, he chopped them up into more little pieces, making sure that they couldn’t just come back up. He had heard of undead skeletons still being able to fight, even if it only had its ribs and legs (by ramming itself into its opponent). So he couldn’t be too careful.

“Damn it, woman! Don’t just sit there! Heal the others!” He yelled at the cleric. She responded with a whimper and a nod before running towards the nearest unconscious body, starting her healing chant.

“You… you scum! You could’ve killed Majorka with that!” Ilfridil yelled.

“Oh, shut up, pretty boy. I did what I had to. It was the only way to get us out of this predicament.”

“I know you are a selfish brute through and through! Wait until Red hears of this! He’ll kick you out of the party for sure!”

“Heh, you think he will?” He returned with a grin. “You’re just a young’un who’s only with us for a year. You think he would heed your naïve call compared to mine, who’s the third oldest member of this group?”

The elf had more than a fleeting thought to burn him to a crisp right then and there with his spell. But he stopped himself. This needed to be decided by their leader, and not now, when they were in the middle of a dungeon like this.

“U-urghhh…”

Red slowly sat up as he regained his consciousness. He looked around and saw that the fight seemed to be over. The last thing he remembered was getting a lightning spell right to his face, and damn, that certainly hurt.

“W-what happened? Where are those two mages? And the water—it’s gone!”

Majorka wasn’t there to answer, as she was busy healing the others. She was still weakened from before, so she had to drink multiple mana potions in the process.

Ilfridil walked forward and opened his mouth, but Duke beat him to the punch.

“We took care of them.” He grinned. “As for the water, the bitch got arrogant and drained it on her own. She thought she already won so she came here to brag about it. You should’ve seen elf boy.” He jerked his head towards Ilfridil. “He begged her to save him, to the point that he agreed to kill me according to her order. I used the opportunity to land a surprise blow on her puppets, though. So the idiot bitch dug her own grave, pun not intended,” he added with a smug grin.

“Is that true?” Red turned to face the mage with a frown. “Then you disappoint me. We never betray our comrades. That is the one rule our party, the Desert Bandits, is founded by.”

“T-that’s… H-he tried to kill Majorka as well!” The mage pointed towards the warrior.

“Really, boy? Now you accuse me of such a vile deed, just to make yourself look better? I’m fine with you whimpering like a coward, but this crosses the line.”

Ilfridil could only reply with a glare. Of course Red was going to trust him more than himself.

“Hey, Majorka!” He yelled across the room. “Say something! Tell them how he didn’t care in the slightest from hitting you with that big axe of his!”

No response. The cleric stood there with her back turned from the rest of the group, seemingly frozen in place. She was looking towards the limp, unconscious body of Mirth.

“M-Mirth… h-he’s… he’s not waking up…”

Shaking heavily, she turned to face the rest of the group. In quite the horrifying sight, enhanced by the dim lighting of the room, her eyes were rolling in their sockets wildly, as tears seeped from the eyelids.

“He’s not… he’s not coming back… I-I’m too late…”

The realization dawned upon them.

The beastfolk was dead.

“A... aahh... aaahhhhhhh!”

Majorka broke into a scream, followed by a loud, sobbing mess. It was the first time she had faced the death of a party member. All these years being a healer, she had never suffered a failure in that department, so this took the poor young woman hard. She knelt down, burying her face in her hands.

Just as the party was paralyzed by the revelation, the room suddenly turned pitch-black. Shadows had once again dripped down from the cracks in the ceiling, snuffing the floating fireball the elven mage had conjured to illuminate the room.

And before they could do anything—

“Gaaahhhh!”

Another scream filled the room, only this time, it was a scream of pain.

Quickly, Ilfridil cast his illumination spell back, only to reveal that a blade had stabbed Duke right through his stomach.

That, and the necromancer was standing right behind him.

“Isn’t it sad?” She pushed the blade to the side, bisecting the abdomen of the warrior cleanly before he fell down to the ground. “Us mortals are fragile. Too fragile. Even with his supposedly stronger constitution as a beastfolk, he died from a simple thunderbolt spell. I suppose his heart was weaker than the rest of you. Or perhaps he was simply unfortunate enough to take the brunt of the spell as it spread through the water.”

She stood there with a grin on her face, not even caring that blood had stained her dress and face. Her sword had vanished, as it was a mere spell blade, made by her shadow magic.

“But the undead? They’re so much more resilient than us.”

As a dark light shone from the tip of her staff, the unmoving corpse of Duke suddenly began to move. It lifted itself up before standing beside the necromancer, drawing his axe as he looked blankly to the rest of the group.

It wasn’t just him, however. The fallen beastfolk she spoke about also stood, along with the two diced up zombie mages. Their body parts had assembled and linked themselves together on their own, no doubt aided by the necromancer’s dark magic.

“Thus, to relieve the world from the curse that is death, I took on this mantle. I shall create a world where we could all live as undying immortals.”

“And you.” She turned to face Red and the others. “You stood against that dream, foolish adventurers. I have given you clemency, but in your arrogance, you believe that you can face me and triumph.”

Her staff shone once again before she melted into a puddle of shadows, retreating to the other side of the room before reforming back to her human self.

Her staff shone once more. And then, a pile of corpses manifested out of thin air, raining down to the floor.

And, to their horror, they were corpses of people they were well-familiar with.

“Indeed!” She gloated. “These are your friends! My loyal knight had taken care of them, one by one! Just like you, I told him to show mercy, but they insisted on fighting. And so, they all fell down to his blade. For the rest, who were smart enough to know their weakness, they’re making their way out of this place right now. Yes! They have chosen to abandon you all!”

Her laughter echoed across the large room. 

Red could only respond with a furious growl. Looking at his zombified friends, and all the dead faces on those corpses, it filled him with rage like he had never felt before. If he wasn’t as levelheaded of a person as he was, he would’ve run across the room to punch her in the face. But he very well knew they were in a grave disadvantage yet again.

But, there was still a chance for victory. He had a hunch the person who stood there across the room was her in the flesh. If he could just get to melee range, he could crush her head with a single blow. And then, this nightmare would be over.

He just had to create that opportunity for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact. I just came up with an idea for Hugo’s cousin. To be exact, she’s the daughter of Renee’s older brother. She won’t appear for a long while, though.
> 
> Another thing I’ve been thinking about is, oddly enough, the breast sizes of Hugo’s harem. I kinda want to start thinking how big they would be once the characters all grew up. Marina’s size is still growing, and so would Erika’s once she’s old enough. Same with Sherry’s. Sherry will remain the smallest, most likely, but I want them to grow once she gets pregnant. The question is, to what cup? Maybe around B? B-? And for Marina and Erika, I kinda want one of them to reach the size of Renee, which was massive. I’m not sure how massive either. Around E to F, probably.
> 
> Unfortunately, I don’t have a good visual chart comparing cup sizes from A to F (anymore than that would be too much; I imagine).
> 
> Oh, Felicia’s size should be D, I think. Large enough to be tempting, but not that large.


	149. Honorable Fool

“I’ve misjudged you, Cordelia Flameu.” Red spoke, his voice seeping with cold fury. “I once believed you an honorable woman. But it’s clear I was mistaken.”

“You know nothing about me, Sir Red,” the necromancer replied with a smirk. “I am a black-hearted necromancer through and through. And I would not hesitate on doing what necromancers do best, making you fight your own dead comrades.” As they spoke, both Duke and Mirth had moved to join her side. And one by one, the corpses she had brought with her began to stand up as well.

It was clear as day that they were now outnumbered.

“I really do not wish to kill any of you, you know,” she continued her speech. “Well, that bald man over there deserved it.” She glanced towards Duke. “The elf mage was right. He nearly killed that whimpering cleric over there.” She looked at Majorka, who was now kneeling down, looking with tear-filled horror at her direction. “I saved her, you know. Told my puppets to push her out of the way.”

“Y-you did?” The elf mage looked at her with an expression of disbelief.

“You witnessed it yourself, didn’t you? Don’t lie to yourself now. I won’t hesitate in killing someone, but I’m not wasteful. I took lives for a purpose. And that girl? She’s no threat to me whatsoever.”

“Then why are you doing all this, huh?” Arcturus, who had been frozen with fright all this time, finally gathered enough courage to speak. “You killed the king, you killed our friends, and you killed all those soldiers. You just want to feed your selfish greed for power. Using your necromancy, you’re planning to take over this kingdom, don’t you?” He pointed his left finger in the most accusatory manner.

The necromancer turned to face him, before bursting into a shrill, witch-like laugh.

“That’s a great idea! Why don’t I use my zombies to conquer this pathetic little kingdom?” Her laugh disappeared. “No. My goal is much grander than that. But you would like it, don’t you? To believe that I’m a simple bad guy, to be slain by a hero such as you.” A look of disgust flashed on her face. “No, you are no hero. You are but a foolish glory-seeker. And I couldn’t be happier to know that your little band of friends had abandoned you.”

Unbeknownst to the man, Felicia had kept somewhat of a close eye on him. She knew that before this, he had spent the last few months simply drinking his sorrows away as his party and clan distanced himself from him. Only Red was willing to give him a second chance.

“S-shut up, you witch!” He yelled back in anger. “Thanks to you and that little friend of yours, I’ve lost everything! And now I’m going to take it back by cutting off your head!”

In a reckless act only befitting the most novices of adventurers, he charged forward, performing a forward sword slash, sending a wave of energy towards her direction. It never reached her, however, as she used the corpses to block the incoming blow. Still, Arcturus continued to run, before jumping upwards and raining down more slashes towards her.

“Damn that fool!” Red cursed.

More corpses sacrificed themselves to protect their mistress, but Arcturus’ assault had just begun. As many as his character flaws might be, he was undoubtedly a good swordsman of the Lancelot variety.

Duke jumped as well to protect Felicia, but Grit pierced him with his lance. Mirth followed as well, only to receive a blow to the head from Red’s fist.

“Aaaaaahhh! Take this, you evil bitch!”

The length of his sword suddenly increased tenfold, with the added length made of his aura.

Covetous Longsword. It was a Lancelot-school technique that allowed a massive increase of the range of one’s sword. With it, one can cut through an entire army with a single swing. Well, if you can get it big enough, anyway. 

For Arcturus, this was his ultimate attack. He would’ve used it more liberally against the swarm of drakes that ended his reputation, but with the terrible visibility granted by the blizzard, and the fact that the drakes had broken up and scattered their formation, he couldn’t use it without killing his allies as well.

Arcturus brought the massive horizontal slash down onto the necromancer, not caring that his comrades might be caught in the move. It bisected the rest of the corpses into two. As for Felicia herself, however…

“Come forth, o spirit of sorrow!”

A figure manifested out of darkness, blocking the move with what bizarrely looked to be an opened parasol, with the help of Felicia’s Shadow Wall.

It was a woman, wearing what could only be described as a pitch black noblewoman’s dress (though a tad more revealing). The parasol she held had a similar color as well. She had absurdly long silver hair, tied in a single thick braid all the way down to her feet. Her eyes were red and she was floating in mid-air, giving the impression that she was not human.

“You called, Milady?” She spoke, her tone tinged with pride and amusement.

“Yes,” Felicia replied. “Kill that man, will you?”

“Of course, Milady.”

Even with his attack being repelled, however, Arcturus had no plans to let up. Like a drill, he spun both his body and his sword as he plunged downwards towards the necromancer. And once more, he was blocked by the woman’s parasol, combined with the necromancer’s Shadow Wall.

“Graaahh! Just die already!”

“I’m already dead, you silly man.” The woman giggled.

Arcturus gave an irked glance to his friends. Red and Grif were occupied with fighting zombified Duke and Mirth, while Ilfridil had gone to Majorka’s side, choosing not to take part in the fight.

_Those useless bastards!_

At last, he regained a bit of his sanity back. He jumped backwards and began bombarding the pair with ranged sword slashes, trying to poke and prod their weakness. He cursed the fact that his strength wasn’t enough to break their defense in a straightforward manner. They ran an ever stronger shield than a dragon’s scale.

“Arcturus! Don’t be reckless!” Red yelled. “I’ll be there soon!” He dodged a swing from Duke’s axe before countering with his foot, sending the zombie flying to the other side of the room. Before he could rejoin his friend, however—

“Oh, no you don’t!” Felicia spoke.

Feeling a sense of danger coming from behind him, Red sharply changed the direction of his run, sidestepping instead of going straight to where Arcturus was. It saved him from being bisected by the water blades the twin zombie mages had conjured.

“Tch!” Red gritted his teeth. He had to take care of them as well if he was going to come to Arcturus’ aid. He gave a glance towards Duke. As he expected, he still failed to keep him down for any significant amount of time. The zombie was slowly standing up, even with all the holes he had made in his body.

Exorcism magic would be really handy to have right now.

“Majorka! Ilfridil! What are you doing over there?!” Grit yelled as he planted his lance into Mirth’s head for what must be the third time. The zombie fell backwards, only to stand up again, even without a head. “We need you here! Ilfridil! You have to burn these corpses if we’re going to survive!”

“I would suggest not heeding their words, Sir Elf,” Felicia interrupted with a grin. “For I am still willing to spare you and your lady friend if you stay out of this. Think about it. Do you believe that they’re worth risking your life and your lady friend’s life for? Remember how they treated you two before. If I had to guess, you’re probably the newest members, which meant you are expendable to them.”

“That’s not true!” Red shouted back as he hit the ground with his fist. It would have pulverized one of the mages if not for the fact that he managed to dodge by propelling itself away with a water jet. In the end, the attack only left a decently sized crater behind. “You two are a valuable member of Desert Bandits! You think we could’ve gotten this far without you two? Don’t listen to her lies!”

“It is your choice, Sir Mage.” Felicia continued. “Like I’ve said, I do not take lives meaninglessly.”

A blow finally landed on one of the mages, sending her spinning upwards before crashing down to the ground. Red then tried to make his way to Arcturus once more, only for Duke and the other mage to block his path. To make matters worse, the other zombies—the other members of their clan, had risen back up once more, after they finished sewing themselves together once more, repairing the damage Arcturus’ long sword technique had done.

It had been a grave mistake, not having an exorcist-specialized cleric with them. But how could they be blamed? They had fought undead before but none had ever been this resilient. They couldn’t just reattach themselves together like this!

“Well, let’s end this little game of ours, shall we?” Felicia spoke again. “I still need to take care of those Inquisitors, you see. To be frank, now that I see how you and your friends are up close like this, they are clearly much more of a threat than you are. You simply don’t have the tools or skills necessary to fight against a necromancer of my caliber.” She bragged with an all-too-proud smile as she placed a hand above her chest.

“S-shut up, you evil witch! I swear on my honor I will defeat you!”

Arcturus’ expression betrayed him, however. His breath was short and labored and an unmistakable display of fear was plastered on his face. His most powerful attack had just been repelled and he had tired himself from all the rapid attacks he had been making.

“Hey, you damn useless bitch! Stop sitting there and heal me or something! My stamina needs some refilling here!” He yelled at Majorka, not caring in the slightest that Ilfridil was also there.

“I-I can’t…” She whispered back. “My spells can’t restore your vitality. They can only heal your wounds.”

“What?! Speak louder! I can’t hear you from all the way here!”

“You shut your mouth, you imbecile!” Ilfridil stood up in anger, aiming his staff at him.

“Arcturus! Stop it! That’s my party member you’re talking to! You don’t have the right to order her around!” Red growled as he dodged a spell coming from the twins.

Witnessing all this bickering gave joy and disgust for the necromancer. Joy that she was proven right and disgust from what she was seeing. _What a truly pathetic band of people. Better if I put them out of misery._

“Diona, use that attack, if you would. The thing we talked about.”

“Of course, Milady.”

Felicia then melted into the shadows once more, just in time before the woman took a deep, deep breath—

To let out an inhumanly high-pitched, ear-splitting scream.

“GYAAAHHHHHH!”

The scream took everyone else in the room by surprise.

“W-what? What was that?” Arcturus was the first to respond. “W-what? M-my hands… m-my legs… they won’t—they won’t move…”

“G-gah, t-that scream… damn it, that woman’s a banshee?!” Red followed

The adventurers had no idea that it was coming, thanks to the fact that the woman’s banshee nature eluded them. They believed she was just a ghost she had summoned with her dark magic, as banshees looked nothing like her. They wouldn’t look like a fully dressed humanlike woman. Instead, they would be misty and transparent, as if they were made of swirling fog—a bodyless creature, possessing only faces in the middle of said fog. A ghost on the other hand could indeed appear with a fully human like form like that.

Little did they know that Diona was indeed a ghost, but one that had gained the ability of a banshee.

Felicia reformed behind Arcturus—a victory smile on her face.

“Well, you’re first, Arcturus.” She whispered to his ear. “Too bad instead of penetrating me, I’m the one penetrating you, huh?”

“W-wait, I-I give! I surrender! P-please! Spare my—guaahh!”

His plea fell into deaf ears as Felicia stabbed his stomach from his back, just like she did with Duke.

“I’m sick of men like you, to be honest.” Felicia continued, pure venom in her voice. “Vain, unfaithful, and perverse. People like you do not have a place in my new world. So goodbye and enjoy watching from the afterlife as I made you my lovely, obedient puppet.”

His last moments were spent looking at Red’s direction with tears in his eyes.

“H-help me, friend…”

He fell over, blood pouring out from his corpse, forming a puddle that barely avoided touching Felicia’s slippers.

“Graaaaggghh!”

Red exploded with fury, slowly but surely moving his arms and feet before flinging himself towards the necromancer. It seemed his anger had given him strength to break free from the paralysis, and now the only thought he had in his mind was to avenge his friend’s death. 

They had been through a lot. He owed him a life debt as their first meeting was Arcturus saving him. That day, he nearly lost his life from a poison a snake monster had given him, and Arcturus just so happened to find him crawling in pain in the wilderness. Without asking for anything in return, he immediately searched for the antidote, abandoning his original purpose of climbing that mountain.

He was so different in those days. His strength and fame had gotten to him and Red had failed to steer him away from that path.

Still, like a true beastman, he intended to keep his promise for the rest of his life, that he would come to his rescue whenever he needed it, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

And so, he got exactly what he wanted.

“Aargh!”

A spear made of blood—his friend’s blood—had impaled him mid-air as he tried to land on top of Felicia.

The bearkin let out a roar of pain right as he whiffed his attack. Felicia had barely managed to melt herself into the shadows before his blow could land.

He was too late. If he had been just a millisecond faster, he would have gouged her head open.

But now, he was lying down on the ground, gravely wounded from the gaping hole he had on his abdomen.

“Red!” Grit yelled. “Damn you! Haaaahhhhh!”

Slowly but surely, he started to break himself from Diona’s paralysis. Inch by inch, his legs and arms began to move again.

Until Duke decapitated him with a single swing of his axe.

His head rolled around like a morbid wheel around his collapsed body—a pure look of horror frozen to its face.

Felicia then reshaped herself over the beastkin with a sorrowful look on her face.

“It’s a shame it has to end like this. Alas, you are too stubborn to let go of your pride. An honorable fool through and through.”

“Y-you… gah!” He coughed blood as he looked up to her. “Grit too… Damnit… Damnit!” He punched the ground with his fist.

“Well, that’s a surprise.” A smirk grew on her face. “You still have strength to be angry. I was pretty sure my blood spear had pierced your heart. A beastfolk really is as durable as they say.”

He replied not by words, but by spatting the blood in his mouth to her feet.

“... I see. Too bad I’m already used to having blood in my hands and feet.”

A dark blade pierced through his head, ending his life instantaneously.

And, for just a short moment, pain and sadness flashed across her face.

She then walked towards the elven mage and the cleric who were now huddled together in the corner of the room. Diona’s paralysis hadn’t affected them much, as they were further away than the rest of their party when the ability was used.

“S-stay back! Don’t come any closer!” Ilfridil stepped forward, aiming his staff towards her. “You can take my life, but I will not allow you take hers!”

“Truly? Even after all that, you still wish to fight me?” The necromancer returned with an amused smirk.

“I-I don’t care! I will not let you harm Majorka!”

“A-and I won’t let you harm him either!”

To Felicia’s surprise, the meek cleric had gained some courage as she stepped up, taking out her staff as well.

“Hoo? What’s this? The cowardly pair finally stood up for themselves? How cute. Perhaps you should have done this stunt earlier, when your friends were still alive.”

She slowly inched further and further, seemingly enjoying the display of fright the two were displaying.

“O lord of volcanoes, burn my foes into ashes! Flame Spout!”

The elf fired the spell point blank, bathing the necromancer with flames coming out from the tip of his staff.

Or he would have, if not for the shadows protecting her.

“Come now, do you think I wouldn’t prepare myself beforehand?” Her smirk grew larger. “This level of spell could never pierce my shadows. Not in a million years.”

“O Lord of Light! Grant us your protection so we might survive the evil that blights our path! Barrier!”

The cleric managed to put her barrier up, just in time, before the necromancer could cast a counterspell.

“And now, the barrier. Not something I couldn’t pierce through.”

She raised her left hand as once again, a blade of shadow manifested in her hand.

She brought it down to the barrier, using the tip to stab into the tough force field. Crackles of holy energy burst forth, but she didn’t falter. She continued pushing and pushing until—

*CLANG*

The sword pierced through before the barrier shattered into pieces.

“Aahh!”

The cleric took a few steps backwards. She didn’t lose her consciousness this time around, but she nearly lost her balance.

“Weak. Not structurally sound enough. If I have to guess, you never properly spread your mana around.”

“Damn it! You’re not getting any closer!”

Ilfridil fired a simple fireball that did nothing. He then charged forward to hit the necromancer with his staff, only for her to trip him with her shadows, causing him to fall down to the floor in the most pathetic manner.

“You. I like you. I’ll let you and your girlfriend live after all.”

At her words, the two’s expressions considerably brightened. The elven mage stood back up and asked, “T-truly?” His expression was one of a mixture of hope and fear.

“Of course!” Felicia replied with a smile. “Have I ever lied to you before?”

They then exchanged looks. Neither of them really trusted the necromancer’s words but it was clearly the only hope they had to leave this hell alive.

“But, before I do so, I would have to ask for you to hand over the map you and your friends have made of this place. You have it, don’t you? You were on map duty after all.”

“Y-you’ve been spying at me?” the elf replied.

“Not just you, but everyone else in your little band of adventurers. Just so you know, I can see **everything** that occurs in this dungeon.”

He complied, taking out the map from his dimensional storage. He threw it to the ground in front of her.

She picked it up, and sure enough, it was a well-detailed map of the dungeon.

“Nice drawing. Almost a shame I would have to burn it.”

A spark appeared from her hand. She let the map fall as the flame consumed it, turning it into ash.

“And one more thing.” Her smile grew larger. “Tell your other adventurer friends to leave this place. Whatever the prime minister promised to give you to have my head, it’s simply not worth it. Unless they wish to be turned into one of my monstrosities.”

He frantically nodded.

“Good. I see we now have an understanding. Then, I would ask you two to sleep.”

“S-sleep?”

The last thing they remembered was the scream coming from behind them.

The two fell to the ground, unconscious. As Felicia expected, in their current mental state, they wouldn’t be able to resist her familiar’s scream.

Diona had sneaked behind them, and with one scream, knocked them out both.

“Mistress, you will not kill these two?” she asked.

“No,” The necromancer smiled. “I have no use for weaklings like them.”

“You’re lying.” She pouted. “You’re just being nice. I say kill them both. If they’re willing to fight you just because you got rid of that monster, then they’re just as guilty as he was!” She suddenly yelled as she pointed her closed parasol towards them.

Felicia didn’t reply. She instead only looked at her familiar with a wistful gaze. _Ah, my vengeful spirit, Diona. I wonder if you would ever find peace one day._

_After what you have suffered, perhaps you never would._


	150. The Knight’s Truth

**Hugo**

After my little chat with Ilymhyrra and Elun, I made my way back to Anton and the others.

“Finished?” Anne was the first to greet me, with her usual “folded arms” pose.

“Yeah, we’re finished,” I answered.

“What were you guys talking about, anyway?” Amelie asked with curiosity.

“Nothing much. Just her basically telling me to be careful.”

“And you’d better be heeding her advice,” Anton came in with a worried look. “Honestly, I got a bad feeling about this whole thing. You say that she’s a good person, but all the soldiers she had killed and zombified certainly would say otherwise.”

“Zombified?”

“Yes, zombified,” the soldier that had been attending to us spoke up with a grave look on his face. “Not only would she set up traps and monsters to kill our good men and women in the dozens, she would also steal their corpses right before our eyes, before reusing them later on as part of her accursed undead army. Truly horrid stuff. Thankfully, we have the Inquisitors who could purify those zombies, bringing them the rest they deserved.”

“...I see.”

_That’s exactly something a bad necromancer would do._

_...Maybe she really is evil, after all._

_But on the other hand, with her being this terribly outnumbered, it would only make sense for her to use her necromancy that way. Pragmatism over idealism. If I were in her position, I would do the same, so I can’t exactly blame her, can I?_

“Anton, you can’t cast any of those purifying spells, can you?”

“No, I cannot.” He shook his head. “Like I’ve said before, the only Holy spells I know are the low-level healing spells.”

“Are fire spells effective on them?” I asked the soldier.

“The reports show that they are indeed effective,” the soldier replied. “It’s better than just cutting their heads or arms since they could still move afterwards.”

“Good. Then Amelie, you know what to do.”

“Yep! Don’t you worry about it!” She patted her chest.

“Well, take us to the dungeon. We’re ready to go now.” I told the soldier.

He nodded. “This way.”

\----------

To be frank, we didn’t need to be guided by the soldier, as it was all too obvious where the dungeon entrance was. From afar, you could already see the large doors, not to mention the crowds in front of it.

Hmm? Crowds?

“Everyone! Please listen! Do not throw away your lives! This necromancer is too strong for any of us!”

In the middle of the crowd was an elven man. Judging by his attire, and the staff he held in his right hand, he seemed to be a mage of some sort. The guy clearly had seen better days. His hair was all over the place and his face was ghastly white. Not to mention the way his entire body was shaking.

Behind him was a human woman, around in her early twenties. She was hugging him—her eyes glanced frantically at the people surrounding them.

“What’s going on here?” I asked one of the guys in the crowd.

“Just some poor sods whose party got wiped by the dungeon.” The man sighed. “Lost their minds in the process. Now they’re trying to tell us not to go inside. And they weren’t the first too.”

My gaze went back to the two. Those expressions on their faces… I don’t think one could fake them even if they tried.

“Maybe we can get some valuable information from them.” Anton suggested with a nervous look.

“No dice.” The man shook his head. “They said they couldn’t remember how the necromancer slaughtered their party. The fright must have chased all the memories out of their brains. No maps or useful notes either.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Anton replied with a sigh.

_Yeah, information on what Felicia’s capable of would naturally be really valuable, along with the layout of the dungeon and all the traps that waited._

We decided to move away from the crowd before resuming our conversation.

“What do you guys think?” Anton asked. “Should we just abandon this whole thing?”

“Then we’ll leave this guy on his own then.” Anne pointed her thumb at my direction. _“This guy”? That’s pretty rude._

“Yeah! We’re sticking together, no matter what!” Amelie followed, in her usual spirited manner.

“You’re fine with this, Hugo?” Anton looked at me with a frown. “You’ll have to protect us, if your friend really is evil all along. As you no doubt know, we’re nowhere near as strong as you, unfortunately enough.”

I paused for a bit, thinking for my answer.

“... You’re right. I think I should go on my own after all.”

“Hugo!” Anne and Amelie protested near-simultaneously.

“No, it’s just about you being weaker than me.” I quickly explained. “You guys are plenty strong already, especially after the training we did this past month. It’s just that—I think Flameu will be more willing to talk to me if I’m on my own.”

“Then, what do you want us to do then? Just stay outside and twiddle our thumbs?” Anne fired back.

“Yeah, pretty much.” I smiled dryly.

“I can’t believe this!” She tossed her head to the side. “I know that you’ll end up helping her! You’ll die to the Inquisitors, you know that?!”

“You know, you can stand to view me more charitably, after all we’ve been through.”

“What?! So you’re saying you won’t help her?”

“I’m saying that if I’m going to fight, then I’ll do it to win. I’m not some suicidal hero. I know my limits. I won’t pick up fights against an opponent I can’t win against just because of some woman I barely know.”

_That’s not exactly true, though. I fought against Vera, after all. I had to, for Marina’s sake._

Anton put his hand on her shoulder. “Trust him, Anne. And you too, Amelie.” He gazed towards the other girl, who was also glaring at me.

“And besides, I can’t die before meeting Sherry again, can I?” I gave them my brightest grin.

Anne and Amelie huffed simultaneously, with the former adding an eye roll on top of it.

“Yeah yeah, your girlfriend. I forgot about her.” Anne put her hands on her waist. “Alright then. I’ll leave it up to you. We’ll just stay here and wait. But don’t you dare lose your life, alright? If you’re going to reject me for that Sherry girl of yours, then you’d better get to her at one piece!”

“Yep! I agree with Anne!” Amelie chimed in with a smile. “A gentleman like you should prioritize her lady above anyone else!”

Listening to the two’s response, I couldn’t help but think how odd it was for them to accept their loss gracefully. They certainly had a month to sort it out for sure, but usually, girls would hold grudges about this for far longer, right? 

Not that I’m complaining, of course.

“I promise.” I smiled, hopefully in a reassuring manner. “I’ll make it out alive and well.”

“Then, may fortune be with you.” Anton rested his hand on my shoulder.

\------

Meanwhile, deep inside the dungeon, the slaughter continued.

“Aarghh!”

“Gaaahh!”

“Guwaahhh!”

Soldiers fell to the wayside one by one as arrows rained down upon them.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Those who survived tried to make their way to the door they came from, only to find that there was now a horse of zombies waiting for them there.

“Damn it! We’re surrounded! Those guys from the 11th were supposed to secure our escape route! What the hell were they doing?”

“S-Sir! Look closer! They are the 11th!”

Indeed. Amongst the zombies that had pincered them were their own comrades, turned against them by the foul magic of the necromancer.

“We’re doomed! We’re doomed!!”

“I-I should’ve listened to her! Why am I wasting my life away for a king I don’t even know about?”

“Silence! I will hear none of those cowardly talks in my platoon! We’re going to fight ‘till the end, even if it’s the last thing we do!”

The lieutenant in charge tried to boost the morale of his men, to no avail. Even he himself knew going down here was a big mistake. He had family back home, goddamnit, with a beautiful missus who just bore his child. He didn’t want to die here and become a zombie!

Just when they thought all hope was lost, however—

*KABOOM*

With the sound of something heavy smashing pure stone, the ceiling underneath the 11th platoon zombies collapsed.

“W-what?!”

“Teehee, that was a bit too strong, wasn’t it? Or was the floor just too weak?”

Standing on top of the rubble was one of the Inquisitors. She was the silver-haired nun, and she was wielding a large mace in her right hand.

“Huh, I’m surprised the floor actually gave way. You tried hitting the wall before but you didn’t even manage to dent it.”

A young man then jumped from the hole above. He was part of the Inquisition as well—the dark blue-haired youth. His weapon of choice was a… book?

“Rrrhhh! Graaahhhh!”

The zombies, of course, were not defeated by mere stones falling down their heads. They began lifting the rubbles off themselves with some trying to claw and gnaw at the two Inquisitors.

The young man sighed. He opened his book—an ordinary looking one except for its larger-than-usual size and the white rune-covered cover, before starting to chant a spell.

“O Saint Milicis! Grant these poor souls rest! Turn Undead!”

A circle of light emanated from the man in a large radius. And then—

“Uaarrgghhhh! Aarghhhh!:

One by one, the zombies underneath the rubble turned into dust.

And just like that, the entire zombified platoon was put into rest.

“O-oh, thank you! Thank you for saving us!” The lieutenant ran forward and bowed profusely at them.

“We’re not helping you though?” The nun slung her mace over her back. “We were just fighting upstairs and I accidentally destroyed the floor in the process.” She shrugged.

“R-right…”

The lieutenant couldn’t believe that the dainty-looking girl could be that strong.

“Give us your map, lieutenant.” The young man spoke with an annoyed look. “Afterwards, you and your men are to reinforce our platoon.”

The Inquisitors had been granted the authority to order them around by the general.

“A-apologies, Milady, but our numbers are too exhausted to be of use to you, not to mention the number of our injured. We would prefer to be allowed to retreat instead.”

The lieutenant gave his most polite smile, hoping that they would agree with his words.

“Oh?” The nun smiled. “Are you and your men running away?”

“N-no!” The lieutenant quickly denied it. “W-we simply don’t believe—”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe, lieutenant.” She took a few steps forward as her smile grew bigger, intimidating the older man to the point that he took a few steps backwards in response. “All you need to do is to obey your orders. Anything else would be insubordination. And for us in the Inquisition—” She smashed the tip of her mace to the ground mere inches from his feet. “That would mean death.”

Her face was now right in front of his. She was shorter than him so she had to strain her neck upwards. Still, it didn’t lessen the fear she struck into the lieutenant’s heart.

“R-right. Understood.” He gulped.

“Great!” The nun’s cheerful smile returned. “Then, tell your men to get ready. We’ll create a makeshift stair through that hole so our men could go down here.”

The poor lieutenant and his men simply couldn’t catch a break.

\-------

**Felicia**

_Tch, they’re really closing in. Soon, they’ll get here and I’ll have to fight them for real._

The necromancer was once again pacing back and forth in the central room of the dungeon, biting her thumb in the process.

_At the very least, I want to kill at least one or two of them. But they’re smart enough to not fall for any of my traps. Should I really take care of them personally, like with those adventurers?_

“Milady?”

She was broken out of her thoughts by the voice of a certain woman she was well-familiar with.

“Oh, hello Rowana.” She broke out into a smile. “Is there any reason why you’re here instead of in your room?”

“I-I’m sorry, Milady, but I’m simply too worried to stay there, you see. Would you mind if I inquire on the location of Lord Berault?”

Hearing her question, a lonely smile appeared on Felicia’s face.

_Ah, the pure love of a wife to her husband. I truly created her well, even though she was my very first Perfect Zombie._

She still remembered as if it was just yesterday—the day where she first laid her eyes on Berault, the Black Knight of the Fiania Kingdom. She heard the gossip—how he fell into deep sorrow when his wife, whom he just married, perished from her illness. Never again he showed his face (supposedly quite handsome) ever since, covering it with his helmet in all his public appearances.

Their tale of love was one fit for the bards. The man was originally a commoner who fell in love with a lady of a noble standing. They were childhood friends, with him sneaking into the courtyard of her large mansion to play with her. They first met when she got lost in town after being separated from her attendants. After tearfully stumbling around the city, and ending up being surrounded by a pack of wild dogs, she met him. Like a knight in shining armor, he shooed away all the dogs, saving her in the process.

Naturally, it was pretty much love at first sight.

The boy was no fool, however. He knew that he could never marry her, not when he was still just a filthy commoner. And so he declared to her he would go on a journey to become stronger. And when he returned, with that strength, he would become a knight—one that was worthy of her hand.

She cried herself to sleep that day. But she believed with all her heart that he would return.

And indeed he did.

He returned as a mercenary. And, as if Fate itself smiled on him, he received the opportunity to prove himself to the king right away.

And so he earned his knighthood, and he was finally worthy of marrying her.

She accepted without a second thought.

Alas, his happiness didn’t last long.

Months after their marriage, Rowana fell ill. It was an illness no cleric or alchemist could cure. In just three days of terribly high fever, she passed away.

Truly the prime example of tragic love.

And so, she offered her help—her expertise as a necromancer. She told him she could bring back her darling wife. Why? Once, she believed it was simply because he wanted a knight to be her loyal servant, and an ally in the Fianian courts. However, now she had accepted the fact that she simply was touched by his story. He wanted him and her to be happy. _Such pure love should not perish from this world,_ she thought to herself. And so she was willing to risk her identity as a necromancer, for his sake.

And it was a risk that paid off. More than she expected.

Her first Perfect Zombie was a success. It didn’t matter if she had to replace some of her decaying body parts with the parts from other corpses. What mattered to him was that she acted just like she would while she was still alive.

It was all thanks to the part of her soul that she lent to the corpse. With her dark arts, she ordered it to act just like Rowana would. She had learned enough of her personality and mannerism from the knight, and so, she could make her be the ideal, loving wife he desperately desired to be with. It was the same with Leila and her father. She knew enough about him that she could order another part of her soul to act just like he would in front of his daughter. The same fact applied to the king’s zombie as well.

Still, she knew she couldn’t do this forever. She would hit a limit of the chunk of soul she could lend eventually, and when that happened, she could no longer create more Perfect Zombies. Thus, she came up with the next step of her necromancy.

The Gate.

She first learned of it from the book she stole from the Magocracy. It was written in an encrypted language that she could barely even decipher. It was a ritual that allowed a necromancer to summon a soul from the beyond and bound it into a vessel—a corpse.

It took her years to gather and refine the necessary amount of dark mana to activate it, not to mention all the other materials. She needed the concentrated, crystallized form of said mana, which she had slowly and painstakingly built over the years she was in this dungeon.

And now, when she was this close to activating it, those Inquisitors just had to come and ruin everything.

“Rowana, go back to your room.” She ordered the zombie. “They’ll come soon and you’ll only be getting in our way. Your darling won’t be able to fight in earnest if he has to worry about you.”

She had suggested to her to leave the dungeon as well. But she refused, telling her that she would rather be close to her lover.

And since Berault agreed, there was nothing she could do to change her mind.

“A-alright.” She looked down with a somber expression. She turned around and made her way back until she suddenly stopped and faced the necromancer once again. “Milady?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I beg of you, please! Protect Lord Berault!” She clasped her hands together as she began to tear up. “He’s fighting for my sake, yet I can only hide in my room like a weakling and a coward! I can’t be of any help for him whatsoever! Unlike you, Milady! You are a great mage! You can help him! Please tell him that he shouldn’t die for my sake if things go bad! I-I know those Inquisitors would want an undead like me to be purified! I-if… if I had to… I would be willing to hand myself over to them!”

The necromancer’s expression softened. She walked over to her and gave her a hug and a pat on the head.

“Do not worry. I promise. I won’t let anything bad befall him.”

Up close, she could see the many discolorations on her skin. Thanks to the less-than-ideal condition of her corpse when she got her hands on it, she had to improvise by utilizing body parts from other corpses. And yet, the knight was still fine with it. To him, she was exactly the same as her late wife. He was even willing to make love to her, knowing full well that she was a cold, chimeric corpse.

It reaffirmed her belief, that if humans were to open their minds and see the truth, they would have no problem with the undead walking beside them.

She released her hug with a comforting smile. “Now go. Hide in your room until it’s all over.”

The zombie’s smile returned as she nodded. “Alright. I’ll do as you ask, Milady.”

Felicia watched as she made her way to the door. Just as she closed it behind her, however—

“You sure are having fun playing with your dolls. And I thought human girls at your age had outgrown them.”

It was Ilymhyrra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could write a more intimate look on Berault's backstory (with me giving it a flashback chapter of its own), but I figure there's no need to spend that level of effort for a side character like him. Especially since this arc seems to be not that exciting to a lot of people, thus making me think I should end it sooner instead of later.
> 
> Tell me what you think.


	151. The Elf’s Warning

Felicia’s eyes widened in shock.

“You!” She readied her staff as she took her fighting pose. “H-how did you get here?”

“With my magic, of course. It really wasn’t that hard to sneak all the way here without you noticing, especially when you’re preoccupied.”

The elf walked forward, not a smile seen on her lips.

“S-stand back! I warn you! I’m not afraid of killing you on the spot if you get closer!”

The necromancer was, understandably, in a state of panic. How could someone just waltz in without her noticing?

“I see it now.” The elf stopped in her tracks, glancing towards where Rowana had left. “Why that boy believes you’re a good person. That zombie you created… you infused her with your own soul, I assume?”

The necromancer didn’t answer. Instead, she sent a swarm of shadow tendrils towards the elf.

None landed, of course, as she was protected by her beehive barrier.

“Relax. I’m not here to kill you. I disagree with you being a necromancer, but my days of going around playing the hero are long gone.”

“Then why are you here?!”

“I’m here as an inspector.”

“A-an inspector?”

“Correct. I’m here to determine just how much of a threat you and your necromancy pose to the world.”

Silence. Felicia had no idea how to respond to her words.

“And I have to say, I am not impressed. That Gate of yours… it is incomplete.”

“Incomplete? What do you—”

“It means it will not work the way you want it to work. All you would achieve if you activate it is to flood this region with the dark mana you have gathered.”

This, of course, took Felicia by surprise.

“N-nonsense!” She yelled back. “What do you know about the Gate? You’re not a necromancer! You’re just some high elf who—”

“I am indeed not a necromancer.” She impatiently interrupted her. “But I’ve seen a Gate before. And I know yours are faulty compared to it.”

Another silence. Felicia was sweating profusely, her entire body shaking. Her work for these past years wouldn’t work? Inconceivable! She had gone through the calculations so many times there was no chance whatsoever she was wrong!

“Where did you learn it? A book? A mentor?”

“S-silence! I am not wrong! I deciphered the method myself from a book written by the Necromancer King himself!”

“Oh? Show me that book then.”

“Do I look like a fool to you?!”

“Yes. Yes, you are. You are just a foolish, scared little girl who’s way over her head.”

The elf walked closer, and, once again, Felicia backed away.

“Do you think you’re the first? To selfishly believe that she could overcome death through the dark arts? Nay. You’re merely a failure in a long line of failures. Just like the Necromancer King. Just like her.”

Hearing that, Felicia exploded in a ball of fury.

“I will not fail!” The necromancer yelled. “I have sacrificed **everything** for this! I have given my body and soul for it! This is all I have! And I will not let you make a mockery out of it!”

Before she realized it, tears trickled down her reddened cheeks.

Ilymhyrra paused her steps, staring at the glossy eyes of the necromancer.

“What a shame. I can see that you have some good in you. That zombie, created by a part of your soul, she’s a good woman. A loving, loyal wife. One cannot create a zombie with that perfect of a personality without sharing the same traits as the creation. So you are just like her, or rather, you want to be her. You want to be a loving wife to a husband that loves you back. You want a family.”

Felicia was taken aback by the sudden switch of subject.

“H-huh?”

“You don’t really want this. And you’re too blind to see that.”

“S-shut up! You have no idea what I really want! I want a world of immortality! I want a world where no one will suffer from death or illness!”

The elf didn’t respond right away. Instead, she locked her unblinking gaze at the necromancer’s wavering eyes.

“...Then I shall leave you to your fate.”

With those words, the elf turned around before she started to walk away.

“T-that’s it? You’re just going to give me your sanctimonious speech? Just who are you anyway? You’re a powerful mage, aren’t you? Some high-ranking mage from the Forbidden Land?”

Her feet stopped in place.

“I am Ilymhyrra, just a simple wandering elf.”

Felicia could only watch as she disappeared into the dark corridor at the other end of the room.

The necromancer quickly used the Dungeon Core to track her movement, only to find that the Core could not detect her presence.

She had left exactly in the manner she had arrived.

 _Damn it damn it DAMN IT!_ She bit her thumb until it bled. _Just who is she? And how dare she insult my work?!_

_...Wait, if she had sabotaged my Gate—_

She hurriedly made her way downstairs, to where she had built the yet-to-be-finished Gate.

It was a large cavern, with thousands of stalactites and stalagmites at its edges. The place was not part of the mausoleum itself. It was simply a natural cave that she had linked with the mausoleum, so she could use the spacious room for her Gate.

On the ground, one could see an awfully complex runic circle, around 500 meters in radius or even more. It took her months to draw it according to the instructions of her book, and she had followed it to the letter. Crystals made of pure darkness were placed in specific places inside the circle, to act as fuel for the ritual. And in the middle…

There was nothing. Only a small circle inside the large one where every inch of the rune converged into.

It was where the Gate would open.

Felicia began frantically examining the place, making sure that nothing was amiss.

Nothing. Everything was exactly the same as she had left it.

She took a deep, relieved breath.

_She didn’t tamper with any of it. So she really was here just to speak to me._

Just in case, however, she stabbed her staff at a certain spot in the circle, allowing it to act as its control rod.

_99.99% of the necessary mana. Just a sliver more and then I can activate it._

She could sense the circle slowly absorbing and crystallizing the ambient Mana coming from the dungeon above. This was how she had created all those crystals all these years. That function was still going as she expected it would.

_Just a little more… just a little more until I can activate it…_

_There’s no way it’s faulty… I’m no clumsy fool… I’ve rechecked again and again and again…_

She bit her thumb until it bled once again.

\-------

As the necromancer was troubled by the sudden visit from the elf, the army, along with the Inquisitors, was encroaching closer and closer. They had made significant progress in traversing the maze, thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the soldiers and adventurers who they had sent ahead of them. With their path clear, they were free to make it to the center of the dungeon where their enemy awaited.

The general was traversing the corridors with the vice head Inquisitor and her aide. They stayed in the middle, protected by around a hundred soldiers to their front and back. The sound of their marching footsteps could be heard from a mile away. They had found a sizable enough path that could bring them to the heart of the dungeon, thus they could afford to deploy such a force.

“Your Holiness? If I may...” The aide suddenly spoke.

“Speak. Eldan.” His superior responded.

“If I might ask, why are you holding back? With that spell, there’s no need for us to trudge through this place like this, right?”

“I do not wish to,” she replied swiftly. “I want this necromancer alive, so I can have her burned at the stake. That is the proper way to deal with a heretic. Not a painless death, but a slow and torturous one.”

Her aide went silent for a bit before replying, “Is it worth it? Sacrificing all these men for that?”

“Sacrifice? They should be glad they could give their lives to the cause of the Church. They’re martyrs that shall enter Valhalla. What better outcome there is for them?”

“...Of course, Your Holiness.”

Unlike his superior, Eldan Firmshield was more of a practical man. He didn’t share the same religious fervor that the Vice Head Inquisitor had. He believed in the teachings of the Church, of course, just not to the extent as she did. Thus, to condemn so many men to their deaths, just to capture a heretic alive, he couldn’t agree with it.

But, it wasn’t his place to disagree. She was his superior, which meant that he was duty-bound to serve her without question. That is how a knight of the Church should be.

The main army soon reached a large intersection. They were given a choice—left, right, or forward. And since they were in entirely new territory, they didn’t know immediately which path to take.

“General, split your forces.” The vice head inquisitor ordered. “Tell them to scout ahead, as usual. And tell your men to set up my tent. I tire and in need of rest.”

Her order was something the general was all too familiar with. The vice head inquisitor had kept a barrier around her proximity throughout the entire dungeon, making her require frequent rests in order to charge her mana. Whenever they stumbled upon a spacious enough place like this intersection, she would order them to set up camp so she could rest in it.

The general couldn’t help but think she was acting too spoiled for a supposed member of the Inquisition. Not that he would dare saying that to her face, of course.

And so, as the general’s men scouted ahead, the main force took another break, delaying it from reaching Felicia’s place yet again.

Lucky her.

\---------

As the vice head inquisitor had her nap, the rest of her associates—those that didn’t accompany her—were still trudging inside the dungeon. They were actually heading right where the main force set up their camp. Not that they would know it, of course.

“M-Milady! We can’t possibly—”

“Shut your trap and charge on. I’ve said it before, haven’t I? I’ll heal you over and over, until the enemy’s dead.”

One of the groups was facing an entire tribe of goblins, numbering around a hundred, or even more. The group had walked into an ambush, and now the goblins had them surrounded. And yet, the two Inquisitors, who were the de facto leaders of the group, showed no signs of distress. They simply raised a barrier around themselves, letting the soldiers outside do all the fighting for them.

“Hmph, not going to waste my strength fighting against small fries like them.” The cocky-looking blonde youth proudly declared. “My barrier is enough. Let small fries fight against small fries, I say.”

Her partner, the redhead, could only roll her eyes.

“What’s that look for? If you had known Turn Undead, we could finish this nuisance faster.”

“Says someone who doesn’t know the spell either.”

The blonde youth had in his possession what you would call a holy sword. It allowed him to cast Holy magic, as if he was holding a staff in his hand. Instead of using it to wreak havoc on the goblins, however, he felt it was beneath him, and so he stayed his blade.

The redheaded girl, on the other hand, was what you would call a pure support cleric. Her specialty was that of healing and succor, not fighting. So even if she wanted to, she couldn’t fight back against the goblins effectively.

“Uaarghh!”

“Aarghh!”

A group of soldiers were burned alive by the goblin shamans’ fire spells. Another group received a rain of arrows from the goblin archers.

“Don’t stand in the line of fire, you idiots!” The redhead yelled. “Urgh, I can’t believe this. Amateurs, all of them…”

She began chanting, and then—

“Mass Heal!”

A warm light enveloped her surrounding, closing the wounds of any soldiers that happened to bathe in its embrace.

“Fight! Don’t you dare let up!”

And so, the soldiers, some with arrows still sticking out their bodies, pushed on against the goblins. It wasn’t an easy task, for the goblins were also regenerating like them. They were zombified goblins, much more durable than normal ones.

The redhead continued to cast Mass Heal over and over. The soldiers were, in a sense, another undying army thanks to her.

The only difference was—of course—the soldiers could feel pain.

\-----

**Hugo**

“Felicia? Felicia? Are you there? I want to speak to you.”

...No response yet again.

I sighed. _Great. Do I have to do this the hard way?_

It had been an hour or so since I entered the dungeon. And so far, it has been a miserable experience.

_Damn it! Have I ever been to this corridor before? I feel I’ve been to this corridor before._

_I knew I should’ve just followed the map they gave to me._

I, like any other adventurer that decided to participate in the venture, was given a map that described the route they had taken and cleared so far. I was supposed to follow said map, but I opted not to, as I wanted to speak with Felicia directly, away from the ears of the soldiers and other adventurers. They said that she could watch and communicate with them even when she wasn’t there in person, so I figured it was worth a shot. As for why I decided to take the detour, I couldn’t have them suspect that I was consorting with her after all.

Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t responding at all.

_Oh God, this is so boring._

There weren’t any monsters or traps to be wary about. None. The soldiers must have cleaned all the side routes as well.

I was tempted to try to make a hole downwards with my spell, but I was afraid it might end up causing a cave-in or something. Not to mention that it might make Felicia think I was here for her head like the rest of the adventurers.

I sighed. _Guess I’ll just retrace my steps and return to the designated path._

“You! Why are you here?!”

Just when I was about to turn around, I heard a voice coming from behind me. Quickly, I turned with my wand drawn.

Only to find the necromancer standing in front of me.

“Are you here for my head as well?!”

“Wait, don’t get the wrong idea! I’m just here to—”

“To what? Are you saying that you want to help me?!”

“No, not exactly. I’m here to—”

“Then leave,” she spoke with a bitter tone as her eyes narrowed. “I might admire your pure desire for heroism but I shall not hesitate to strike you down if you interfere with my work.”

Her figure then scattered into the four winds, revealing that it was merely a shadow clone, most likely made from her magic.

“Wait! Oh goddamn it!”

My words fell to deaf ears.

If I had to guess, she was busy repelling the soldiers so she had no time to speak with me. That’s why she seemed so uncharacteristically irate.

Mmm, should I have lied to her? Probably not. It would only cause more problems down the line. I feel she’s the type that doesn’t take kindly at being deceived.

_Fine then. Guess I’ll have to follow the main route like everybody else._

_And I better hurry._

\--------

**Felicia**

“Damn it, why is he here?” The necromancer bit her thumb yet again. “Is he a friend? A foe?”

“Milady?”

“Shut your mouth, Berault! I’m thinking here!”

“Apologies, Milady, but the main force is approaching fast. And the side forces are going to rejoin them soon. We should strike now before they could do so. Thin out their numbers.”

The necromancer didn’t seem to listen to her knight’s plea. She wandered back and forth with a distraught expression, all thanks to Hugo’s sudden appearance.

_Should I beg him to join my cause? No. After all I’ve done, there’s no way someone like him would be willing. Should I kill him then? No! I don’t want to! Not him!_

“Please, Lady Flameu! Listen to Lord Berault!”

Rowana was there too. Somehow, she could sense her husband returning and so she left her room to greet him.

“Milady, we have to move soon.”

Felicia continued to walk in a circle, ignoring the pleas from them both.

“... You’re right.” She abruptly stopped. “We have to cull their numbers.” She turned to face the knight. “Let us depart. We’ll start from the group with the nun.”

“Of course, Milady.” He returned with a bow.

“Oh, please do be careful!” Rowana clasped her hands together.

The knight halted his steps. He turned around and lifted his helmet from his head, revealing his dark hair and handsome face. With a smile that would melt any woman, he told her, “Do not worry, my love,” the knight returned. “I shall protect you from those men and women.”

He knew that if he and Felicia failed, his lovely wife would die once again. And he had no plans on suffering the same grief twice.

He put his helmet back on, once again returning to his stern and stoic persona. His smile was reserved only for his dear wife. He never even gave it to Felicia, the woman he had sworn to serve.

Watching this, the necromancer felt a pang of jealousy in her heart.

She wanted it. She wanted to be loved, just like Rowana was.

Alas, no one would love a person as horrible as she was, would they? One that had desecrated a mountain of corpses and sacrificed her own dignity to further her own goals. Good men loved pure women like Rowana, not a filthy and corrupt whore like her.

“The only happiness I will get is when the entire world becomes undead”. It was a fact she had accepted in the deepest folds of her heart.


	152. Chaos

"W-water! Water is rushing this way!"

"B-behind too! We're trapped!"

The Inquisitor youth with the book sighed. Those fools had triggered some sort of a trap and now they had to pay the price.

“Hey, Tina, break a wall or something.”

“Hey, since when you’re my boss?”

“Just do it.” He sighed. “Do you want us to drown?”

With a shrug, the nun slammed her mace onto the nearby wall. It left a dent on the wall, but it didn’t create the hole that she wanted.

“Hmm, that’s tougher than I thought.”

“Then smash it again.”

She did once, twice, thrice more, yet the dent barely went any further.

“I think it’s being reinforced by the Dungeon Core,” the nun gave her assessment. “That heretic knows we would try something like this to escape her trap.”

The young man sighed again. “Fine. A barrier it is.”

He then opened his book before he began his chant. A barrier manifested out of thin air, surrounding them both.

The soldiers around them, naturally, took notice of the fact.

“A-a barrier! Oh, thank the Saint! Everyone! Get inside!”

One of the soldiers, the platoon's lieutenant in fact, ran towards it, only to crash into the hard forcefield.

“I’m sorry,” the youth spoke with a cold look. “But we have no intention of bringing any of you along. This barrier is only designed for two people, you see.”

“W-what?!"

"It's your own fault, you see. You and your men fell into the trap. So now, you would have to pay the price."

*CRASH*

"Aahhhhh!"

"H-help! Help! I-I can't swim!"

One by one, the water swept the soldiers away, right towards the barrier. Like a stack of fishes, they crashed into the hardened light, banging their bodies at high speed. Some snapped their necks entirely, some broke their arms or legs, and some painfully choked on the water until they lost consciousness.

The blue-haired youth didn't flinch in the slightest when some soldiers banged on the barrier, begging to be let in. Why would he? They would enter Valhalla once they perished.

And just like that, the entire platoon was wiped by the flood, leaving the two Inquisitors on their own.

The assault wasn't over, however, as the water soon electrified. Thankfully, the barrier held firm nonetheless.

Faye continued hitting the wall, ceiling, and floor, trying to find a weak spot she could make a hole with.

“Ah, this seems to be the spot!”

She then proceeded to smash said spot, located on the ceiling, over and over and over again, all the while the youth maintained the barrier. The electricity didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. Compared to Majorka from before, it was clear as day how much stronger his barrier was.

Eventually, the ceiling crumbled, running down rubble on top of their barrier, which it easily deflected. The two quickly jumped upwards through the hole.

It opened into some sort of a chamber. There was nothing inside except the scent of mold and decay—a scent that permeated through the entire dungeon.

The water quickly filled the chamber. As the only exit was a passage going downwards, they decided to try the ceiling once again.

"Can you make another hole up there?" The youth spoke to the nun.

"Hmm, let's just hope we don't end up burying ourselves in dirt."

She began swinging her mace upwards, sending shockwaves that hit the ceiling wall almost as hard as if she landed the hit on melee.

"Looks pretty sturdy. I don't know about this," the nun spoke in a casual, almost playful tone.

"Just keep looking," the youth replied, his tone one of annoyance instead.

Dirt and rocks began to leak from the ceiling, showing that above them were not another room, but instead part of the soil in-between the dungeon, yet to be developed.

“Uhh, don't think we can go up, chief."

"Continue. I've read the map and there should not be that much soil above us. My barrier can take it. And all the dirt and rocks can help plugging this water as well."

"Alright then. Whatever you say." The nun smirked.

She resumed hitting the ceiling, until eventually, it gave through, letting an avalanche of soil into the room. The barrier held, just like the youth said, and the two began their dig upwards, into the next room above them.

Right into where Hugo was.

\-------

**Hugo**

I made my way to the center of the dungeon, following the route on the map I was given. As expected, I didn't encounter anything. The route was already stripped clean of all it's dangers.

I entered a large, pitch-black room. Using flame magic, I fired a flare to the ceiling of the room, revealing a bunch of tall statues of what looked like knights. They were around 10 meters tall, give or take.

And then, I felt it. The thumping motion coming from under my feet.

_Hmm? This trembling… an earthquake?!_

_No. It's more like a thumping. From down below. Something's coming!_

Believing it to be a monster, I jumped backwards to the corner of the room, readying my wand for the creature that might pop out.

The middle floor burst open before something jumped from the hole, revealing the identity of the culprit to be…

A nun?

"Oh? What's this? Hey, Asan. We got a kid over here!"

Another person jumped out from the hole. This time, instead of being a silver-haired nun in her late teens, it was a blue-haired young man around sixteen or so, wearing a formal black priest robe.

"Hey, kid." He called on me. "You're an adventurer? Where's your party?"

_Kid? Hey, I'm not that much younger than you, you know!_

Before I could answer his question, however, two more figures burst forth from the hole, followed by a water spout that splashed water all over the room. I dodged it in time but the two certainly didn't.

Ignoring the fact that the nun's white outfit had just turned translucent from the wetness (revealing the fact that she wore matching teal bra and panties that day), my attention immediately turned towards the next two figures who just made their dramatic entrance.

_Mages? A man and a woman? And they're twins!_

"Adventurer." The young man spoke with a noticeably bossy tone. "Aid us. Those two are zombified mages, vile creations of the necromancer."

"Wait, zombies?" I replied. "They don't look like one though."

With a sigh, he replied, "Just shut up and do your job."

_Ah, of course. Too high and mighty to explain anything to this humble adventurer, huh? If I had to guess from their outfit and attitude, they must be the inquisitors that started this whole thing._

The zombies made their first move. The male conjured a rain of spears made out of water while the woman fired blasts of water at high speed akin to water cannons.

...Yeah, I’m not participating in this.

I slowly walked backwards, trying to not attract the attention of the two zombies.

“Tch, running away, are we?” The youth said after he erected his barrier. “Can’t be helped, I suppose. You’re just some kid adventurer after all. Go. We’ll handle this.”

Normally, I would take offense on this, but I knew better than to get angry. _It’s better this way._ They might think I’m siding with Flameu if I were older. “If you’re not with us, then you’re against us.” I just had a hunch they were that kind of people.

Before I could make my way out of the room, however, the passage behind me suddenly closed itself, with a stone slab sliding down from the ceiling.

_...Oh crap._

I turned my sight across the room. Sure enough, that passage was closed as well.

I was trapped.

"This shall be your tomb, inquisitors."

The flare I had fired was snuffed out as pitch-black shadows quickly covered the ceiling, seemingly seeping out from the corners of the room.

_That voice! It's Felicia's voice!_

The shadows now dripped down from the ceiling, in quite the disgusting manner, if I might add. The nun activated her light spell, only to find that the light could pierce the shadows that swirled around their barrier.

And then, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Stay here. I'll take care of them."

I jumped, turning around as fast as I could.

It was Felicia.

"I'll show you how a necromancer fights," she said with a confident smirk on her face.

Beside her was her knight. I had no idea how they suddenly appeared out of thin air, but they did.

"Come, Lord Berault. Let us put an end to these two."

The knight moved first, dashing forward with his blade readied towards the barrier. His mistress on the other hand started chanting.

Light burst forth from the barrier, halting Berault in his steps. The shadows surrounding the two inquisitors were dispelled by the searing light.

"I see." The youth spoke coldly. "You intend to finish us now, while we're at our weakest point."

"Ha, the venomous snake is out from her nest, I see." The nun sneered towards Felicia. "And that knight over there is that Berault guy. What about that boy though? Why haven't you killed him yet?"

"I remember him," her partner answered her question. "Charles Pendleton. The famous Divine Tempest. He helped her for a short while. And now, he had shown himself to be her ally once again."

"W-wait, don't get the—"

"That's right." Felicia interrupted. "He's a friend of mine."

"Damn it, why do you have to say that?!"

"It's the truth, no?" She smirked at me.

...I see it now. She's trying to make me fight for her, by making the inquisitors think I'm on her side.

That's a bad guy move, right there.

"Don't listen to her!" I yelled. "I'm just here to speak with her, not to fight with you or any of the other inquisitors!"

...Yeah, they're not going to buy that, are they?

The battle resumed, four against two. Felicia manipulated shadows to attack them while the two mages utilized water instead. The nun fought against Berault, her mace clashing with his blade. His swordplay was faster but the nun had more strength with her every blow. Not to mention that she would weave quick holy magic every now and then into her melee-oriented fighting style.

_This is… this is amazing!_

I couldn't help but be impressed. Never before I saw the utilization of holy magic in such a manner. She did acrobatics as well, firing spells right in mid-air. I was so slack-jawed I barely noticed her flashing her panties every time she did.

The other guy was no slouch either. Instead of a staff, he was using a book as a tool for his magic focus. I didn’t even know that was a possibility.

“Holy Barrage!”

A swarm of bolts of light came out from the book, disrupting the casting of both zombified mages and Felicia. It was similar to the spell Renee once casted, only that the bolts chased after their targets much better. All three had to spend a lot of time getting out of the way before they were safe from the Master-level spell.

Oh, and he was also capable of Dual Casting, allowing him to both keep up his barrier while at the same time attacking with offensive spells. 

Judging by those two facts, the 16-year old boy was already a better cleric than Mother could ever be. Sorry, Mom, but that’s just the fact.

_I guess he’s what you would call a prodigy of holy magic._

“Diona! Come out and freeze them in place!”

A woman dressed in what you would call a gothic lolita fashion manifested out of thin air from a cloud of darkness. She promptly let out a scream that filled the entire room. My hands instinctively went to my ears to cover them, only to find that I could no longer move an inch.

_A-a paralysis scream?!_

It had no effect on the two inquisitors however.

“Ha! A cheap trick like that wouldn’t work on us!” The nun bragged with a grin as she was in the middle of her fight with Berault. “We are the chosen of the Saint! Curses won’t affect us!”

_A-a curse! Damn it! I don't have any spells that can dispel curses!_

Knowing that her scream wouldn't work, the summoned woman (Diona was her name, I assume) switched into melee, aiding Berault against the nun. 

To my relief, my paralysis didn't last long. I could move my body once more after waiting for a minute or so.

That relief soon disappeared, however, when the stone slab blocking the other entrance was sliced into two.

"Hey, evil witch! Your opponent is me!"

A young man, around seventeen or so, came charging into the room. With a sword in his hand, he jumped straight towards Felicia. She managed to dodge by submerging herself into a puddle of shadow, thankfully for her.

"Soldiers! Charge! Protect the inquisitors and capture the necromancer!"

It wasn't just him who had come. A swarm of soldiers marched in with their swords and spears drawn.

Seeing this, the twin mages attempted to attack the soldiers, only to be blocked by a barrier generated by a redheaded girl leading the charge. Another inquisitor, if I had to guess.

The tables had turned. Now Felicia's the one being cornered.

I'd feel bad for her, but I was still irked by her trying to drag me into her mess, while refusing to talk to me like a decent person.

I sighed. She's not winning me to her side at this rate.

"Hold! Don't anyone move an inch!"

I suddenly felt cold steel in my neck, along with two soft mounds touching the back of my head. I tried to move my hands and feet, only to find that they were bound by a bunch of shadowy tendrils. Didn’t even notice they were there until now.

It was Felicia and her boobs. And she had decided to make me her hostage.

I was too distracted to notice her presence behind me before it's too late.

"Or I would kill this little boy!" She pressed the knife a little deeper.

I sighed again. "I'm disappointed in you, Felicia. I thought you're a better person than this."

"Hmph, you know nothing about me!" She fired back. "You don't know the things I've done to get this far! I do not wish to harm a good kid like you, but if it's the only way i can achieve my goal, then so be it!"

And then, she whispered, "Play along. I'm clearing your name right now."

"...Ah, I get it," I whispered back. 

I put on my best acting muscles and followed suit.

"H-help! I don't wanna die!" I yelled. I even used a stealth water spell to pretend I was crying.

("You know, this is pretty embarrassing.")

("It's your own fault, coming here in the first place. What do you want, really?")

("Nothing special. Just a nice chat with you, maybe over a cup of tea and all that.")

("Hmph, maybe after I dispose of these people.")

("Should've planned this better. Now you have to fight two groups at once.")

("I can't help it. I thought they wouldn't be crazy enough to dig through the soil. And yet they did.")

"You cowardly witch! Unhand him at once!" The blonde man pointed his sword at him.

"Don't be tricked, Peter. He’s an associate of hers,” the book-wielding youth spoke. “Just cut her along with him.”

“N-no, please! I-I’m innocent!”

_Damn it, that kid is merciless!_

(“Wet your pants.”)

(“What?!”)

(“I’ll push my knife right up to your jugular. Then you’ll show them that you’re just a scared little kid that has nothing to do with me, the scary necromancer.”)

Before I could consent, she performed the move, pushing in the blade of her knife close enough that I started to bleed, but not deep enough that it became a fatal wound.

“Do you think I’m bluffing? I’ll slit the throat of this boy and the guilt will lie under your feet!”

“H-help! P-please help!”

Using my water magic once more, I, with great shame I had to add, did as she instructed me to.

I was just glad that I was skilled enough to do something like this with my magic, instead of, you know, actually doing it for real. I could certainly do it, with me having not emptied my tank for the last few hours, but I'd be damned if I had to do it.

“Aww, look at that! The scared little kid is having an accident! Where’s that courage of yours when you slayed that dragon, huh?!”

_Wow, that grin of hers looks almost authentic. She’s really great at playing the villain. Or maybe she is a villain all along._

_Isn’t it a bit too much though? It’s like she enjoys seeing me humiliating myself like this…_

"I-I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!"

"...Fine. Peter, if you could, try not to hit the kid."

_Wait, "try"? That means he's going to—_

The blond swordsman dashed forward with his blade drawn. Felicia countered by conjuring what could only be described as the dark version of the Barrier spell those inquisitors were using. I used the opportunity to release myself from Felicia's embrace.

His blade crashed down into her shadow barrier. However, the swordsman (Peter, I assume) continued pushing through, his blade pulsating with what looked to be holy energy. It began corroding away at the barrier.

It was enough time, however, for Felicia to use her trump card.

“O great power of the dark! Come forth from the abyss and honor the pact I have made as your master! Necrosummon!”

What appeared afterward was beyond my expectation. And anybody else’s expectation in that room.

A massive dragon, made out of bones, had manifested itself right in the front of our very eyes.

“Behold! My ultimate creation!” 

I looked at her as she proclaimed those words.

That grin was fit for the Devil himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A number of readers have said that they dislike the slow pacing of this arc. A solution might be for me to up the minimum wordcount every update, so the story will always move further every new chapter. Though obviously that means slower update speed. What do you guys think?


	153. Divine Judgment

The dragon began its rampage. With a sweep from its bony tail, it bisected the soldiers behind it. Only those who stood behind the redheaded inquisitor survived, thanks to her barrier. It then flapped its wings, sending a shockwave of wind that knocked everyone in the room onto the walls. Well, almost. Anyone on Felicia's side, including me, was kept in place by her shadow hands coming out from the ground. 

The dragon then let out a roar right at my direction (quite the frightening experience if I might add) before it started to stretch itself. It had been summoned into a cramped space so naturally it wanted to make the space around it bigger. And thus, the entire room began to shake as it strained against the powerful force the dragon was exerting.

_Yeah, don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t know what she’s thinking, summoning something that big to an underground dungeon like this._

_Yep, I better scram._

I drew my wand and blasted a hole onto the stone slab blocking my passage. Before I left, however, I gave a glance towards Felicia.

“Go. I’ll be fine. Leave this place.” She spoke, without looking back.

_Yeah, what am I worried for? After what she just did, I don’t think I’m going to help her after all._

And so, I ran, just in time before the entire room came crumbling down. It set up a chain reaction, causing the corridors connected to it and the other rooms surrounding it to crumble apart as well. I let my legs carry me as fast as it could. If a camera was at me, I would probably look like Indiana Jones running away from a crumbling ruin. Uhh, not that I was insinuating I was anywhere as cool as him though.

_I’m glad I didn’t bring in those three. I’m not confident enough that my Wind Wall can survive all that rubble falling on top of it, not to mention the problem of being buried by them afterward._

When the dust settled (I blew them away from my location using my wind magic), there was a massive rubble behind me. Stone and dirt piled up like mountains with the massive bone dragon standing in the middle of it all. It let out another roar as it shook all the rubble from on top of it. It looked completely unharmed too.

The ceiling still remained, preventing sunlight (or moonlight, come to think about it) from pouring down. As for the floor, it had collapsed entirely, creating this chasm that allowed the dragon to finally have the freedom of movement it wanted. If I had to guess, half of the entire dungeon had collapsed thanks to it. 

Hmm, looking at it now, its size was about the same as that ice dragon I beat months ago. Makes sense for all dragons to be about the same—

_...Oh._

It hit me.

It wasn’t that it was a different dragon.

It was the very same dragon I had defeated.

Felicia, whom I left its bones with, had resurrected it using her necromancy. 

And not only that, she had bound it to be her summon as well.

I’ve been had.

Felicia and Berault were nowhere to be seen. The same applied for the inquisitors and the soldiers. Had they all been buried by the rubble? No. It can’t end that undramatically, can it? And the dragon hadn’t disappeared so at the very least, Felicia should still be alive, if we’re following the usual summoning rules.

_Hmm? What are those?_

I then noticed them, on the bottom of the chasm, large crystals around the size of an adult man, with some being taller, were scattered all over the floor. They were pitch-black in color. Squinting my eyes, I could see another peculiar sight. There was a massive magic circle etched onto said floor. None of the rubbles and dirt fell inside said circle, giving me the impression that it had some sort of a barrier of its own.

_Those crystals… they’re mana crystals, aren’t they? They’re powering that magic circle, most likely._

I had read about mana crystals before, though this was the first time I saw one in the flesh. They were valuable mining goods as they could be used for various alchemy and magical crafting-related purposes. Essentially, they were ambient mana, concentrated into crystallized form over the ages.

They weren’t supposed to be black though, so if I had to guess, they were concentrated dark mana instead.

Putting two and two together, it was only a natural conclusion to take that Felicia may have something to do with it. That, or it was something the demons set up a millenia ago when they first turned this mausoleum into a dungeon.

_Hmm? Someone’s coming!_

At the distance, across the chasm, I saw figures stepping out from an archway that were still intact. It was another mass of soldiers, with what I imagine was the general and two more inquisitors leading them. They weren’t exactly blending in, what with the general’s cape and large double-bladed axe and the woman’s blue dress. The other man beside the woman wore white as well, which didn’t match with the dull green and silver the rest of the soldiers wore.

I hid myself behind a stray rock. Didn’t want them to suspect I was siding with Felicia yet again.

The bone dragon let out another roar before flying from the chasm and towards the soldiers. It landed with a tremor, and it didn't waste time before blasting them with its cold breath, only to find that it was blocked by the inquisitor lady's barrier.

As the two sides fought, I moved my attention back to the chasm. I had a hunch that whatever that magic circle was for, it was related to Felicia's goal. And I wanted to know what that was.

To my surprise, however, there was already another battle going on down there. As expected, Felicia and Berault were still alive. And so did the four inquisitors. None of the soldiers made it though.

I climbed down slowly, taking care not to alert them with my presence. I hid behind another large piece of rubble, until I was close enough that I could hear their voices.

“Stop her! She’s activating the circle!” The blue-haired youth shouted.

Sure enough, Felicia was standing right in the middle of the circle. She was stabbing her staff to the ground, holding it with both hands as she closed her eyes and chanted. Meanwhile, her subordinates, Berault and Diona, protected her from the four inquisitors, while the dragon distracted the soldiers above.

“O Great Power of Darkness! I offer thee these foolish souls so you would grant me the key!”

The circle began to pulsate, and the four inquisitors immediately yelled in pain as they fell down to their knees.

It didn’t need to take a genius to figure out what she was doing.

_She’s sacrificing them! She’s sacrificing them for her ritual!_

A surge of dark mana surged forth from the circle, concentrating itself at the center, right at the tip of Felicia’s staff. 

“I offer thee my words! Ha’atu! Ren’ah! Trillium! Eredion!”

She raised her staff upwards, firing said dark energy to the ceiling. It tore through the stone, going all the way to the outside.

“I offer thee my body! My flesh, blood and skin shall be shrines to the dark!”

At this point, shivers started to form at the back of my neck. The amount of mana she was channeling was unbelievable. It was as if I was staring at the fountain overflowing and bursting with magic power, and me, having some sensitivity towards it, felt as if I was being suffocated by it.

“I offer thee my soul! So grant me thy key and open thy gate! Manifest the truth upon this world!”

More dark mana flew towards Felicia as slowly but surely, the crystals containing them vanished into the wind. I instinctively raised a Wind Wall, as I didn’t feel comfortable facing off against that much surge of power without having any protection.

_Holy shit, is she serious?! What kind of spell is she casting that needs this much power?!_

“Come forth! Grant my wish and break the barrier between life and death!”

The spell reached its apex. The mana now actively swirled around her like a tornado. More and more of the ceiling was being consumed by it as she fired the mana towards the skies.

But then, something happened—something that made the mana she had gathered to not fire towards the skies like she wanted. The mana started to shower, raining upon the area instead of continuing its journey upwards.

And then, I saw it—the pulsating magic circle she stood on slowly dissolving itself away.

_Uhh, this isn’t good, is it?_

My suspicion was confirmed by the panicked look drawn on Felicia’s face.

“N-no! T-the ritual… i-it’s not stable enough! I-I’m losing control!”

_*CRACK*_

_*SHATTER*_

Her staff, unable to bear the unstabilized power coursing through it, shattered into a million pieces, sending her tumbling down to the ground.

The spell, however, refused to end on its own. It continued drawing more and more power into itself from the dark crystals, before spreading it around in a shower of darkness. Some headed at my direction, but thankfully, my Wind Wall was there to protect me.

_Yep, this isn’t good at all!_

I noticed out of the corner of my eyes the four trapped inquisitors. Now that the magic circle was severely weakened, they once again regained their movement, and wisely, they used it to run away from Felicia as quickly as they could.

And I _really_ better do the same.

I swiftly ran back upwards to the outside of the chasm as fast as I could. I took one last glance towards Felicia. She was now stuck inside the spell’s shredding tornado, with Berault and Diona beside her.

_Sorry, but you’re on your own for this one._

Using my Wind Step, it was an easy matter for me to reach the top of the chasm once more. When I did so, however,

_Hmm? What’s that?_

I noticed something peculiar from the corner of my eye. Looking upwards, I noticed that the once pitch black sky had instead been infused by light. The two were fighting against each other for dominance.

And then, I saw it—across the chasm, the lady in the blue dress—she too was in the middle of chanting something, as she was raising her matching blue staff to the sky.

_Wait, where did the dragon go? She couldn’t have defeated it in that short amount of time, could she?!_

I looked back upwards. And then, it hit me.

“Wind Wall!”

I immediately hardened the wind above me as I braced for impact.

“Fairies! Come out and build me the strongest wall you could!”

The two girls promptly responded to my call. Earth Sprite raised a hut made out of hardened mud around us while Spring Fairy covered it with her water wall.

“W-what’s going on, Master? All these mana… I-I’ve never seen anything like it!” Spring Fairy spoke with a panicked look on her face.

“I don’t know either. But I know for sure that a big attack is coming our way, from above.”

Why did I think so? Because I realized the light that was up on the clouds was forming a magic circle of its own.

That woman… she’s going to bathe this whole place with her holy light. A powerful spell that rained light from the heavens. If I had to guess, it’s a Grandmaster-level spell.

I still remembered like it was yesterday, when Vera used two spells of a similar caliber. No, perhaps this was even stronger. Vera had to split her mana into casting two at once after all.

I put every bit of my mana that I could fit into my spell. There was no escaping this. The range was simply too big.

And then, it fired.

A massive beam of light descended from the heavens. I closed my eyes and focused everything I had on my spell.

“Graahhh!”

The moment it touched my Wind Wall, I immediately felt the immense pressure bearing down onto me. _T-this is— this is too much! I can’t possibly defend against this!_

“M-Master! I-I can’t—”

“U-uhaaaaaa!”

My two summons were clearly struggling as well. It was immediately clear to me that even with us three, we couldn’t withstand such an attack. Even so—

“Use my mana as much as you want!” I yelled to them.

_Grghh! It's no use! This spell… it's too powerful!_

"M-Master! I-I can't— I-I'm sorry!"

The fairy vanished, taking the water wall with her. It was now only us two.

_Graahhh! I'm not… dying here… not before I apologized to Marina and Erika… not before I met Sherry again!_

_..._

_Wait! I can— I can use that! If I can nullify the spell, just like she did!_

I gritted my teeth. Using the strength I had left, I began channeling my raw, untransformed mana in a way that could deconstruct other spells back into scattered, harmless mana. I only managed to do it once before, with the help of Amelie, but it was no time to doubt myself. It was either that, or I die, right here and now. I would have wasted my second chance in life.

And that, I refused to do, even if I had to bleed for it.

"Aaaahhh! Deconstruct Magic!"

My Wind Wall shattered. Now there was only Earth Sprite's wall to protect me.

"U-uuuuu...aaaahhh!"

I didn't need to look at her to know how much she was struggling. The girl might not talk much, but her determination to aid me was unmistakable. I didn't know what made her so loyal to me, but I was thankful for it nonetheless.

_I-it worked!_

I could feel it. My Deconstruct Magic was now aiding her wall, weakening the light before it could hit it.

However, it wasn't enough. The spell continued to rain down, unrelenting. And I knew Earth Sprite was at her limit.

"Must… not… falter… must… protect… Master…"

_This girl…_

"I-it's alright. If it hurts you too much, then you can leave."

I wasn't sure why I said those words. I knew I would die if her wall crumbled.

But, seeing her like this… no, not just seeing. _Feeling._ I could feel the great pain she suffered by keeping her wall intact. Perhaps it was our contractual bond at work. Or perhaps I simply didn't want to make a little girl like her suffer for my sake.

"No.. not leaving… Master…"

"It's fine. I'm… not that good of a human being anyway." I gave her a grim smile.

_Aah, I didn't want to die here, being turned into ash by some holy light. I want to die on my bed as an old man, with a loving family at my side. I would have my wife, my children, and even my grandchildren._

_But, it seems that's not going to happen. Sorry Anton, Amelie, Anne. I ended up doing something stupid anyway. I just hope you guys aren't nearby when this spell rains down from the sky._

"D-don't… don't give up… I… become stronger… strong enough to protect Master…"

And then, the brown-haired sprite began to shine.

My eyes went wide as the child-sized figure grew to be a tall woman. Her outfit changed completely as well, from a modest robe to a skimpy brown-colored two-piece bikini. Her legs and arms were covered with little stone bricks, or rather, they _were_ her new, not-human skin. Her brown hair reached all the way to her behind.

She just evolved from a little girl to a sexy woman.

"I have grown, Master." She gazed at my speechless self. "I am now a Sprite of "Sacred Stones."

The hut she had erected evolved with her as well. It was now made out of solid, glowing bricks. I could feel Holy mana emitting out of them. Thanks to that fact, it was now much more durable against the holy light hammering it from the outside. 

And thus, with the last remaining inch of my strength, I kept up my Magic Deconstruction anti-spell until the barrage was finally over.

We made it. Barely.

I fell to my feet, panting. My clothes were now drenched by my sweat.

“M-Master, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I-I’m fine. My mana… I just need to recharge them, that’s all.” I gave her a reassuring grin.

The girl, no, woman, immediately brightened by my response.

"I'm glad! Now I can be more useful to you, Master! As you grow stronger, so would I!”

“R-right…”

I eyed her up and down. _God damn, she’s a bombshell right now. I don’t think having a summon this attractive is healthy for my perverted self, especially since she keeps calling me “Master” and all that._

“Master?”

“A-ah, nevermind.” I quickly averted my (no doubt) lecherous gaze.

_And yet, her mind is still as naive as that of a child._

_Dangerous. That combo is dangerous. If I’m less of a good person, I could easily take advantage of her and do all sorts of stuff to that hot body of hers._

I told her to remove her rocks. Still weak, I stood up gingerly before examining the aftermath of the spell.

_Holy crap…_

What I saw took my breath away.

Gone was the dungeon we were in. Surrounding us was a massive hole around the size of a city. Only the small patch of ground we stood up survived, thanks to us blocking the spell from vaporizing it away. Thus, we were now standing on top of a tall ground pillar in the middle of said hole.

Far away, in front of us, was another pillar. The blue-dressed woman stood here, unharmed by her own spell. The same couldn't be said by the people accompanying her, however. They were gone, perished in the spell I presumed. Only she and the man standing beside her survived, and he should be another inquisitor just like her.

I had no inkling to how they survived it, but it's probably related to their barriers. They might be zealous enough to kill innocents with their spell, but they wouldn't be dumb enough to kill themselves.

As for the darkness, it had vanished as well. To my surprise, however, Felicia and co. managed to survive at the very center of the hole. Not only them, too. The four inquisitors survived as well. Clearly, they had a spell designed to keep them safe from that powerful holy magic.

The woman and his aide descended off her pillar, using the same barrier stair technique Mother once used.

_I'd better get off as well. Who knows how long it would remain stable?_

I told Earth Sprite of my intention and she nodded. 

"Then, I shall rest for a bit. Please call me if you ever need me with anything."

_She sure has gotten a lot more talkative since her evolution._

And I soon realized she had gotten more forward as well as instead of asking first, she grabbed me and forced me into a hug, burying my face in her lovely bosom.

_Aah, heaven! This is what heaven is like!_

"Master is so little! I'm bigger than Master now!"

_Yeah, something's definitely bigger alright._

It didn't last long, however, as after taking her payment, she disappeared with a smile, leaving me on my own once again. Probably with a perverted grin as big boobs really are a weakness of mine.

With her gone, I descended down the pillar, using my Wind Step magic yet again while keeping myself out of sight. 

_I just hope that lady in blue hasn't noticed me._

Once again hidden away from sight, I continued to examine the situation for a safe distance.

In retrospect, I probably should have run away instead, especially after that near death situation I just brushed with, but I **just** had to know how this whole situation would be resolved. It was all-too-obvious that Felicia had been defeated. Whatever that ritual was intended to do, it had failed. Terribly. Not to mention that it had broken her staff into pieces in the process as well. And with the inquisitors surrounding her like this, I don’t believe she could escape.

\-------

**Felicia**

"W-why? Why did it fail?! It shouldn’t have failed! It shouldn’t!”

All my labor these past years… disappeared into the four winds, just like that.

She was right. That elf was right. The ritual was indeed flawed. It wasn’t stable enough. It couldn’t contain all the mana it needed without imploding on itself.

But, even without that, it would’ve failed anyway. That searing holy light from the heavens would have destroyed the Gate the moment it came into being.

Somehow, I survived that, thanks to the swirling darkness protecting me from it.

I wish I hadn’t.

“Foolish woman! What do you think you hope to accomplish by that spell?! If it weren't for my Divine Judgment, this whole region would have drowned in demonic mana! I see it now! You wish to flood the kingdom with monsters, don't you? To destroy it and turn its citizens into your own personal undead army. Truly, you are beyond salvation."

Those harsh words made me look to the side. There she was—the Vice Head Inquisitor herself, the one responsible for all my troubles. She was the caster of said spell. A Grandmaster-level Holy spell. I hadn’t foreseen that. I didn’t believe she would be capable of such a spell.

She could’ve easily destroyed the entire dungeon with it from the start. If I had known, I would have abandoned this whole place, even if I had to lose years worth of progress on my research.

But now…

“Milady! Stand up! It’s not over yet!”

It was Berault. He drew his blade, guarding me from the inquisitor.

“I’ll buy you time for your escape, so please! Do not lose faith! You can always try again!”

“B-Berault…” I returned weakly.

“I believe in you! You! Who returned my dear Rowana to me once more! And make no mistake! I have no plans to die in this battlefield either! They… that woman… she took away my beloved Rowana once more with that accursed light! But you! You can resurrect her again! And the next time, it would be her own soul returned to this world! Not a chunk of your soul masquerading as her!”

...I was left speechless. Never before had I heard him being this passionate before.

"No, I don’t deserve your trust.” I gave a bitter smile. “All this time, I've only been using you for your strength. I didn't resurrect your wife out of the goodness of my heart. I did it to gain your gratitude and loyalty. Same with you, Diona.” I looked to the side towards my ghost familiar. “I only made a pact with you as you shared the same hatred I possessed towards the king. No, your hatred is much, much bigger. I came to him and gave my body willingly. But you… you never had a choice in the matter.”

Diona was born out of the lingering hatred and regret a certain commoner girl once had. She had received the fancy of the king, and as a result, was forced to serve him as his maid at the castle. Of course, she had no love for him. She already had a lover of her own. And they were perfectly happy, until that one fateful day where the king, who would often do a visit to the capital’s brothels, laid his eyes on hers.

Before she knew it, she was forced by her soldiers to go back with him to the castle.

At first, she reluctantly gave him what he wanted. He promised to her that once he was satisfied by her, he would let her go. It wasn’t like she had any other choice. She had begged the people in the castle to help her, but naturally, none came to her aid. She was even lectured by the head maid, an old, decrepit, and generally unpleasant woman, that she should be honored to give her body to the king, being the commoner that she was. And a lot of the people in the castle held the same belief. Especially that general, who would willingly die in service of his corrupt king. He believed in the absolute power of a monarch, and how a knight like him should only obey, and not think for himself.

Well, he’s dead now, I presume. A silver lining in these storm clouds I found myself in right now.

And so, the poor maiden lost her innocence to him, not to the lover whom she adored so. They were believers of the purity doctrine of the Church, so they decided not to share a bed until they could afford enough money to be married.

Her lover, defying all common sense in the name of love, decided to infiltrate the castle to rescue her.

Only to find himself captured, and then tortured, right in front of the poor maiden.

The king was having a bad mood that day, so he was especially cruel with it. The poor maiden was forced to watch as her lover screamed in pain for hours on end, until eventually, her mind broke and she opted to take her own life by stealing a guard’s sword and stabbing herself with it.

Her spirit wandered the castle’s dungeons from that day, until I made a contract with it. And that spirit was Diona—a malignant soul that had denied the cycle of rebirth by its sheer sorrow and hatred it possessed.

“Mistress Felicia! Please do not give up! You have given me my revenge and so I swear to serve you until the day you die! So get up and flee! There is still time! You can try again! Bring me back my lover like you promised me too!”

Her expression was wholly earnest. She genuinely still believed in me, even after my failure.

_...S-she's right. I can try again. I still have a chance. Even if I have to run away once more, even if it takes many more years, I can do it! I must do it! I've sacrificed so much to give up now!_

Gingerly, I stood up. That inquisitor and her aide were getting closer. And at the corner of my eye, I could see those other four inquisitors recovering themselves. Somehow, they managed to survive that light, though it seemed to take a lot out of their energy.

_I just need to— I just need to figure out my escape route…_

* * *

**A/N:**

**Here's the pic for Earth Sprite's evolved form.**

****

**Also, I cut short this fight since a lot of readers seem to agree that this final part of the arc has pacing issues. Thus the dragon gets off-screened as well as the general.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if you like a 4k word chapter like this better. A reader here suggested it.


	154. Punishment

**Hugo**

The one who attacked first was the aide.

The large man leaped forward, greatsword in hand, going straight towards Felicia. Of course, Berault wasn't going to let it happen, so he blocked his sword with his own, straining under the sheer strength and weight the large man was giving.

Then, it was the blue dress lady's turn. She summoned a swarm of holy chains from the ground. Some went towards Diona while others went towards the necromancer herself.

Felicia, having no staff at hand, could only rely on the ghost lady to defend herself. The only option she had was to dodge the chains physically, running away as fast as her feet could take her while dodging left and right. Diona on the other hand opted on the offensive approach, by flying towards her while letting out a scream with the intent to disturb her casting.

It didn’t work, of course. The woman also possessed a resistance to curses like the other inquisitors. So she decided to instead hit her by her parasol as hard as she could.

Naturally, that plan didn’t work. She wasn’t fast enough to get to her before the chains wrapped around her and bound her in place.

That fate was soon shared by her mistress. Without her magic, Felicia’s mobility decreased dramatically. No longer could she use that “melt into shadows” magic she liked to use.

“Lady Felicia!” Berault yelled once he noticed the precarious position his master was in. He would move to her aid at once, but the large man was more than a match for him.

“Where are you looking? Your opponent is me.”

He slammed his greatsword to the ground, exploding the ground around it in a symbol of a dragon. Dragon Cross. It was a sword technique specifically utilized with greatswords. Berault barely managed to get out of the way with a Grateful Step backwards. The large man followed by a forward sweep of his greatsword. Berault blocked it with his sword, but he was flung away by the sheer force he exuded.

“You’re pretty good!” The large man grinned. “Name’s Eldan Firmshield. Nice to meet you, Lord Berault,” he said in a lightly mocking tone.

Once again, he stood between him and his mistress. And judging by his expression, there was no way he was going to let Berault pass.

_...Yeah, it’s over for her._

“Halt! Move another step and I shall kill your precious necromancer!”

As I predicted, the blue dress lady decided to use Felicia’s capture to force Berault to stand down. And he did. He had no choice in the matter after all.

"Now, how should I deal with you?"

The blue dress lady walked towards Felicia with a subtle satisfied smile on her face. Felicia could only watch helplessly as the chains pulled her upwards and stretched her arms. Her pose was now exactly like those captured female knights in those doujins I used to read in my old life.

Thankfully for her, the blue dress lady wasn’t some perverted, big membered male priest, so she wouldn’t be violated terribly before she got killed or turned into what they called a “c*m sl*t”. Though I don’t think the latter is realistically going to happen. Unless if the rapist is an incubus, I guess, since from that demon encyclopedia I read (courtesy of Marina, whose curriculum doesn’t shy away in talking about them), incubi demons could make females they slept with became addicted to their member; its taste, the way it thrusted, etc. Same with succubi demons. That’s why it wasn’t recommended to try and summon them, no matter how horny of a teenager you might be.

But then again, if she brought her back with her like this instead of killing her at the spot, the guards who kept watch of her would probably violate her anyway. They did that with Joan of Arc, didn’t they?

"Cordelia Flameu, the court mage of the Fiania Kingdom. Guilty as charged for practising necromancy and to fight against agents of the Church. What say you in your defense?”

Instead of answering her question, Felicia answered with a laugh.

“Nothing! I say nothing in my defense! For I am not wrong! What is wrong in wanting a world where everyone no longer fears death? What is wrong in fighting dogs of the Church who are willing to murder hundreds in their charge? Look at this wasteland! Your oh-so-holy spell did this! How many soldiers you killed by doing this, huh? You don’t care! That’s the unavoidable proof of your zealotry!”

Felicia panted, out of breath from her burst of rage. She had a creepy grin plastered on her face. She knew it was over for her, but she refused to show any weakness in front of her tormentor. So that grin was the result. A horribly forced grin that only showed how desperate she was feeling.

“...I see. So you won’t even beg for forgiveness. Not that you would have any, of course.”

The blue dress woman turned her back at her to look at Diona, who was still kept in place by her holy chains. Unlike Felicia, she was visibly pained by it. She was a ghost and the chains, being holy, had an exorcism effect on her. She was burning.

And yet, just like her mistress, she refused to show weakness.

“O poor wayward soul, unable to return to the embrace of the Heavenly Dragon, enslaved by the dark arts of a necromancer.”

“I am not enslaved, you ignorant whore! I served her willingly! She has given me my justice! My revenge! Two things that you Church sheep never gave me!”

The inquisitor lady shook her head. “Poor soul. She even influenced your mind as well. But don’t worry. I shall return you to His embrace right away.”

Her staff shone, light radiating from the tip.

“N-no! Noooo! I-I’m not… I don’t want to go!”

The ghost screamed as she struggled with all her might to free herself from the chains. Alas, her strength was nowhere near sufficient. As the light continued to shine on her, bit by bit, she disappeared, starting from her feet, all the way until her head at the very last.

“M-Mistress Felicia… I-I’m sorry…”

With those last words, the ghost disappeared in a burst of light.

_...Yeah, I don’t think she’s coming back from that._

If expressions could kill, then Felicia would have killed the inquisitor lady on the spot.

She then turned her attention towards Berault.

“And what about you, black knight? You are just as guilty as her. Aiding a necromancer is the same as practicing necromancy in the eyes of the Saint. What say you?”

"I say nothing. My path is true, and I shall not bend to your misguided self-righteousness."

"Just as stubborn." She sighed. "Truly, none of you deserved salvation.”

“Your Holiness, if I might make a request.” Suddenly, her aide spoke.

“Speak.”

“I wish for you to grant me an opportunity to fight him to the death.”

_...Well, that’s unexpected. Let me guess. He finds him a worthy opponent so he wants to fight him fair and square._

“And why is that?”

“I haven’t got an opponent like him in a while.” He grinned. “I feel my skills have gotten a bit rusty lately so I want to polish it with him.”

_Yep, exactly as I expected._

The lady inquisitor paused for a bit, before answering, “Fine. Fight him. We have time.”

_Seriously? She’s really casual for someone who just obliterates a kingdom’s army._

_I guess when you’re connected with the Church, there’s nothing a mere puppet state of the Empire could do against you. The Empire itself doesn’t really care much about the well-beings of their outer territories, so they won’t go out of the way to put a formal complaint to the Church. At least, that’s what I expect from what I learned from Fiora._

“But if you lose, I’ll cut off an arm so you would be stuck teaching those acolytes for the rest of your life.”

“Heh, don’t worry, Your Holiness.” He swung his greatsword to the ground. “I’ve got no plans to retire yet.”

The lady inquisitor then moved Felicia and herself away from the two, giving them more space to fight with.

“Don’t you lose, Berault! Kill him and then her! Don’t you dare throw the match just because of me!” Felicia shouted. Her tone was understandably angry, and she cleverly anticipated that the inquisitors would just force Berault to lose to the big guy if he actually started winning by using her as a hostage. After seeing all the things they’d done, I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually ended up doing something like that.

“Whew, things certainly got heated. Wish you would leave some to me, Your Holiness. You’re really strong as always.”

The four other inquisitors finally joined up with her, with the cocky-looking blonde teenager (I think his name was Peter?) taking the lead with a grin.

The blue-haired youth and the redhead looked quite a bit worse than the other two. They were lagging behind Peter and the silver-haired nun, looking awfully tired as if they hadn’t slept in two days. If I had to guess, they were probably the ones responsible for protecting themselves and the other two from that terrible spell.

“I-I thought you weren’t going to use that spell,” the blue-haired youth spoke with a light pant.

“Y-yeah! That was really scary, you know! Our barriers nearly failed to block it!” The redhead followed, panting as well. “Look at this!” She brought out her staff. “My staff is cracked all over!”

"My book is in a less than ideal condition as well." The blue-haired youth commented. "Really, your spell is just too powerful. No wonder they call you Milicis's Blinding Light back home."

_They sure are really casual with her._

"So, she's the necromancer, huh?" The blonde man grinned towards Felicia. "What is up with female heretics always being hot chicks? The last dark elf we executed was really hot as well."

"Hold your tongue, Sir Graffeu." His boss spoke. "Such a speech is unbecoming for an inquisitor."

"Right, right, no lustful gaze, speech, or though, right? Don't worry. Redheads aren't my type. Too bright for my taste." He shrugged with a smirk.

Naturally, his redheaded coworker flashed him an angry glare.

Seeing this scene made me feel weird. These guys were acting like ordinary teenagers, but they were alright with their boss chaining up Felicia and killing hundreds of soldiers for no good reason. I guess to them, anyone who wasn't them was disposable to their goal.

The fight then began, with the lady inquisitor being the "referee" that signalled the start to your match. At first, it was clear that the two were equally matched, with Berault having the advantage of speed and mobility while the large man having the advantage of strength. For someone who was wearing a full knight’s armor, Berault was surprisingly mobile. Though his main strength was from his parries. He could use the large man’s strength against himself. Instead of receiving his blows head on, he would always push it to the side to try and unbalance the man, opening a chance for him to counterattack. His style wasn’t as elegant as Fiora’s, but I could tell that he shared the same school as her. The large man, on the other hand, seemed to belong to the Lancelot-school instead, as he loved to use heavy attack with a huge reach. With one swing, he cut the pillar the lady inquisitor and himself once stood. It shouldn’t be an easy effort, seeing how the thing was at least 10 meters radius-wise (it was thicker at the bottom), made out of the solid stone the dungeon was built of.

But then, Berault received a swing of his sword, sending him flying a good twenty meters away until he landed on the dirt.

“Hah! Finally! You’re quite the sneaky bastard, aren’t you?” The large man grinned.

To my surprise, Berault immediately stood up. His armor was exposed in the abdomen, revealing the large bloody wound on his stomach. _He must have protected himself by Fortissimo at the last moment. There’s no way that swing wouldn’t have cut him in half._

“Still roaring to fight? Good! I’m still itching for some more excitement!”

The large man charged forward with a bloodlust-filled expression. Berault readied himself, switching to his defensive—

_Wait, that stance… that’s a different stance!_

The large man swung his greatsword in a massive half-circle.

Only to find that Berault had jumped high on the air, missing his attack entirely.

In a single moment, the knight barraged him with what could only be described as a thousand sword thrust at a single second.

I had seen that move before. Fiora used it to instantly cut a giant boulder into tiny little rocks for my training.

It was the first time Berault used such a move though, and it clearly took the inquisitor warrior off-guard.

He tried to defend himself by doing a backward dash, but it wasn’t fast enough.

When the move ended, his decapitated head plopped down to the ground.

*CRASH*

And just like that, Berault had won.

He didn’t waste any time. Before the rest of the inquisitors realized what had happened, he ran as fast as he could towards the head inquisitor lady, no doubt intending to strike her down to free his mistress from her chains.

He swung his sword. Rattles of chains cacophonied through the air as they rushed to defend their own mistress.

He missed its mark. His sword was merely inches away from his goal.

The chains slammed him down to the ground, pressing him tightly and binding him like they never binded before.

“You truly are a fool.”

The lady inquisitor stood before him, seemingly unfazed with her near-death experience.

“Do you think I was so foolish that I did not expect this from you? Taking a hit, feigning weakness so Eldan would lower his guard. It was something only a knight with no honor would do.”

He responded by a spit to her feet.

"..."

In a flash, she conjured a blade of light and stabbed him straight through his head.

"Berault!" Felicia yelled.

_Holy shit she just did that!_

I gulped. She's definitely not someone you want to mess with.

And then, I noticed it—tears trailing down Felicia's face. 

The lady inquisitor noticed this as well.

"Those tears… they are for him? Are you perchance his lover?"

She didn't reply.

"It is merely tears of despair then. Your last ally has left you and now you are all alone in this world."

_Her tears… they're real, aren't they? She really felt sorry for his death…_

My grip on my wand tightened.

_...N-no, I should not. That lady is a Grandmaster-level cleric. Remember the last time you fought against someone of her caliber? Didn't go well at all._

_And besides, even if I win, I'll be branded a heretic by the Church. It's not going to be just me who gets hunted by them. Sherry, Marina, Erika—everyone I care about wouldn't be safe._

_Not to mention that it's already too late. I've let her ghost familiar and Berault die. Even if I save her, she would blame me for their deaths._

_And what do I owe her really? It's her own fault for being a necromancer. If she sticks with her alchemy, all this would never happen._

_I'm no hero. I'm just an overweight middle-aged guy in a kid's body, trying to live his best life after given a second chance. My obligation is to my family, not strangers I barely know about._

And then, she appeared.

\-------

**Felicia**

_My tears… I don't know why they're falling._

_Do I love Berault? No, I am not so shameless to impose on his marriage with his darling wife. His heart belongs to her and her alone._

_But, I do wish that someone would love me just as he loves his wife. My secret dream is to have an honest, good man like him to shower me with his affection._

_I've promised him to bring back his love who had been taken unjustly from this world by fate._

_And yet, I have failed that promise._

_I've led him to his death instead._

_...I truly do not deserve anything._

_I am just a wretched soul that should burn at the stake._

_My hopes… my dreams… my promise to them… they're all gone now._

"W-wait! Waaaitttt!"

A familiar voice entered my ears from the far distance.

I then saw her, the very last person I wanted to see in this state.

It was Leila. And she was running straight towards me.

_W-why?_

_Why must you come? I told you, didn't I? Stay away from the fight._

_That light! Her spell must have attracted her attention! That spell was so big it should’ve been seen for miles. And seeing that I didn’t hide them that far away from here..._

_N-no… Nonononono!_

"LEILA! RUN! DON'T COME HERE!" I yelled with every bit of my strength.

She didn't listen. Her zombiefied father was running after her but he wasn't fast enough. Had he grown weaker because I was weaker as well? Or had she somehow gave him the slip?

"YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU?!"

It's no use. Even if she would turn around and run the other direction, she would not be fast enough to escape from the inquisitors.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!" I yelled at my captor.

She didn't react in the slightest.

Her subordinates moved in to apprehend them but she gestured to let them come.

The little girl was now standing in front of the golden-haired inquisitor, out of breath from all the running she just did.

“Please… please do not hurt Miss Flameu.”

“And who are you again?”

“I-I’m Leila. And please, I beg you, Miss Inquisitor! I know you think Miss Flameu is a bad necromancer but she’s not! She cured me and my village from a terrible sickness! And not only that, but she reunited me with my father again! Father! Say something to her!” She turned towards the zombie.

He could only nod in response as he was far more frightened by the presence of the inquisitor.

“L-Leila, we shouldn’t be here. Remember what Miss Flameu told you? That we should stay away from—”

“I don’t care! Look, Father! She’s being all chained there! That must hurt! If they’re going to take her away, then I’m not going to let them!”

She then put herself between me and the inquisitor, opening her arms wide as if she could protect me from her.

_W-why? Why must you be so naive, you stupid little girl?! You’re going to lose your life! She doesn’t have any sympathy to anyone she deems heretical, even a little girl like you!_

"No, please! Don't harm her! I-I'll do anything! Anything you want! She has nothing to do with me! I-I don't even know her!" I shouted. I pulled and pulled and pulled but the chains only dug even deeper into my skin. I didn’t even notice the pain and the blood. All I wanted was to keep her safe. I knew very well it was a terrible lie. But I had to try. Enough blood had been spilled because of me, and if Leila lost her life as well…

_I shouldn’t have been so foolish. Why did I think it was a good idea to make a little girl like her be my apprentice?! You’re a fool, Felicia! A fool amongst fools!_

The Inquisitor, instead of continuing her attention towards her, now turned to eye her father up and down instead.

"Little girl, your father is an undead. You do realize this, yes?"

A pause, followed by a gulp.

"Y-yep! So what if he’s an undead?! He doesn't smell like one! Sure, he might be a little cold, but in every other way, he’s just like Father! "

“I see.”

I saw it coming from a mile away. In one swift move, she stabbed him on the chest with the tip of her staff.

“FATHER!”

“R-run, dearie, run…”

Those were the only words he could utter before he disappeared, leaving only a pile of ash as his body erupted into flames.

“NOOOOO!”

Witnessing the second death of her father, the poor girl broke down completely. She rushed into her father’s remains, kneeling down as she tried to gather the ash in her hands, to no avail.

“LEILA, RUN! THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO HERE! FORGET ABOUT ME AND RUN AS FAR WAY AS YOU COULD!”

No use. My voice couldn’t reach her anymore.

And that accursed inquisitor, still with her cold, uncaring gaze, moved to be right behind her.

“DON’T YOU DARE! SHE’S JUST A CHILD! SHE DOESN’T KNOW ANYTHING!”

She produced a blade of light in her left hand.

“YOU CAN’T! YOU—”

With a single swing, it was over.

Her lithe body fell, separated from its head. The latter rolled to my direction, showing me her last despair-filled expression before she lost her life.

“This is my mercy. She will not suffer in the flames.”

Her staff glowed and the corpse disappeared, turned into dust with her spell.

“You truly are beyond redemption—to corrupt a child to do your dark biddings. I shall make sure you would burn for seven days and nights once the time for your punishment comes.”

...

I could only scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is only 3.6k words, but I feel this is the fitting endpoint for the chapter.


	155. Escape

**Felicia**

“Aha...ahahahahahahaha!”

Tears and laughter erupted from my eyes and mouth at the same time.

I have failed.

I have completely and utterly failed.

Not only I have failed in opening the Gate, but I have failed in everything else as well.

I have failed as a human being.

Leila… she died by my own hands… by my arrogance, who believed I could protect her from those that would come after me…

Berault… I have failed him as well. I have failed to bring back his real wife. I only gave him a puppet made of my own filthy soul as a replacement…

All those years degrading myself… all those sleepless nights I spent on my research… it was all for naught…

I couldn’t bring my ideal world… I couldn’t even save a little child from myself… and I couldn’t keep my promise to them.

Father… Mother… Aaron… Pip… Bryn… Elt… Granny Yan… I’m sorry... 

If it exists, I wouldn’t even get to see you all in the afterlife, for my wretched soul only belongs to the void... 

I laughed and laughed and laughed. I laughed through whatever that inquisitor had to say to me. I laughed until I could no longer laugh.

And then, I cried.

\---------

**Hugo**

When I saw her come, I knew what was going to happen.

I readied my staff, aiming it towards the lady inquisitor.

All I needed was just one good hit, then she would be taken out of the equation.

And yet, I couldn't do it. My hands shook. My heart raced like it never did before.

_"Don't do anything stupid, Hugo. If you go against them, then you'll make an enemy out of the entire Church. She brought this on herself."_

_"Are you going to play the hero? You know the consequences, I presume."_

Anton and Ilymhyrra's voice rang in my ears, aiding my own inner voice that told me not to pull the trigger.

_I shouldn't be doing this. Surely she wouldn't be so callous to kill a child?_

It wasn't just that that made me hesitate.

_If I fail to take her out, then I would be facing against a Grandmaster-level mage. And her four subordinates. All at once. On my own. What are my chances on winning? Zero to none. Attacking her would be me doing something stupid. I'm no shonen protagonist. I won't get a miraculous power-up mid-battle. I would die and that would be the end of it. It was only luck that I could survive her spell. And I don't have enough mana to do it again._

_I… I don't want to die._

And so, I remained on my spot, unmoving, with my heart seized with fear.

When I saw her kill the father, the girl's scream snapped me out of my fear. I aimed again. But once more, my hand shook wildly.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't pull the trigger.

Images flashed in my brain, of Vera freezing Alan and Renee, of them shattering into a million pieces. She would've killed me too, if not for Alan sacrificing himself.

I thought Fiora had drilled into me her courage and bravery. I was wrong. I was still my old, cowardly self.

The lady inquisitor walked behind the weeping Leila. _She's going to do it. She's going to kill her too! Hugo! Are you just going to let this happen?_

_It's not your fault. It's Felicia's fault. She's the one who dragged her into this mess. If she dies, her blood is on her hand, not yours._

_Hugo! Haven't you promised never to be afraid of doing what you desire? You want to save her, don't you?_

_...N-no, I'm… I'm no…_

_You saved her once! And you're going to save her again! It's not about being a hero! It's about being a decent person!_

I clenched my teeth. I formed my mana, preparing to cast my Boom Rifle.

_Stop this idiocy! You can't even aim right! You're going to hit her instead!_

I held my right hand with the other one.

_You're dooming Marina and Erika to a life of a fugitive! Two great powers of this world would be after them! Is the Magocracy wanting them dead not enough for you?!_

"D-damnit!”

_I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t pull the trigger!_

And then, it happened. Just like I knew it would.

In a flash, the inquisitor sliced her head off her neck, with me unable to do anything to stop anything.

No, I was able to. I simply _chose_ not to do it.

As her limp body fell to the ground, as Felicia’s scream echoed through the air, bile rose from my stomach.

"Uurghh! 

I gagged and retched as tears fell from my face.

Disgust.

Anger.

Fear.

All that swirled in my stomach, before bursting out in a pile of puke.

“Uoorghhh!"

It was enough to wake me up from my slumber.

_If you let her die too, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Another regret to the pile of regrets you already have._

Quickly, I aimed my wand once again. 

_You’ll never be able to look Marina or Sherry in the eyes again._

I didn’t have enough courage. So I could only use my rage to overcome my fear.

_They’ll be disgusted with you. Just like you’re disgusted with yourself now._

I decided on a Boom Rifle. It was faster and there would be less chance of me accidentally hitting Felicia since the lady inquisitor was standing right beside her.

_So shoot. Shoot that vile woman who took the life of a child like slaughtering a cattle._

The spell flew through the air, faster than any of them could notice or react to. It pierced through her head, and she collapsed to the ground.

I heard loud yelling, as two of her subordinates ran to her side while the other two looked for me.

_Go. Kill them all._

I couldn't hear what they said.

It didn't matter.

I knew what I had to do.

I ran forward and fired a Boom Grenade at the latter two. They split up just before the spell could hit them.

I summoned Earth Sprite and told her to chase after the nun, while I remained on my trajectory.

The blonde man moved in to block my path. He used some sword skill that extended the length of his blade. He also yelled some things about me being an evildoer. I don’t know. His voice barely even registered in my mind.

I leaped forward with Wind Step to dodge his sweeping slash entirely. And then, still in mid-air, I drew my sword. Using another Wind Step, I gave myself a strong downwards force, before plunging the mithril blade into his head.

One down.

Another series of muffled yelling entered my ears. I continued making my way towards the other two.

They would heal her and I couldn’t allow that.

I fired a Boom Grenade at their direction. However, the two already erected a barrier. It was twice as powerful as a normal barrier as they were layered on top of one another. My spell was easily deflected by them.

It didn’t matter for long. Once I got close, I touched their barriers with my left hand and dissolved them as they were butter.

Ilmyhrra’s technique. Once again, it had proven useful.

I cut them down with a single swing of my blade.

Just before I could do the same to their boss, however, a light burst forth from her unconscious body.

I had failed to finish her off.

I fired a Boom Cannon, only for it to evaporate as it hit the light.

The light continued to grow and spread as it made what looked like a construct around the inquisitor. I reached out my hands to try and dispel il, but it wasn’t working. It was a far sturdier spell than the two barriers I just eradicated.

I opted to retreat as it continued to grow until it towered over me.

It was a statue. It was a statue of a woman wearing a cleric’s long robes and holding a staff.

Her size? As massive as the Forest Treant I fought off before. She was as large as a skyscraper.

In the middle, inside where her heart would be, was the lady inquisitor, visible from the outside thanks to the construct being transparent. No longer did she have her cold, unbothered look. Fury seethed out of every inch of her countenance.

She first mocked me for my failure, saying how she wielded the protection of the Saint that allowed her to recover from my attack. She then said something about me being a coward, and how she would now enact divine justice onto me and Felicia, using the Avatar of Milicis herself.

I didn’t respond. She was right. I am a failure and a coward.

I heard Felicia’s voice, begging me to run away—to abandon her worthless self.

Heh, why would a trash abandon another trash?

Looking at the towering monstrosity in front of me, I chuckled. How would I defeat something like this?

But, before I did anything, I had to make sure she’s safe first. So I ran to where Felicia is. I ignored her protest and swept her off her feet.

The construct’s staff shone, moments before a beam hit the place we once stood, creating a large crater in its wake.

I ran as far as I could from the construct, carrying Felicia in my arms. She begged me to leave her behind, but once again, I refused to do so. In the end, she could only sob into my chest.

It was the only respite I could give to her.

I saw Earth Sprite out of the corner of my eye. She was holding her own against the nun. Her mace didn’t seem to be dealing much damage against her defenses. I ordered her to retreat as well.

The construct began to chase after me. However, its movement was slow and sluggish. It couldn’t really keep up with how fast I could move, even with Felicia in my arms.

It might be some Grandmaster-level monstrosity of a spell, but it’s a defensive-oriented spell. It’s really bad at chasing fleeing enemies.

And so I continued to run, even as it rained down more holy lights onto my direction.

My feet took me out of the city-sized crater. I didn’t stop there. I continued to make my way to the cliffside at the distance. My intention was to dig a hole using Earth Sprite’s magic where I could hide from the construct.

And then, I saw them—the companions I had been travelling with for months.

They were standing in the distance, along with the surviving adventurers and soldiers.

And they were looking right at my direction.

Both Anne and Amelie were yelling at my direction, but I couldn’t make out their voices.

Heh, it didn’t matter. After what I did, I would be a fool to drag them into my mess.

A glance. That was all I spared them as my departing message.

\-----------

Around fifteen minutes had passed since then.

I recalled Earth Sprite to my side once I arrived on the cliff. Using her ability, I hid myself inside said cliff, making sure she also built a little breathing hole for air to come in. Using her expertise, she led me as far as she could before she had to vanish from her time limit. We ended up coming out inside a forest. If I remembered my map correctly, it was the neighboring forest just beside the valley we were at.

I put Felicia down as gently as I could. An hour of carrying someone of her size and weight (not that I'm implying she's fat or anything) certainly had taken its toll on my arms and hands. Through most of that hour, she had remained mostly silent, only whispering the occasional "Why?" over and over. She didn't even react when I grabbed and pinched her butt.

She really was broken by what just happened.

I wouldn’t blame her. I would feel the same in her position. Especially since it was my own inaction that led to the deaths of her companions.

I didn’t know why Leila was there, but I would be shameless to blame her for her death.

Unfortunately, this was no place for me to have a chat with her. We’re still far too close from that inquisitor to be safe from her. She probably was going on a rampage right now, looking for us.

“So, you did it after all. But you did it in the worst possible manner.”

I sighed. At this point, that voice was all too familiar with my ears. And not in a good way, I’m afraid.

“What do you want?” I turned around.

As expected, I found Ilmhyrra staring at me with the usual dispassionate look on her face. Behind her was Elun. And to my surprise, her two underlings were there as well.

“I thought I killed you back then.” I spoke to the fishman.

“Lady Ilmyhrra saved me when I was on the brink of death,” he replied. “”And I have to thank you, Hugo Greenwood, for opening my eyes on how weak I still am. I shall redouble my training once I return back.” His sharp eyes and scowl weren’t expressing any gratitude, however. Instead, I could sense enmity emanating out of him.

“I see you have a new underling.” The slime girl noted with a smirk. "Or perhaps she's the same one you had before? Only evolved?"

The sprite walked forward, putting herself before me and the slime girl with a look that said "If you even touch a hair on Master's head, I'll bludgeon your head in with my fists!"

"You've been watching me, haven't you?" I spoke to the elf. "I thought you've left already."

"I thought I'll be able to watch something interesting." A small smirk appeared on her face. "So I stayed. Using my magic, I could see you and those inquisitors clearly from a safe distance."

"I see. I hope what you saw amused you."

"It certainly did."

With her power, she could easily fight off the inquisitors. Yet she chose not to, to the point of letting a little girl die.

But I couldn't criticize her for that, could I? Not when I hesitated to save her myself, like the coward I was.

Her smirk disappeared before she resumed her speech.

"You chose to save her, but not before you let those other three die. You were shaking and whimpering. You couldn't keep your wand steady. You even puked. And yet, you did it anyway, after it was all too late. If you ask for my opinion, then you should've let her be instead. You don't have enough courage or resolve to take this path."

I said nothing. I could only look away.

"You're just a kid who thinks he's a hero of justice. With that half-baked bravery of yours, you'll only get more people killed in the future."

_Half-baked bravery. Heh, that describes me to a T. I'm only pretending to be brave. I was never brave. Bravery was never in my bones in the first place._

"And yet, I have to praise you. You really have learned how to dispel magic on your own. That takes talent."

_Talent? I'm talented?_

_Talent doesn't mean anything. Not when I am too much of a loser to use it properly._

"I would ask of you not to teach it around, however. It's a secret elvish technique unbeknownst to mankind. And I would prefer to keep it that way. Human magic has no need to be even stronger than it already is.”

"Is that all? We have to leave before they catch up to us."

She glanced at Felicia, who now sat with her head buried in her knees.

"Would you take her with you?" She looked back at me as she asked. "I'm sure you realize if you leave her here, she would only get captured by them."

"I… I'll take her to a safe place first. We'll decide then."

A disappointment frown appeared on the elf's face. "Indecisive. That part of you has yet to mature. You do things without thinking about its consequences."

I looked back at Felicia, where our eyes met.

"...L-leave me. I-I don't… I don't deserve to live…" She averted her gaze.

And then, all of a sudden, she burst into a rage.

"WHY DID YOU SAVE ME?! YOU SHOULD'VE SAVED THEM INSTEAD! LEILA! BERAULT! DIONA!"

Before bursting into tears once more.

I felt Ilymhyrra's gaze at me. _She wants to see what I would do now._

"Ahhh, to think that the person who killed two of my dear subordinates would end up like this…"

Elun suddenly spoke. She had a pleased grin, her hands folded under her chest.

"If you want to die, then come with me to the Magocracy instead. We won't burn you at the stake, I promise. We'll just hang you after parading you around for a bit."

Felicia didn't respond. She only continued her sobbing.

Elun sighed. "Necromancy. Only crazy people want to learn it. What's so fun about controlling corpses anyway? I heard you can't actually revive people with it so if you want to bring back a loved one, you'll only create a pale imitation of their living self."

And then, a smirk formed on her lips.

"I see it now. You want to revive your family. Terrible plague, I heard. Though since it only affects folks who can't use magic, it's not really a big deal. After all, they're mostly useless to our great nation of magic."

"That's enough!"

The words escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

"I'll take her. I'll take her with me." I looked at Ilymhyrra. "You're right. I'm just a little kid that doesn't know anything. But I always finish what I started.” 

I turned back to face Felicia. “I’ll take you with me, if you agree with travelling with someone who let a little girl die just because he’s afraid.”

“N-no! Don’t blame yourself, Milord! I-it’s my fault… it’s all my fault that all this happened in the first place… if I hadn’t taken her in as my apprentice… if I wasn’t so deluded to think I could ever have a family… this wouldn’t…”

Her voice petered off. She looked away once more, sniffling before blowing her nose using her skirt.

“...A second chance it is.”

Ilmyhrra walked over to her. She grabbed her chin and forced her to look right into her eyes. She remained like that for a few seconds before she released her.

“Take it out—whatever tome or book or grimoire that taught you necromancy, especially the ritual to open that Gate. Use my staff since you’ve lost yours.”

She weakly nodded, moving her right hand to grip the bottom half. A book popped out from her Dimensional Storage, landing right on Ilmyhyrra’s hand. She gave a cursory look at it before making it disappear, storing it in her own Dimensional Storage.

“Promise me that you won’t ever perform necromancy again. If you’re truly a good person like he believes you to be, then you have no need for it. It will only bring calamity and sorrow to yourself and the people you love.”

She weakly nodded once again.

Satisfied with her answers, she returned her attention to me once more.

“She’s your charge now. I expect you to take responsibility for her well-being. If she goes down this self-destructive path once again, then you only have yourself to blame.”

Suddenly, a question entered my mind.

“Ilmyhrra?”

“Yes?”

“The hero. Arthur. How was he like?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Do you want to compare yourself to him?”

I fell silent.

“He’s a much more determined man than you would ever be.” She looked upwards, averting her gaze from me. “When he made a mistake, he would be sure to fix it. Once, he let a demon child go. A mere little girl. He believed he wouldn’t do any harm.”

A bitter smile manifested on her lips.

“He was wrong. The child went on to kill the human family that had taken her in.”

 _Crunch_. Her boots snapped a twig into two.

“He blamed himself, of course, but after he cut her through without hesitation. And he didn’t linger on that mistake like a sentimental fool would. He took the lesson he learned to heart and since that day, he no longer trusted demons.”

She turned her gaze back to me.

“That is enough for me. No one is free from mistakes. Not even us long-lived elves. So instead of moping around for the rest of your life, you two should live on to redeem your mistakes.”

“You.” She moved towards Felicia again. “You’re a good alchemist, are you? Maybe you should consider that line of work instead."

She walked back towards me.

"As for you, the indecisive coward who can't keep his wand steady…”

I gulped. _What’s with the ominous pause?_

"I have nothing. I don't know how to fix someone like you."

_...Eh?_

"Mira was never as cowardly as you. She might be reckless but she never was indecisive. All I could say that you might grow out of it once you get older."

_...Right. Tried that once, didn't work._

"What's with that frown? It's your problem, not mine. I'm not your babysitter. There is no easy way to change someone's personality. I tried making Mira less of a blockhead, but I never succeeded, even after she became a powerful mage."

_A blockhead? To say that so casually to one of this world's legendary heroes…_

"I know the solution!"

Suddenly, Elun spoke up.

"You're afraid of opponents you think are too strong for you, to the point that your own body trembled in fear. If I had to guess, it's the trauma you got from Vera. Back then, you probably barely survived her Grandmaster-level spell as well, just like today. And so you thought you're facing against her all over again. You saw your parents die in her hands (they probably even died protecting you!) so that primal fear crept into your fear, never leaving from its premises."

_D-did she just psychoanalyse me?_

"My suggestion? You find another Grandmaster-level mage and fight against them, over and over again. A magic spar. They wouldn't actually kill you but they would scare you enough that you think they might."

"And how would I find someone like that?"

"Why, my mother, of course! Marry me and she'll definitely be willing to be your sparring partner!"

"You're still on that?"

_That smirk… I really want to punch her in the face._

"You have a good point.” Ilymhrra followed with an amused smirk. “Perhaps all he need are more life-or-death battles. Not easy fights where he can win in a comfortable margin.”

“Hmph, easy for you to say when you’re that strong,” I replied.

Her smirk vanished as fast as it came.

“I’m serious. One day, you might lose someone important to you if you hesitate in their defense. Today, you let three people you barely know die. Would you do the same if it were your demon girlfriend instead?”

“I…”

I couldn’t answer her.

I no longer had any confidence in myself, not after what happened.

“...The next time we meet, I hope you already found your answer.”

The elf paid another glance towards Felicia, before she walked away from the scene.

“Oh, don’t worry. Rest assured that I would speak in your stead once I made my way to the Magocracy. And your sister too. And even that necromancer.”

“I dunno about the last one,” Elun shrugged. “There would be a bunch of really angry mage houses if we just let her go. She killed their darling little kids after all. And my favorite twin subordinate.”

“...I see. Then perhaps not her.”

As they walked out of sight, I realized the truth—the thing I needed to do if I were ever to be free from Vera’s shadow.

I need to go back. I need to go back to the Magocracy and face against the Council head-on. I will make sure that I can build a proper grave for Alan and Renee up on that mountain, undisturbed by their machinations. And I would not let that mountain be used by another Council member as their headquarters. 

...But not now. I am still too weak. I need to become stronger. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I need to seek stronger opponents and greater challenges. Even if I have to suffer for it.

And I want them to be present. Sherry, Marina, and Erika. They deserve an apology from them as well. And if they refused, their deaths.

Only then I would be able to truly free myself from my failure.

“Master, I have to go. Would Master be alright on your own?”

Earth Sprite’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.

“Yes, I would.” I gave her a smile. “Come. I’ll give you your hug.”

Once I did, she vanished, as usual. I then turned my attention to Felicia, who was still sitting there, looking as pitiful as she did.

“Can you stand up? We should walk further away from this place.” I offered my hand. She did not take it however.

“Y-you shouldn’t… you shouldn’t have... saved me…”

“That’s enough. I don’t want to hear about that. You should be angry with me instead, not weeping around like this."

"B-but…"

"If you want to chat, then wait until we get further away. For now, just follow me and stay close at my side. You don’t have your staff anymore so you can’t do anything if a monster appears and attacks you."

She fell silent for a few seconds before she took my hand. I pulled her up and helped her stand.

"Now, come. Can you run?"

"N-no, I'm never good at that kind of stuff."

"Then it can't be helped. I'll carry you again."

"E-eh?" Her cheeks grew red. "A princess carry like before?"

"I could do a shoulder carry instead. Might be awkward though, since you're taller than me."

"T-then I'll take the princess carry!"

And so, once again, I swept her off her feet, earning a cute yelp from her that belonged more to a teenage girl than a woman of her age. I gave her a reassuring smile before I dashed forward.

We have a lot to talk about. But this is not the place nor the time to do so.


	156. Runaways

**Anne**

_Hugo, you idiot!_

I watched him disappear into the horizon, with that necromancer in her arms, unable to do anything to stop him.

For the second time, I had lost to another girl.

She chose her over me. Over us. Us, who had traveled with him for months. And me, who had bared all my feelings towards him. Just for some woman he was far too young to be with, for some woman that practiced necromancy, for some woman who he barely knew about.

I've told him—begged him not to do anything stupid. And yet, he did it anyway. He's now a bonafide enemy of the Church, and he would be hunted down by them for the rest of his days.

The worst part was how he didn’t even bother to say goodbyes to us. He only spared a glance. A single, short glance.

I know why. He didn’t want to involve us in his crime. But still, after all we’ve been through, I just cannot accept it!

Amelie, being the girl that she is, nearly chased after him. I stopped her on her tracks, telling her that there’s nothing she can do for him, that she would only be a burden.

All of us would be a burden.

That’s right. Even though we had gotten a bit stronger thanks to his training, we’re still nowhere near his level. I saw him survive that massive light. If the spell wasn’t so obvious, having that giant magic circle on the sky before it fired, we would’ve died to it. No question about it. It was the first time I saw a magic that powerful. It erased the dungeon and everything else around it, including the camp the soldiers had set up, leaving only a massive crater behind.

And now, the woman who cast that spell was going in a rampage. After realizing Hugo had escaped, she immediately ordered us and pretty much anybody else present to search the area for him.

We complied, of course. We didn’t want to tell her the direction where he went, but there were other people who saw him as well and they had no reason to lie. To my relief, when we got there, to where the tall cliff was, he was already gone.

He got away.

Anton and I knew not to start smiling, but I had to make sure Amelie was on the same page. She would no doubt be suspicious if we had relieved grins on our faces when we reported that we couldn’t find him.

We were interrogated afterwards, being the one closest to him. We let Anton do all the talk, and to our relief, he managed to convince that woman that we had nothing to do with Hugo. In fact, he managed to assure her that we were terribly disappointed by what he did today and how it was a betrayal he didn’t see coming in the slightest. He even offered his aid on finding him, as he wanted revenge for said betrayal.

It’s painful, having to lie about your friend like that. But it wasn’t like we had any other choice, did we? Hugo didn’t say his goodbyes to us to keep us safe. We couldn’t waste his goodwill in the slightest.

We were then deployed to search for him at the nearby forest, where she suspected he had escaped to. We went there and did so, but found no tracks of him after several whole days of searching. When we returned to her, we knew that the other adventurers didn’t have any luck in finding him as well. As for the soldiers, I overheard how they didn’t even want to bother helping her anymore, after what she did to their comrades, with that grand spell of hers. So they only did the barest searches, just so they wouldn’t suffer her wrath.

In the end, the woman, and her only surviving subordinate, decided to hunt down Hugo on her own. She believed he wouldn’t stay around in the country for long, and that he would be heading somewhere else where the Church couldn’t reach him.

And, if I had to guess, she’s thinking the same thing as he does.

The Demon Continent.

I could only hope he could make it there before she reached the port town and announced for his search. That, or he decided to go west instead to the Feuding Kingdoms region. The Church had little influence there as well. And if he did, then we could—

I shook my head.

No, he would never abandon his plan to be with that Sherry girl.

Hmph, thinking about it, with him having a demon girlfriend, he might be more at home there living with the demons there compared to with us humans.

I sighed. _Maybe I should make my way to the Demon Continent too one day._

_Not now though. I’m still too weak for that._

We then returned back to the capital, where we received our pay for our participation in this whole mess. The prime minister kept his promise, and we were indeed paid handsomely for our reward.

And then, it’s time for us to decide what we would do from here.

\----------

After we made our visit to the castle, we went to the usual tavern at town. The sun had already set already and we intended to have our dinner there, as well as to discuss where we would go next. Anton always said that he wanted us to go west to the Feuding Kingdoms region, but he hadn’t said any specifics about the matter.

The place was as busy as usual. Thankfully, we managed to procure a corner table, allowing us privacy from the rest of the patrons. Anton and I decided to order some meat soup. It was usually a pricey dish, but since we just got a lot of gold coins, we figured that we could splurge a bit for the night. Amelie didn’t say anything, only nodding when I asked her if she wanted some meat soup as well.

After a short time waiting, the waitress arrived with our bowls. Anton and I immediately partook in it, enjoying the fresh contrast between the supple meat and the spicy broth it was served in. The waitress proudly said that the spices were imported from Laudgar, and it might just be true for once.

Midway through my bowl, however, I noticed that Anne had yet to touch her bowl. Not even a single spoonful had entered her mouth.

“Hey, Amelie. Your soup is going cold, you know.”

“...”

“Amelie! You know how expensive this soup is. I’m not going to let you just waste it! If you don’t want it, then I’m going to eat it for myself!”

I took the bowl off her side of the table.

And yet, she still didn’t respond. She continued to sit there with her hands propping her head, staring into the distance.

“...I wonder where he is right now…”

…

_This spoiled brat!_

"...Alright, that's enough! I'm sick of you moping around like this! Do you think you’re the only one who’s worried about him?!”

The blonde airhead had been like this ever since he left. At first, it was understandable but it’s already been a week since then. She should just get over it like Anton and I had! No need to bring our moods down with her!

“If you want to be with him so bad, then just go to the Demon Continent on your own! Not that you would survive there for long, of course! The moment you stepped out from the human cities there, a demon would just snatch your pretty little head off.”

“Anne…”

“Shut up, Anton! I’m tired of this princess here pretending that she’s the only one suffering!”

"Umm, excuse me…"

Our argument was interrupted by a face we were all too familiar with.

“Is this a bad time perhaps?”

“Yes! Yes it is! No one of us is in any mood for your interviews!”

It was the elf bard—the nosy one who kept giving us questions about him a few months back. To think that tonight, she would be here of all places… my luck must be rotten or something.

“R-right,” she replied in a seemingly apologetic tone. “I-I just… I just want to ask about him. I-is it true? That he’s a heretic who helps that court mage-turned-necromancer ran away from the Church?”

“...It’s true." I sent her a glare. "Now leave us alone.”

"Wow, that's amazing! What a romantic story! The hero has fallen for the evil lady, but he never gives up her! And so, she saved her, even if it means becoming the enemy of the entire world!"

Her eyes shone and she was clasping her hands together.

...And I am seriously considering punching her in the face.

"Listen here, you delusional bard! There's nothing heroic or good about that! He's just a stupid little kid who gets seduced by a woman far too old for her!"

"O-oh, I'm sorry! I forget that you're one of his lovers!"

"What did you say, you pointy-eared bard?"

I leapt from my seat and grabbed her by the cuffs. "I never liked him, alright? I just admired him a bit! That's all there is to it! And now, after he betrayed us to be with that witch, the only feeling I have for him is hate. So don't you dare even think that I'm part of his posse or something!"

I bolted out of the room, earning confused looks from the other patrons as well as Amelie and Anton.

I ran for one reason, and one reason only.

The water trailing down my cheeks.

I never finished my soup that night. I ran back to my room and buried myself under my sheet.

And of course, _he_ had to show up in my dream, apologizing for what he did. He the flashed that stupid grin of his and told him that he wanted to marry me. He even knelt on his knee and gave a ring adorned with a gem of ruby. Said that it matched the color of my hair.

Before I could answer him, I woke up, with the sun already beaming through the window.

I never really got over him. Even now, I still wanted to be him.

Amelie no doubt felt the same. She simply wasn't as good as me at hiding it.

I hated it. I hated this feeling, wanting to chase after some kid who already had a girlfriend. And maybe two, if that witch ended up seducing him, which, knowing how perverted he was, would happen sooner or later. Since when I liked younger guys anyway? If it weren't for his stupid smile, and his occasional cool moments, and the awkward yet charming way he talked to me, not to mention his good looks…

Aaargghh, it's not fair! You can't expect a girl to not fall in love with a guy when he saved her twice!

…

"Haaahhh…"

I stood up, did a short stretching session before staring out the window. It was already bustling outside, with people going back and forth on their business.

Life went on. Whether we wanted to or not.

...I would get over this feeling in time. I would fall in love with another guy then I would forget about him.

But, if somehow, knowing how vast the world was, I ended up meeting him again one day, with my heart still beating rapidly for him…

…

I had no answer then.

I could only continue on with a smile, trusting in myself and the future I would walk.

\----------

**Hugo**

We didn’t stop our stride until we escaped the forest some hours later.

I didn’t carry Felicia all the way though. My hands eventually grew too tired to lift her. So I had to drop her down once we left the forest.

"There we go."

I noticed the disappointed look on her face.

"What's the matter?" I smirked. "You still want more?"

Her cheeks colored themselves again.

"N-no! I couldn't possibly—"

"It's fine! You're not as heavy as I thought you would. And I got something out of it too."

She tilted her head, until a lightbulb lit inside it.

"Oh! You mean your hand squeezing and pinching at my butt wasn't an accident?"

"That, and me peeping at your chest." I grinned. "With no bra on, they bounced all over the place. I could even see their pink cherries from time to time."

She was brought speechless by my blatantly perverted admission.

_That's right. That's how it should be._

"And that's how I truly am—a worthless, cowardly pervert. I am no hero. Nor am I some noble gentleman either. I am just Hugo Greenwood, a kid who left his family just because he was too scared to apologize."

My smile turned bitter. _Hate me. Despise me. That's what I deserve._

"Milord…"

"Stop calling me that. Just call me Hugo. Or Trash. That works too."

"Please! Stop blaming your—"

"No. You should. I've let a little girl die on my watch. I had her, you know—that inquisitor. Right in my sight. I could pull the trigger before Leila died. But I couldn't. My hands—they shook. Terribly. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not when it mattered. After I experienced first hand how strong that lady was with her holy light…"

My hands clenched themselves. I looked away from her gaze.

"...Milord…"

"Oi, ye two! What are ye' doing in mine's farm?"

I looked up. A burly, slightly overweight man jogged at our direction.

I looked down. _Oh._ We were really standing inside someone's field. The soil we stood on was already prepared for planting. And we might have ruined it by standing here.

Quickly, we relocated where we stood.

"Adventurers, ain't ye? Came out from the forest? Got lost? Ain't gave you the right to trample on mine property."

"A-ah, apologies. Like you've said, we are indeed lost adventurers. We didn't mean to trespass."

I took the initiative and gave a bow towards the farmer. Felicia, noticing what I was doing, followed suit.

"Heh, at least ye got some manners." He spat to the side. Seemed like he had been chewing some sort of leaf. "Closest village is that way." He gestured with his thumb. "Now go. Don't wanna see yer faces around. Damn adventurers…"

Grumbling, he turned his back and walked away.

Suddenly, an idea hit my head.

"Wait, Sir!" I yelled.

"What?" He turned.

"Do you have a carriage we can buy?"

"A carriage?" He raised his eyebrows. "I do have one. Not for sale." He resumed his walk.

"I'll play twice the usual rate!"

He stopped again.

"Make it thrice and ye have a deal."

And so it was that we got our getaway carriage.

\---------

The man then told us to follow him to his house, which was located on a short five minute walk from where we were. His little farm outright bordered the forest so you could see the small building from a distance.

As we walked, with him quite a bit ahead of us, Felicia asked me a question.

"Milord, are you truly serious in taking me along with you?"

"I am. If you want to anyway, being with a perverted loser like I am."

"H-how about yourself, Milord? Why would you want to be with me—some wannabe failure of a necromancer who thought it's a bright idea to make a little girl be her apprentice?"

"Like that haughty elf said, we all have our failures." I flashed her a somber smile. "You and I—we're both failures. So we should stick together."

"B-but you're just a child, Milord! And I'm a full-grown adult! My mistake is much, much worse because of that!"

"Hey, I already got my wet dream a year ago. I might still look like this, but I'm just as perverted as your average adult man, maybe even more. And I don't have time to pretend to be a child anyways. If you're an orphan, you'd already be kicked out from your orphanage at this age, especially if you're a guy."

I learned that fact from Renee when we got to chat about orphanages, thanks to Sherry.

"Not to mention how dukes and earls would already be telling their sons to shop around for their future wife. Hell, I even heard a rumour of a certain duke who told his sons to buy female slaves on the market just so they could use them as training against women—to not fall for their charms easily, apparently."

This fact I learned from Fiora, as an example on how the Holy Empire's nobles treated their slaves.

_Damn, already leaving the land of virginity at such a young age… I'm jealous…_

"I actually have some noble blood in me by the way. Though it doesn't matter since my father got disowned by his father."

"What happened?" Felicia's eyes twinkled in curiosity.

"Not sure." I shrugged. "Father won't talk about it. Doesn't matter though. I don't really want to be a noble."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't be an adventurer if I become one." I smiled.

\-------

We arrived at the house. It was your usual farmer house, made out of wood but with a straw ceiling. There was no floor, just straight up dirt from the land he built it on. I wonder if it was really his house, or it's just a makeshift place he built while he had an actual house in the nearby village.

Ah, that's my privileged, modern era mind talking. Back home at Father's village, there are many houses with no floors as well. They were perfectly happy with it. Father didn't see the problem either, and he's the kind of guy who would rush to help them if they ever were in need of anything.

The farmer had gone to the barn behind it, but instead of following him, we decided to just sit on the chairs at the veranda. We could use some rest after all.

"You know, you don't have to go with me all the way. I can drop you off on the Demon Continent once we get there. I assume that's the safest place to be from those guys."

"R-right…" She looked down, all dejected like a little puppy. "I would just be a burden… you already have someone after all."

"...Yeah, Sherry's not going to be happy if she sees you latching on to me." I chuckled. "She's the jealous type, you see."

"Then please!" She slammed her hands on the table. "Take me as far as you could!"

She leaned forward, tears glimmering inside her eyes. Her cleavage hung low, making my own eyes wander.

"I-I don't have anything or anyone else to live for… My life purpose… it's gone now… I can only repay the kindness you have given me, Milord!"

"Kindness?" I chuckled. "I'm not that kind. Do you know why I didn't come to your side earlier? Because I didn't want to. I saw you as a stranger who wasn't worth saving. I even thought you might deserve holy judgment from them."

I didn't bring up Anton and the others begging me not to save her, nor did I bring up the fact that Ilymhyrra persuaded me ever so slightly to see her as evil. There's no use pointing fingers and blaming others. It was all on me.

"Then… then why did you—"

"Because after they killed Leila, I knew for sure who was truly in the wrong. No good men or women would do that to a child. If I hadn't saved you, then I would feel even guiltier than I already am." I chuckled dryly. "So no. I'm not some hero of justice you think I am. I'm just a loser who wants a good night's sleep, though, after failing to rescue her, I'm sure to have nightmares for some time. Just like when I failed all those other people before."

"Other people, Milord?"

"...Ah. I haven't told you about my past, have I? You know, I tell you my past and you tell me yours. How about it?" I flashed her a grin.

Before she could answer, the farmer returned, driving the carriage along with him.

It was a simple farmer’s carriage, intended to carry produce instead of people. There was only a roofless box behind the carriage seat and only a single horse was pulling on it. As expected, its state left much to be desired. The contraption was terribly worn and rickety, not something I would even consider buying if we weren’t in such a tight spot. Even the horse looked a bit sickly. Not to mention that I had to pay thrice the ordinary amount for a carriage. I did have the gold from all the quests I had done these past months, but it didn’t mean I was all that willing to part from it.

We climbed up the carriage immediately once I paid him in full (he didn't even try to hide his greed-filled grin). We knew that if we dallied around, we still could get caught. That man would obviously tell them about us if they asked him, no doubt about it.

And Felicia naturally realized it as well.

"Milord, that man…” she whispered as she sat beside me on the carriage seat. “He's going to inform them about us for sure. Should I—"

"No. There's no need. We'll be long gone when they get here."

“I-I know you’re too nice for it, but to keep you safe, I-I’m willing to dirty my hands! So please! Allow me to—”

“You’re turning a new leaf, aren’t you? Then stop thinking like that. I want you to start thinking for yourself, for your own future. I might have saved you but I didn’t do it for you to act like this. And I’m done with people sacrificing themselves for my sake. If they’re going to come, then let them come. I’ll protect myself and you as well when that happens. That’s the least I could do to redeem myself.”

She fell silent under my glare. She looked downwards to her lap, giving me a glimpse of her watering eyes yet again.

“There’s something you can do for me though,” I added with a nervous grin. “I… never really drove a carriage before.”

She looked back up, now with a smile on her face.

“Then, let me take the reins, Milord.”

With a whip of her arms, we departed. Despite its looks, the horse could pull on our vehicle just fine.

I heard the farmer thanking us for the money once again from a distance. I didn't bother to respond though.

"I learned this from my father, if you care to know." Felicia suddenly spoke. "He told me to be a farmer. I wasn't interested though. I wanted to be an alchemist instead."

A wistful smile appeared on her face. She didn't need to say anything. Something bad must have happened to him.

"You said you wanted to hear about my past. Then, I shall tell you. Every single bit of it. When I'm finished, you would know just how rotten I really am."

"Fire away. Tell me every bad thing you did. I'll do the same. Then we'll see who is the most horrible person sitting on this seat right now."

She gave a light chuckle. “Then, I shall tell you, how the person sitting in front of you now came into being.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for Felicia's flashback. Should it be written in third person like a normal flashback or should it be written with present Felicia talking about it in her dialogues with Hugo? The former obviously gave more detail to the story than the latter.
> 
> This chapter coming so late is because I've been writing three chapters at once. This chapter, Felicia's flashback, and the first chapter of Sherry's journey.


	157. The Girl Named Felicia Myne (Part 1)

Once upon a time, there was an ordinary girl named Felicia Myne.

She was the eldest among her siblings, which numbered five in total. Aaron, Pip, Bryn, and Elt—those were their names. Each was separated by just a few years in age. They were a family of farmers, so having that many male children was a welcome surprise. Not that her parents specifically planned for it. They simply were too much of a harmonious couple that they couldn’t help having more kids every few years. Contraceptive potions were too expensive for them to buy after all.

They lived in a village so small and insignificant it didn’t even have its own name. They knew however that they lived inside the Vehta territory, under the rule of Monas Vehta, one of the members of the ruling council of the Magocracy. All they knew about him was that he was this great Earth mage, and that they should all be thankful of his benevolent rule, though the insignificancy of their village meant other than the usual yearly tax, said rule didn’t really reach them. They didn’t have any provincial guards walking around. Any crime that happened would be dealt by the village elder instead.

Felicia Myne was a pretty little girl, with striking red curls on her short shoulder-length hair that only enhanced the innocent look she had. She wore a dull and discolored grey knee-length dress with miscolored patches sewn all over it, a common choice for clothing for girls in her village. It was already too small for her, showing an uncommonly high amount of ankles. Her mother had promised to sew in more fabric at the hem, as well as enlarging the already somewhat tight waist and shoulders, but alas, she hadn’t been able to procure the necessary scrap fabrics to do so. With the last harvest being so terrible, it only made it more important for her to cut any unnecessary expenses.

There was one thing that wasn’t dull and terrible on her, however. It was the hair accessories she often wore on her head. They were made out of the wild flowers that grew on the base of the nearby mountains and she would often make it herself whenever she had to go out there to gather some medicinal plants for her alchemy.

Oh yes, she was already a budding little alchemist, even as her tender nine-year old self Instead of following the path of her father and mother in becoming a simple farmer, she instead showed great interest in the art of alchemy, thanks to the village’s doctor. She wanted to help and cure people, just like she did.

She would’ve lived a simple and happy life.

Alas, Fate had other plans for her.

\--------

"Aaron, you're burning! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Ehehehe, sorry, Sis," he gave her a bashful smile. "It's just a little cold. I don't want to worry you, so I thought it'd just sleep it off."

It started that fateful night when the family was having their dinner. As usual, they did it in their living room, sitting together on the dirt floor in a circle. Even though there were seven of them in total, they only had two rooms in their tiny, cramped house—the living room and the bedroom.

“Come. I’ll take you to bed. I’ll make you some nirnroot juice as well.”

Nirnroot juice was a simple alchemical concoction even she could make. It’s the common go-to medicine for fevers and colds. She had learned the process to brew it from the village’s healer, who was more than happy to accept her as her apprentice.

She took her brown-haired little brother to the bedroom, laying him down on the straw bed before covering his body with a thin blanket. She then went back to the living room and began cooking the brew using her mother’s cooking pot. Thankfully she still had some nirnroots laying around that she could immediately use.

“Aah, look at her. She’s such a good girl, isn’t she?”

As she worked, the rest of her family watched with an impressed look, especially her mother, who had a dreamy look on her face.

It was clear that the little girl got her cuteness from said mother. Despite the ragged dress she wore, she was still what you would call a breathtaking beauty. Her slim waist, full chest, and striking wavy red hair was something her daughter would inherit in the future. She used to be the village beauty, and her husband was very lucky to have her indeed.

"Felicia! You're done with your dinner?"

"Yes, Mother!"

Their dinner tonight was a bowl of vegetable soup. It wasn't all that nutritious or delicious, but it was the best her mother could afford with the funds their family had. With how high the tax on their produce was, they didn't have much to spend on themselves.

"She's just like you, honey." The father placed his hand on the wife's shoulder with a smile on his face. "Always working so hard for the sake of her family."

"Oh no." She responded by leaning herself towards him. "I'm never that smart. She’s more like you in that department, dearie.” She then landed a short kiss on his cheek.

With loving parents and siblings, Felicia didn’t want for anything else in this world. She was perfectly content in growing up like a normal girl, raising her little brothers and maturing alongside them, and perhaps even becoming the successor to the village’s healer, as the old woman wanted.

If only she knew the storm that was about to come.

\----------

“Pip? You’re burning up too?!”

“I-I guess I am, Sis.” He coughed with a weak smile. “Got it from Aaron, I reckon’. I played with him all day yesterday, after all.”

The next morning, Felicia went into panic mode once more.

Pip had fallen ill as well, while Aaron’s fever wasn’t dying down in the slightest, even after she gave him the juice.

“Just you wait, alright? I’m going to Granny Yan right away.”

“W-wait, there’s no need to— Ah, she’s already gone. Aaron, this is all your fault, you know! When you pinned me to the dirt yesterday, you coughed on me and gave me this illness! Now you’re making me make Big Sister worry!”

“Hmph! That's your fault! You stole my flower!"

"Your flower?! That's  **my** flower! I was the one who found it first!"

"No, I did!"

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

"You didn't!"

"Alright, that's enough, you two! Go back to bed at once!"

The mother stopped their argument by gently knocking the top of their heads. Like the good kids they were, they could only obey. Their mother could get  **really** scary when she's mad, after all.

Their fight started by a simple, frivolous matter. They had played at the base of the nearby mountain yesterday and by pure accident, they found a rare flower that normally was only found at the higher reaches on said mountain. Knowing that their sister had a fondness of rare flowers in general, they got into a fight on who should take the credit for finding it.

In fact, both had somewhat of a rivalry on her affections. The two were only a year apart age-wise from each other and it showed in their interactions. In their childish minds, they even wished to marry her once they grew older.

But now, that rivalry had to be put on hold, as none of them dared to incite more of their mother’s wrath. That, and they wanted to rest as much as they could so they would be the first to get better. All for the sake of their big sister, of course.

\--------

Felicia made her way to the small hut at the edge of the village, going as fast as her small legs could take her. It was where the healer of the village lived. Known only as Granny Yan, she had lived there pretty much forever. She apparently used to live in the nearby town when she was younger, but no one knew, nor cared, about the details. To the rest of the village, she was like their own grandmother, albeit a grumpy and slightly odd one.

Once she arrived, Felicia opened her front door at once, not even bothering to knock beforehand.

"Oh, Granny Yan! Thank the Founder you're here!"

She found the old woman hunched over in the front of her cauldron, performing the oft-forgotten branch of alchemy called cooking.

At her words, the old woman turned to face her visitor.

The first impression one would get from her was that she's some sort of a witch, thanks to how wrinkled her face looked and how hooked her nose was. She was a hunchback, thanks to her spine bending as she grew older with age. She wore an all black dress though not with the classical witch hat. Instead, she wore a black bonnet that covered her greying hair.

"Hmph. It's you. Nosy Redhead."

Her voice was raspy and thin, adding ten more years to her appearance.

"Granny Yan! I need your help! Aaron and Pip are sick and my medicine wouldn't work!"

The old woman stared into the young girl's wettening eyes. Sighing, she replied, "Just make them rest. No medicine works right away."

"I already gave the potion to Aaron yesterday night! Usually, that would be enough time for it to kick in!"

“Silly girl! You messed up the brewing again, didn’t you? I told you before! Three times clockwise and then three times counterclockwise once the liquid started to boil! If you performed it backwards and did the counter-clockwise first, that potion would lose its efficacy completely!”

“I didn’t mess it up!” She fired back. “I know what I did! Do you think I wouldn’t be careful when it’s for Aaron?! You said it yourself! Alchemists killed more people by failed potions than mages did by stray spells! You said it so much I can't get it out of my head!"

The old woman rested her gaze at the angry young girl in front of her, before shaking her head.

"Fine. I'll make your potion. But after I finished cooking this blasted soup."

Felicia clasped her hands, a bright smile forming on her little face. "Oh, thank you, Gran! I'll fetch you some fernleaves as payment! You always need them, don't you?"

Before the old woman could say anything, Felicia already ran off from her house, earning yet another sigh from her wrinkled old lips.

"I do need them for my poor old bones…"

\---------

When Felicia returned with the leaves at noon, the old woman was already ready with the fever potion. She gave it to her, received the potion in exchange, and made a mad dash back home to where her two sick brothers were.

"Here! Drink this, you two!"

Without stopping to talk or even catch her breath, she administered the medicine to each of them. They would've groaned at how bitter it was, but they kept their tough act, not wanting to cause trouble for their big sister who had done so much for them. Her dress clung to her skin from sweat, and she had skipped her breakfast to fetch their medicine.

Only after she did so that she sat down, smiling with relief. There was no way Granny Yan's potion could fail. She believed it with all her heart.

But of course, it did.

\---------

The next day, their fever still continued. And to make matters worse, the other two brothers, Bryn and Elt, showed signs of being feverish as well.

She made her way to the old woman’s dwelling once more. She told her what had transpired.

“...I see.”

A shadow fell on the grump’s face.

“...I shall make a visit to a friend of mine at Karkala. You stay here and help them as best as you could.”

“W-what? What do you mean? You’re just going to leave us here?!”

“Silence, girl! There’s something important I need to check there! You want to be an alchemist, don't you? Then use that pretty little head of yours and make the cure yourself!"

And just like that, the old woman left Felicia on her own, slamming the door behind her as she made her way to the village's carriage driver. 

Felicia knew where Karkala was. It was a small town to the southeast of the village. It wasn't that far so she could only hope the old woman could return soon.

_ That's right! I shouldn't be so dependent on her! Look at all these books she has! One of them must be the key to curing this strange fever! _

With a renewed resolve, she rummaged through her house, reading any alchemy books she could get her hands on. She wanted to know how to make even better fever potions so she could heal her little brothers.

She spent her entire day there before finally finding what she wanted. The only problem was that one of the ingredients she needed was a rare ingredient that she could only find at the peak of the nearby mountain. It was an egg of a bird species that only lived at such a high altitude.

She had no choice. She had to ask the village’s hunter to aid her in her quest. There’s no way she could defend herself against the monsters and the treacherous terrain she had to traverse through to get there on her own.

Unfortunately for her, when she came to his dwelling, his wife came out with the news that he too had fallen sick. And not only that, it was with the very same symptoms that his little brothers suffered.

_ N-no, this can’t… _

_ A-a plague? Could it be?! _

She had heard of what the adults called a “plague” before. It was some kind of a terrifying sickness that could transmit itself from one person to another.

_ I-it all makes sense! That’s why it… Oh no … _

She ran as fast as she could back to her house.

"Mother! Father! We have to—"

"*cough* Where have you been all day? *cough*"

She was greeted by the sight of her mother, coughing as she was cooking dinner. Her face was flushed and she seemed to be shivering in place.

Felicia rested her hand on her arm, and it was immediately obvious that she was burning up.

Her worst fear had just been realized.

"Mother! You're sick! You should be resting!"

"Then who would cook food for your father and brothers? They're all sick as well." She coughed again. "This really is a bad cold, huh? Spreading around like this?" She forced a smile.

"Mother! Let me do it! You just rest with the others, alright?"

"N-no. You should *cough* you should stay at Molly's for a bit, so you won't catch this illness too."

Felicia shook her head. "Don't be silly, Mother! I'm tougher than I look! I won't get sick from a mere cold!"

The redheaded woman sighed. “Alright, if you insist. Don't burn anything now.” She ruffled her daughter’s head with a smile.  _ Nine year old and she was already this responsible. A mother could not ask for a better daughter. _

The woman then went to the bedroom before sleeping in the bed with his husband, trusting Felicia to wake her and the others up when dinner was ready.

Felicia was about to tell her to keep her distance from her sick brothers, but clearly it was already too late for that.

As for herself, she didn’t know why she hadn’t caught it as well. Was it really just because she rarely got sick in the first place? Truth be told, the last time she got sick was as a baby. The illness would’ve killed her if not for Granny Yan’s help. Ever since that grave illness, she had never been sick ever again, not even when her sniffling brothers cough in the front of her faces.

It didn’t matter though. She thanked the Founder for not being sick. That meant she could still go up the mountain to take those eggs she needed for her potion.

She had to cure them. Fast. Before the disease spread to the rest of the village. She had heard tales of entire villages or even towns being wiped out from plagues. And as long as she breathed, she would never let that happen!

\----------

The next morning, she woke up early.

After cooking her family breakfast, leaving it on the only table they had, she departed.

With the hunter gone, she had to ask for other people’s help. She knew that it would be foolhardy for her to go on her own.

Only to find that none of the adults were willing to help her.

“G-go up the mountain? Are you crazy, young lady? Do you even know what kind of horrible monsters are up there?”

“What? Where’s that Granny of yours? She left? Then just wait. She’ll be back with your cure. Or just sleep it off. That’s what I did when I got a cold last time. Slept for seven nights straight.”

“A plague? Don’t be silly! You say they only got fevers and coughs, right? That’s no plague! That’s just cold! Come back when you see boils on their skins!”

No use. Not a single one would come with her to the mountain.

They got a point. It still could just be cold. Every story she had heard of plagues always had its sufferers experience itching all over their body. Strange bumps and sores would pop up everywhere and they would start puking and coughing blood. Compared to that, what her family was experiencing couldn’t really be called a plague.

And so, she had no choice.

She had to go up there on her own.

\----------

“Grrrrrrgrrrrr…”

_ Wolves! _

Halfway up the mountain, she encountered her first great problem.

Mountain Wolves. She had alerted one of them of her presence and now she had to climb up a tree to keep herself safe.

She hugged the large tree branch she was on, staying as still as she could as the wolf tried to sniff the scent she left behind.

Soon, however, the monster gave up, making her take a huge sigh of relief before thanking the Founder for her luck. She was lucky she was clever enough to think up the plan of rubbing herself all over with the leaves of the Forsen tree she had met on the way. It was a tree with leaves that had a strong leaf-like smell to them, to the point that if you would rub your hands with them, your hands would smell like leaves for a good few hours afterwards. So now, she smelled just like the leaves that surrounded her. It was enough to fool even the sharp nose of a Mountain Wolf.

Once she was sure that the wolf was gone, she climbed down and resumed her journey.

She was not backing down just because of one small danger.

\------------

She continued climbing upwards that way, hiding herself from any monsters that might notice her presence. Granny Yan never really taught her this skill. She instead learned it from how her little brothers would conceal themselves in the base of the mountain whenever they played hide-and-seek there. Even though they were the son of a farmer, that didn’t mean they had no interest in hunting as well. They would frequently catch rabbits to be cooked for their family, which was certainly welcome since meat was really expensive to buy after all. The village hunter would rather sell his meat to Karkala where he could get paid for a lot more instead of selling it cheap to the other villagers.

Ignoring the monsters, it still wasn’t an easy climb. Many times she would trip on vines or roots, or the hem of her dress would get caught on some branches or bushes. And with how old and ragged it was, it didn’t take much until her ragged dress grew even more ragged, with tears and holes appearing all over the place.

She didn’t care though. Even if she had to climb this mountain, she  **will** get those eggs and cure her family from their illness!

Eventually, she heard it—the characteristic chirping of the birds whose eggs she was after. The book was kind enough to tell her how it differed from ordinary birds.

She pinpointed which tree the sound came from and, as if she was a boy, she climbed it with no hesitation. It was a large and tall tree, difficult for a small girl like her to climb on her own. She had to be really careful with—

“Aaah!”

She let out a scream as she fell. Her butt hit the ground first.

“Uuu, it hurts…”

She rubbed her aching behind. She was lucky she didn’t fall head first.

_ That’s it! I can use that! _

Using her clever little brain once again, she pillaged all the leaves from the nearby bushes to create a bed of leaves under the tree. That way, if she fell down once more, and from a higher height, she would be hurt less from it.

And so, she climbed.

And fell.

And climbed.

And fell again.

And climbed again.

And fell yet again.

It was now not only her butt that was sore, but her entire legs and arms as well.

She cursed herself. She could’ve learned to be a better tree climber from Aaron. And yet, she thought tree climbing was something a girl shouldn’t be doing (an opinion her mother shared).

She gritted her teeth. No, she’s not going to give up! She was so close! She just had to jump a little bit further so her arms could reach that final branch!

And so, she climbed for the very last time.

And she did it. She managed to get to the branch where the birds had their nest. She hugged it as tightly as she could, thanking the Founder over and over with tears in her eyes.

Once she calmed herself, she looked forward to said nest. It was located right at the edge of the large branch. She merely just needed to slowly crawl there.

Her heart beat like it never before. With a gulp, she did just that, praying that the birds wouldn’t decide to attack her. She had to empty the whole nest too, in case she messed up with her potions.

Once she got there near the edge, she looked above the nest. To her relief, Father and Mother birds weren’t there. They were only the little chicks.

_ Please… little birdies… forgive me for this… but I really really really need your eggs to save my family… _

As gently as she could, she reached her right arm forward. She didn’t want to startle the birds with her movement.

_ Got it! _

She grabbed a whole palmful and then slowly lifted her hand upwards, ignoring the chicks that were there on the nest.

Only to find that they immediately became hostile as they realized their unborn siblings were being stolen by this large hand coming from the outside.

“O-ouch! Ouuuuuuch!”

All of them, about ten or so, began biting on her hand. They might be small but thanks to their beaks having teeth in them, it was really painful for the poor girl.

She promptly sat upwards, shaking her right hand as fast as she could so she could take them off her hand. 

No dice. Their beaks’ grip was far too strong.

Her left hand reacted, trying to peel off the birds one by one. Only to find that they bit so strong she would pretty much have to tear a chunk of her own flesh if she was going to do so.

"Aaahh, get off! Get off!"

She could only endure the pain as she put the eggs inside her satchel. Once she did, she slammed her right hand over and over to the branch she was sitting on. If she couldn't peel them off, then she would crush them and kill them instead. Mercy was far gone in her mind thanks to how painful their teeth were.

*CRACK*

And thanks to that, the branch snapped, sending her flying downwards.

*CRASH*

The last thing she saw was a large branch meeting her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking, should I start opening donations from you guys to get the money for commission artworks? I kinda want them, but at the same time, I don't have anything to give back. I don't have any advance chapters in store.
> 
> As for this chapter, yeah, her flashback ends up not fitting in one chapter. Even a 4k words one.
> 
> Vote here for who is best girl. It's for me to gauge how popular each girl is and how well-received they are to my readers.
> 
> https://www.strawpoll.me/42442635
> 
> Multiple votes allowed if you can't decide.
> 
> You can also vote that Hugo doesn't deserve any of them.


	158. The Girl Named Felicia Myne (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update. Lately, I just don't have a strong desire to write. The latest review over at Scribblehub certainly didn't help.
> 
> Maybe I should just embrace the fact that I had made a mistake designing Hugo to be this level of a pathetic character. Make him even more pathetic. Throw more despair at his direction. Honestly, writing sad stuff is somewhat therapeutic to me, especially when I'm in a bad mood.
> 
> If Hugo is too well-adjusted as a person, then I can't self-insert as him :p

When she woke up, the sun already fell.

She didn't know how, but she survived that fall relatively unscathed. 

Her body ached all over, and her right hand was awfully red with bite marks everywhere, but other than that, she was still capable of making the journey home.

Miraculously, the eggs had survived the fall. The combination of the leaf bed she had made and the protection of the satchel managed to keep them intact. That, the natural hardness they already possessed on their own. They were certainly harder than chicken eggs for starters.

The girl stood up, looking around to see how everything around her was nearly pitch-black; the source of light being only the full moon and the stars. Fear crept into her mind. How could she go home now, without getting lost in the way?

"Awooooo!"

Chills crawled down her spine. Her eyes nearly popped out from their sockets as they widened from pure terror. There was nothing more she wanted now than to run to the embrace of her parents, receiving their warmth as she cried into their bosom.

_“Uuwaaaa! Father! Mother! It’s too scaryyyy! I can’t possibly go down from the mountains on my own!”_

_“Shh, it’s fine now, dearie, it’s fine. We’re here now. So you don’t have to be afraid of anything, alright?”_

She sniffled. Her eyes started to wet with her tears. 

But she held strong. Clenching her fists, she declared to herself. She wasn't a baby anymore! She's a big sister now! She's going to go back, brew that potion, and save her family from that illness! She couldn’t let her fear of the dark and those wolves hold her down!

With a renewed determination, she made her way down the mountain as best as she could. She remembered something her father told her once, how hunters and fishermen would use the stars as their guide. She gazed at those celestial lights, moving those gears inside her head until she found a certain constellation that could guide her on the proper direction to take. The mountain she was at was to the west of the village, so she only needed to go east to find her way back.

_There it is! The Enchantress!_

It was a cluster of stars shaped like a female wearing a long robe. The constellation could only be found in the eastern sky, which meant as long as she followed it, she would be back in her village in no time!

Or so she naively believed.

\---------

_N-no! This clearing… I've been here before, haven't I?_

Two hours later, she accepted she had lost her way.

Thanks to the thickness of the greenery surrounding her, more often than not, she couldn't get a clear view to her guiding stars. And she had enough of climbing up trees for the day. Her tendons and muscles still ached from the fall.

To make matters worse, the howling of the wolves sounded like it was closing in on her, and she couldn't find any Forsen trees she could mask her scent with. If she were to be caught by them, then that would be it. She doubted she could run fast enough to flee from a mountain wolf.

"Kyaah!"

Her feet slipped, making her tumble down the small hill she was on. She rolled for a good few seconds, all the while having branches and roots tear into her dress and skin.

Once again, she felt she was about to cry.

"Grrrrrhhhh…"

She gasped. Lifting her head from the dirt, she saw it—a pair of crimson eyes staring at her from the shadows.

It's a wolf.

Tears burst forth from her eyelids, but she kept her silence. Her lithe body shook, and she would no doubt wet herself out of fear if she hadn't relieved herself a few minutes ago.

_Havetostayquiethavetostayquiethavetostayquiet—_

The wolf slowly got closer, seemingly sniffing for her scent.

Blood! It's sniffing for her blood! Thanks to her fall, her ankles were bleeding now, and that attracted the creature to her!

If only, if only she could cast magic! Just a simple fireball is enough! She could fire it right at its head when it got close and that would be enough to allow her to escape!

"Grrrrrhhhh!"

It crept closer and closer. Now it was merely inches away from her head. She could _feel_ its labored breath as its snout hovered over her.

_Founder, please! Just this time, grant me your blessing!_

She closed her eyes and prayed like she never prayed before. Every child born in the Magocracy would know about the Great Founder, Mira. In a way, she had taken the place of Milicis in the hearts of the citizens of the magic-worshipping country. She didn't know a single thing about magic, but she knew just how great of an existence the Great Archmagus was.

She held her breath. Droplets of the wolf's spit were hitting the back of her head.

And then, it pounced, moving its jaw to bite the girl's head off.

Only for a pitch-black spear to pierce its abdomen, mere moments before its sharp teeth could give her a swift death.

The wolf whimpered, before falling down to the ground—blood pouring out from its wound.

She didn't know then, but it was the very first time she ever used a magic spell.

She had become a mage.

\-------

She ran as fast as she could, not even bothering to look back at the dead wolf. The wound on her feet stung terribly but she didn't stop. Not until she ran out of breath completely some minutes later.

 _W-what was that? Who saved me back then? Who attacked that wolf?_ She gazed down at her trembling hands. _W-was that? Was that me? Did I just cast a spell? B-but, what was that spell? It wasn't a fireball. It was… something like a spear?_

_Am… am I a mage now? Me, who doesn't have any mage relatives? How can that be?_

In the Magocracy, it is a widely accepted fact that to be a mage, one must be related to another mage by blood. So, for a complete commoner like her to suddenly awaken her magic talent, it was a rare event indeed. Normally, if something like that were to happen, the child’s family would throw a celebration, as their child was now almost guaranteed to have a better life and a brighter future than their parents. With magic, many gates would open to you that would be closed otherwise.

But now, she had no time to look forward to that. The only thought in her mind was to get out of this mountain, brew that potion, and save her family from that plague.

After she regained her breath, she marched onward. Lucky for her, that little bout of running brought her to a clearing where she could find the Enchantress once more.

\---------

When she reached her village hours later, she didn’t spare any time to rest or to even change her clothes. She ignored the fact that she was terribly sleepy, and how her dress was pretty much in tatters and possessing quite the awful odor. She went straight to Granny Yan’s place and started brewing immediately. What followed was another couple of hours of cooking the eggs, grinding the leaves and bones the old woman already had in her storage, and throwing it all into the boiling hot cauldron. She then spent an entire hour standing in front of it. The cauldron was almost as large as she was so she had to tiptoe through the entire process as she carefully mixed the ingredients together, making sure that she did everything as the book instructed.

And then, only when it was time to let the mixture rest, she let herself rest as well. She fell asleep the moment she sat down on the nearby sofa. And that was when the sun was already climbing outside.

\--------

_This foolish girl… she actually did it... just by reading my book nonetheless…_

The old woman sighed, shaking her head. She had arrived back at her cottage this morning, and what did she find? Her little pupil, slumbering off on her favorite chair.

That, and a cauldron full of a bluish liquid she immediately recognized as Cool-Me-Down potion. It was a difficult potion to make for her, much less a beginner, but her pupil managed to do it nonetheless.

If there was ever any doubt of her talent, that doubt was completely gone now.

Glancing once more at the slumbering girl, she noticed her torn up dress and the many scratch wounds on her arms and legs, especially at her ankles who outright had a large and swollen bloody gash—a proof that the girl had climbed the mountain for the one remaining ingredient she didn't have.

 _It's a miracle you haven't died. I would have to scold you later for this, but now, rest. I'll take care of your potion_.

She turned to face the cauldron.

_...Even though it won't do any good._

After throwing a blanket onto Felicia, she began to work.

\-------

'U-uuhhhhh…"

Felicia groaned. She softly shifted on the sofa before sitting up with a spring.

"The potion! I have to—"

"Here. I've finished it for you."

As she was currently facing the wall, she had to turn to see where the voice came from.

"G-Granny Yan?! You're back?"

"Hmph, just arrived this morning. And what did I find? My foolish pupil risking her life foolishly."

"I-I'm sorry…"

Felicia looked down. She never enjoyed being scolded, especially when it's from someone she respected.

"We'll talk about that later. For now, go to your family and administer the potion.” The old woman pointed at the large bottle she had put on the table. It was one of her magical bottles, capable of storing an entire cauldron worth of potion in just a bottle. “Shoo! You’re dirtying my couch, sleeping there with your dirt-covered dress.” She gestured with her hand.

Felicia looked at the bottle, and a bright smile blossomed on her face. “O-oh, thank you so much, Granny Yan! I’m going to take it to them right away! With this, they can finally be cured!”

With her childish naivete and innocence, she grabbed the bottle before running straight outside, back towards her house.

The old woman sighed and shook her head. 

_That potion will only dissipate the fever, not cure the illness itself._

_There is no curing them, for there is no cure. This illness… no, this plague… It's something that no alchemist can cure…_

She pulled the sleeve of her wrinkled right arm, revealing little white crystals, growing like tumors from her skin. 

_I’m sorry, little one, but you would soon find that you are very alone in this world… not even I was spared…_ She chuckled. _I suppose this disease really is selecting for the pure breeds. A country founded by magic has no need for magic-deficient humans and inferior mages like us alchemists._

Her journey to Karkala revealed one thing, that the plague didn't just exist in this humble little village. It was everywhere. It had spread all over the province like a wildfire, killing all the non-mages in droves. The province's mage ruler, Vehta, had declared a state of emergency, and that all infected people should be quarantined away from the rest of the populace.

The whispers on the streets, however, told a different story.

The corpses of those afflicted and succumbed to the plague, instead of being put into a mass grave, was instead being carried off somewhere else. And apparently, it was done by the orders of the mage lord himself. Some believed he was the one who engineered the plague. After all, it only targeted those with no talents to be a mage, and the plague would grow mana crystals on the victim's body, which were a very valuable commodity. Combined with the rumors how he had been gathering the same Mana crystals for these past few years, one could easily assume the worst to him. After all, he was the least popular mage in the Council. In contrast to the likes of Selendia, who was treated akin to a goddess by her people, Vehta never made any public appearances, and there were a lot of shady tales swirling around him. 

With what she knew about him, she was inclined to believe that rumor. 

To her, none of the Council mages were to be trusted, especially in matters regarding non-mages. To them, non-mages were nothing more than dogs—to be praised when they obeyed but to be disposed of when they rebelled. And Vehta was the worst of them, if these rumors were true.

 _Killing thousands of people for your magic crystals. Only a Council mage could do that,_ she thought with a grin smile.

\--------

When Felicia returned, she promptly gave the potion to her entire family. One spoonful every four hours—that's what the book instructed. To her joy, she immediately witnessed the difference. Their fevers decreased in intensity and they were no longer coughing as often.

_It works! It actually works!_

She didn't hesitate. After her mother said to her that she was feeling better, the girl threw herself into her embrace, crying profusely on her buxom chest.

"Oh thank the Founder it works!"

"Oh, silly girl… of course it would! You made it yourself, my genius little alchemist! And you did it after climbing the mountain on your own! I would scold you for that but I'm just glad you came back to us safe and sound," she replied with a shaking voice. She too was crying—crying in tears of happiness and relief.

Her father soon embraced her too. And then Aaron. And Pip. And Bryn and Elt as well, even if the latter didn't understand what was going on, being too young for it. No one cared that Felicia was dirty and smelly, not until the mother teasingly brought it up to her, telling her to go take a bath in the nearby river. Aaron and Pip declared they wanted to go too, but she told them to stay and sleep some more, since they still hadn't recovered completely. After she cleaned herself, she made her way to the hunter's home and any other people who suffered from the safe fever as her family. It was a good thing she made extras as it turned out that pretty much everyone had been infected by it, even if the symptoms had only manifested as a light fever. Just in case, she gave it to everyone. 

It was the last day of Felicia's happiness.

\------

"Granny Yan! Granny Yan! Something's wrong with Aaron!"

The next morning, the girl made her way to the old alchemist's house once again.

This time, however, she didn't find her in the middle of her breakfast cooking. Instead, the aged woman was lying down on the sofa, with her wrinkled face straight right at the low straw ceiling.

"Aaron, he's— there are crystals growing on his arms."

"...And so it begins."

"I-it begins? W-what do you mean, Granny Yang?"

The old woman sighed before fostering enough strength to sit up and look at the panicked, fearful face of her pupil.

"I have hidden something from you yesterday—something I learned about this… sickness. Come." She weakly patted the armrest of the coach, gesturing for her to come over. "Sit down."

The confused young girl could only nod obediently, kneeling in front of the old lady as she was instructed to.

"I'll tell you the truth, as far as this poor old woman knows anyways."

She didn't hold back in the slightest.

She told her everything, from how Karkala was filled with people falling prey to the Crystal Plague—the name the people had dubbed to the strange illness—to how it only affected those with no capability to cast spells. She didn't stop there. She told her with a bitter voice how the mage lord of the city was rumored to carry off the bodies of the deceased somewhere else instead of burying them, and how the corpses might be harvested for the mana crystals growing inside them. She then told her not to believe what she had been taught all her life, how she, as a non magic user, should praise and worship Monas Vehta, for the man could be behind the plague. He had been amassing magic crystals for years, and she believed he had grew impatient, thus using his own subjects he viewed as expendable as fodder for more magic crystals.

Felicia, naturally, was terribly overwhelmed by this revelation.

"W-what are you talking about, Granny Yang? N-no one can just create a plague! A-and Lord Vehta has guided and protected us! We owe the growth of our crops from his magic! We have the most bountiful soil in the entire continent!"

The old woman simply chuckled at her words.

"Aah, my poor, foolish pupil… you know nothing about this country… nothing at all…"

She then proceeded to tell her something that bewildered her even more.

"Do you remember your history lesson, little one? The Urkmuth rebellion. How many years ago was it? I can’t remember…”

“I… I only remembered a little…” she answered. “Some years ago, a group of non mages tried to rebel against Lord Vehta’s rule. They were selfish and greedy, refusing to accept their station and contribute to the province in the way they could. They desired to be treated the same as mages, even though they had neither the brains nor the wisdom for it. And then…” She suddenly paused.

“Hmm? What’s the matter, girl? Continue.”

“I-I can’t remember. I suppose Lord Vehta put an end to their corrupt ambition in the end. Father only ever spoke of it to me once, when he told me why he was proud to devote his entire life as a farmer. He knew that he wasn’t smart, so he wanted to be useful to those smarter than him, and supplying food and vegetables to the mages that protect us and keep us safe are exactly that.”

The old woman burst into a weak, wheezing laugh.

“G-Granny Yan! Please do not overextend yourself!”

“Oh, my poor Felicia… you kowtow to the mages so much, even though you share their blood. The blood of a mage, you have it, more than me, this poor old alchemist. I can only use magic in my concoctions, but you, you can do so much more. I’ve no doubt of it. If you couldn’t, you would’ve suffered from the plague as well.”

Felicia was about to deny her declaration, but she immediately remembered what she did two nights before. She had slain a wolf using her magic.

It was true. She was a mage.

The aging alchemist grinned. “So you did it. You cast your first magic, didn’t you? Tell me, what was it? A fireball? A lightning strike perhaps?”

“I-it was… it was a shadow blade."

The old woman's grin widened before she burst into another laugh.

"Ha! Darkness! That's your affinity! Oh, how could a naive girl like you be gifted such an element?! The Founder must be laughing at us from above!"

"D-darkness? I-I'm… I'm a mage of darkness?!"

Her entire body shivered. She had heard the tales, how dark-aspected spells were full of terrifying and horrible spells. Especially necromancy, the most terrible of it all. This nation nearly ended because of it.

"T-that can't be! I-I don't want to—I don't want to be a dark mage!" She shouted in tears.

"Hold your tongue, you stupid girl! Do you not realize what a gift you've been blessed with? I would trade an arm and a leg to have your talent!" The old woman had yelled, frightening Felicia into silence.

"Let me tell you something. I was there when our virtuous and generous Lord slaughtered my comrades one by one without mercy. That's right! I was one of those rebels! I stood with our comrades who wished for freedom—freedom from the yoke of that tyrant you call a Lord!”

“G-Granny Yan… used to be a rebel?” Felicia asked with her mouth wide open. The old woman replied with a chuckle. “Back then, I was a much younger and attractive lady. Like your mother, though not as blessed in the chest department, unfortunately enough.” She chuckled again. “I was an alchemist, one of the many who provided potions and any other magic items we could create for the sake of the rebellion. I’ll spare you the details on why we decided to rebel, but rest assured that if I were to be back there again, I would do it all over again without a second thought.”

Felicia gulped. In the back of her mind she felt a strong desire to run away from her master. “A rebel is a bad person and good girls don’t talk to them”. Such was the lesson taught to her by her parents. And yet, she couldn’t think like that for Granny Yan. Sure, she was sometimes too grumpy for her liking, but she had been nothing but good to her. Surely, she can’t be a bad person, can she?

“Alas, I was just that, an alchemist. I couldn’t fight alongside my comrades on the front line. And so, I could only run like the coward I was when I heard the word that they had all been massacred by Vehta. I hid myself away in this village, and somehow, I managed to live this long, until I am now just a decrepit old lady like this.”

Suddenly, she put her left hand on Felicia’s shoulder, making the poor girl jump.

“It’s all up to you now, Felicia. I won’t tell you to follow my path and seek the truth with your own eyes, for that is a thorny path. This nation has stood for a thousand years and not a single person would be able to change that by her own. You will have my blessing if you wish to join your own kind and forget about everything I had said here. However,” She broke out into a dry grin. “You will find that even if you’re a mage, they will still not treat you as an equal. You, who wasn’t born to a mage family, will be discriminated against. I am sure of it. But, if you can bear it, then even as a dark mage, you will still be able to make a decently happy life for yourself.” 

The woman paused with a sigh. Suddenly, she felt a terrible dryness inside her mouth.

“Whatever your choice is, my only hope that it’s a choice you won’t regret.”

Felicia stayed silent. Her brain had no idea how to process all this information her mentor had poured.

“G-Granny Yan, w-why are you talking all that nonsense?” She forced a smile. “T-the cure… s-surely you can—”

Air escaped her lungs with a gasp.

The old woman had pulled the sleeves of her right hand, revealing the innumerable crystals covering her skin from her fingers all the way to her shoulder.

“As you can see, I am not long for this world.” She granted her a grim smile. “And neither are your family, nor the rest of this village. I don’t know how long it would take until the crystals overtook our organs, but once that happened, we would lose our lives. And it would be very painful, I’m afraid, so if I were you, I would leave this village and go to Karkala. There is nothing else you can do here, other than waiting for their inevitable deaths. Though I have no idea where you should go there. Never have any relatives or friends that are willing to take in a little orphan girl.” She chuckled. “Just don’t do something dumb like becoming a beggar or a whore. You’re too clever for that. You’re an alchemist and a mage. Surely you can find proper employment somewhere., in this country of mages.”

“B-but that’s… no! I refuse to believe it! Y-you can’t just give up! You might be sick but I can still be the one brewing the potion! Just tell me how to do it! I-I’ll even go back to the mountains if I have to!”

The old woman looked away, still keeping her grim smile. She lowered her body, returning back to laying down on her back on top of the sofa.

“Silly girl. So many diseases and illnesses out there are incurable by alchemy. If we have some of those clerics from the Holy Continent, perhaps the story would be different… Oh, who am I kidding? This plague… if it’s really created by that bastard… it won’t be cured by just a simple healing spell either.”

She paused, saying nothing as she stared at the ceiling once again.

“But you, as a dark mage, you might just be able to. But not the girl you are now. No, you have to blossom and mature. You might not believe me but dark magic can be used for healing purposes as well. With blood magic, you can halt someone’s bleeding and extract poison from their bloodstream. And with necromancy, why, you can revive the dead themselves! No alchemy or holy magic can do that!” She burst into a laugh once again. “But no.” She shook her head. “Not now. Your family… and this whole village… there’s nothing you can do to help them.”

Felicia fell silent. Slowly, she backed off from the old woman. Her entire body was shaking, tears streaming down her eyes.

And then, she ran.


	159. The Girl Named Felicia Myne (Part 3)

“You cannot do anything.”

“There is no salvation for your family.”

“They will all die agonizing deaths and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

Those were the thoughts that wriggled inside her mind for the rest of the day. Unavoidable and unabating, they crashed over and over against the barrier of self-lie she had put up.

_G-Granny Yan is wrong! They must be… they must be fine! L-look, their fevers are down! So what if there are a handful of tiny crystals growing on their arms? They don’t even say they are hurting from it!_

It was what the poor girl could only do as she spent the rest of the day with her family, playing with her little brothers. Aaron and Pip, rejuvenated by their big sister’s potion, begged their mother to be allowed to play outside their house. And their mother, seeing their puppy smiles, relented. Felicia tried to object, but they too won her over.

She never told any of them the truth. It was simply too painful for her. Or rather, she refused to even acknowledge it. She began to delude herself that her mentor was wrong and mistaken, and that this crystal disease would eventually settle itself on its own. Even if the crystals wouldn’t leave their bodies, it wouldn’t take their lives away. After all, they felt no pain from it, so what was there to worry about it, so she told herself.

The four brothers decided to play a simple hide and seek game around the village. It was a simple game that wouldn’t tire them much. Of course, as usual, Felicia was designated to be the “It”. Aaron and Pip had their own private rivalry where they counted the times they had been found by her every time they played this game. But for today, they decided not to do anything crazy like hiding on the roof of the village chief’s house. They didn’t want to make their big sister worry. The two noticed the scared looks she kept giving to their direction. And they believed she was just being a good big sister, worrying the fact that the two (Pip was soon revealed to suffer the same ailment) had these tiny crystals growing on their arms. At first, they were scared of the fact, but the crystals didn’t even itch, so they quickly got over it, believing that whatever disease caused it, it would eventually be cured as long as they continued taking their big sister’s super amazing and special potion as she had instructed.

Felicia, still in denial, followed along with them. She went all around the village to look for them, all with a forced smile on her face. On the way, she met with the villagers—people whom she had “cured” with her potion, and they all thanked her for it with smiles on their faces.

She could only lie to them in response.

After multiple rounds of the activity that was only interrupted by their humble lunch, Felicia was, as always, declared the victor, as she never failed to find a single one of them. However, hiding time wise, Aaron had won. He managed to elude his big sister for a good hour and a half, as he hid inside a stack of hay and then fell asleep there and then, giving Felicia quite the unfortunate scare. After that, they all returned back to their house. The sun was already sinking on the horizon and, as usual, their mother wouldn’t want them to be out and about when the night fell onto them. They washed themselves, had their dinner, and then went to bed. There was not a single complaint coming from their mouths, a fact that only reinforced Felicia’s delusion that there was really nothing wrong with them.

Come the next morning, however, that delusion was promptly crushed by reality itself.

“I-it hurts… B-Big Sis… my chest…. I-it hurts so bad…”

"M-my stomach… it… it's burning, Sis…"

Aaron and Pip were the first to suffer. The two cried profusely as the former clutched his chest and the latter held his stomach.

_N-no… this can't… this can't be happening!_

To Felicia who had been denying the truth, it was a wake-up call back to reality itself.

"H-here! Drink!" She gave them more of her potion. It was the only thing she could do in the situation, even though she knew it was completely useless. They didn't have any fever after all.

And then, she ran, ignoring the calls of her parents who were panicking just as badly as her.

_I-I have to… I have to ask Granny Yan for her help again!_

Even though she knew the alchemist had decided it was a lost cause.

_S-she can… she can fix this! Y-yeah, she can fix this for sure!_

Her eyes went wild as an eerie smile plastered her face.

She burst into the house. The old woman was sleeping on the couch. She shook her body to wake her up. No response.

And then, she realized just how cold her body was.

_N-no… Nonononono!_

She shook again, and again, and again, to no avail.

The old woman was dead. She had been shaking a corpse all along.

She stumbled backwards, tears pooling in her eyes.

Her only salvation… it had been taken from her.

\----------

After telling the village chief of Granny Yan's death, she tended to her two ailing brothers for the rest of the day, giving them comfort as much as she could. And by that, I mean giving them no comfort at all. No matter what she tried, what potions she brewed, there was nothing she could do to lift the pain they suffered.

Their eyes who begged for her help, and the eyes of the rest of her family who cried for them—they all judged her as a failure, not only as an alchemist, but also as an older sister.

_If only… if only I had learned my magic… dark magic… I might be able to do something for them…._

The voice of her mentor rang inside her head. Even if it meant making her be the one who suffered in their stead, she would do it. She didn't care if she had to sacrifice her soul for it, as dark mages often did.

And then, it happened.

"S-Sis, I-I can't… I can't breathe…"

"M-my stomach… i-it's… I'm going to… bluarghhh!"

Pip puked blood all over himself, while Aaron gasped for breath, wheezing and coughing as his body tried desperately to obtain more air inside his lungs.

After suffering for an entire day, their symptoms worsened all of a sudden. It was all too obvious to anyone that if they didn't get the help they desperately needed, they would no doubt perish from it. But what could their family do, other than to wait for the inevitable? Their Father and Mother had left the house, looking for any help they could get from their neighbors. When that wasn’t enough, the father left the village to run to Karkala for help.

And Felicia… Felicia could only sob and cry as her little brothers suffered. She wiped the blood and puke off Pip’s clothes, while she tried giving Aaron help by pumping her chest.

After half an hour of unending pain, they stopped moving.

Just like that, she had lost two of her siblings.

The horrified and pained look on them that was carved to their corpses, she would never forgive it for as long as she lived.

\---------

It didn't stop there. Oh no, it didn't. Fate was nowhere near finished with her.

The next to perish was her two other little brothers, Bryn and Elt. The former suffered from an awful headache while the latter found his neck to be covered entirely in crystals starting the next morning.

They didn't have time to bury Aaron and Pip, so they simply kept their body inside at the living room.

At this point, her mother declared that it had to be a plague, for the other villagers were suffering the same way. She begged Felicia to leave and run, even preparing a pouch of money and a bag of clothes for her.

The girl, of course, insisted on staying.

"There is nothing you can do here, you foolish girl!" Her mother yelled with tears. "You're the only one here who isn't infected so you shouldn't even be around us in the first place!"

"No Mother, I refuse to abandon Bryn and Elt! I've lost Aaron and Pip and I'm not going to lose them too! I'm immune to it because I'm a mage! That's what Granny Yan said!"

"Y-you? A-a mage? B-but how… we don't have any mage blood in our family!"

"I-I don't know either!"

The mother bit her lip. "Fine. You can stay. Normally, we'll celebrate for that, but now, we have to hold on until your father comes back with a healer."

Felicia nodded as she returned to caress and kiss Bryn's head, in the hope that it could calm his headache.

When the father returned, however, he didn't return with hope.

He told his wife how Karkala was being ravaged by the same plague, and that no healer was capable of curing it. And so he was told to return and savor the last moments he had with his family.

This realization broke his wife. She fainted then and there, just in time for him to catch her.

And Felicia, who overheard all that, could only cry once again.

\--------

Bryn and Elt passed away that night, just like Aaron and Pip. The former had a crystal piercing out of his skull while the latter had his little neck perforated by a ring of small crystals.

It didn't stop there. Her father and mother had fallen ill as well, with the former suffering from sudden blindness and the latter losing all feelings to her body, being unable to move even an inch.

Felicia tried to get help from the other villagers, but there wasn't a single one who wasn't infected. Only she remained healthy and uninfected.

She was alone.

She cursed her fate. She yelled to the Founder, asking her why it was only her who was given the gift of a mage. Why couldn’t it be one of her families instead? She didn’t need it. She would rather die with them and to live on her own with no one to love or be loved with.

She cried and cried and cried in her father’s embrace until she could cry no more. He was sitting in the living room, right where the corpses of his four children were.

“Shh, Felicia, my dear Felicia, listen to me,” he whispered. “Do not hate the gift the Founder has bestowed onto you. That only means you’re special, my dear. She has deemed you worthy to be saved compared to us.”

“W-worthy? B-but that’s stupid! How can she do that?! Why would she save me and me alone?! You and Mother and Aaron and the others… you all deserve to be saved more than me! I’ve done a lot of naughty things! I-I still remember when I slapped Aaron that one day! He cried from it!”

The father chuckled. “And he deserved it. He put bugs into your clothes as a prank, even though you have told him many times not to do it. After that, he treated you better, right?”

Gently, the man rubbed her back. He knew his death was inevitable so the least he could do was to make sure his daughter would be able to live once he was gone.

“Felicia, listen carefully. Your gift… the gift of a magus… use it well. The Founder… she must have chosen you for a reason. You, of all the people in our village. You, who are born to two people who don’t have a drop of mage blood inside them. So please, do not curse that gift. Once we’re gone, I want you to live the best life you could using that gift. I know, that with your diligence, one day, you will be a great mage—one that the whole Magocracy—no, the whole world—would acknowledge. You might even make it to the Council seat. If you’re talented enough, then they would welcome you for sure.”

Felicia remembered what her dead mentor had said. “The Council was not to be trusted”, and how this plague was brought into being by Vehta, one of its members and the mage that ruled over this province. She was about to tell him this fact, but relented. She didn’t want to ruin the belief of her father, not when he was like this. He had worked so hard all his life as a farmer, so that he could provide for the mages. What would he feel if she revealed it was all for naught, that the magelord he so admired was an evil man all along?

And so she held her tongue, falling silent as she couldn’t bear to agree with him.

"Seek Lord Garza. He's the mayor of Karkala. Go there and tell him about your plight. Since you're a mage, he should take you in."

"L-Lord Garza? But I'm just—"

"He's a kind and just ruler. He would not mistreat you, I'm sure of it." He flashed a comforting smile.

"A-alright…"

To beg help from someone she didn't know… she couldn't look forward to it. But it wasn't like she had any other choice. She had no other relatives, after all.

"Now go to your mother. She wants to speak with you, I'm sure of it."

Felicia nodded and moved herself to the bedroom. She then gently hugged the woman laying on the bed, tucking herself with her in the process.

"Dearie." She smiled. She could still move her head. It was only the rest of her body that was unresponsive. "Come closer. Oh, how I wish I can hug you right now."

"My dear, I want you to promise me one thing."

“P-promise, Mother?”

“That what happens now wouldn’t prevent you from looking for your own happiness. We all might die, leaving you all alone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy. You’re still young, so young. And you’re a mage too. Your future… I can see it… it will be very bright indeed. With your alchemy and magic talent, you will make your way up in the Magocracy. In one year, you would be ten, and then you’ll be able to enter the Magic Academy at Mira. They give out scholarships there, for those who have the talent but not the money to attend. My wish is for you to go there and learn. Learn and learn and learn as much as you could. Those who are learned in the ways of magic could go so very far in this kingdom of mages.”

Felicia kept her silence, listening to every word her mother was saying. For all she knew they could be the last she uttered.

“But, more importantly, you should look for a good man to be your husband.” She smiled. “Your father… he has been really good to me. So, I want you to find a man as kind as he is."

"M-mother, why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Felicia pouted with a blush, while at the same time teary-eyed as well.

“The witches in those fairytales… they’re all ladymages who never get married, aren’t they?” She let out a short giggle at her own joke. “I don’t want you to be like them, alright? I want you to have your own family. Being all alone in the world… no one deserves that fate.”

Alone.

Only now, as it loomed down over her, that she feared those words.

Sometimes, she would feel that her little house was too crowded, and how it would be nice to have her own room. She would also feel how her little brothers could be too tiring to take care of sometimes. Her mother wasn’t always there to keep them in line so that role had fallen to her.

If only… if only she could go back to those times… she would never complain about them, ever.

“Oh dear, you’re crying again. Please do not cry. You’re far prettier when you smile, you know. Just like your mother. If only I could pat your head… that always stops your tears…”

“...Mother! Mother! Please do not go, Mother!”

As her daughter buried her tear-filled face into her bosom, she realized just how painful it was for a mother not to be able to comfort her own daughter. It brought her to tears as well.

“Felicia…”

“Oh... “ She looked up, seeing her husband standing in the doorway. “Come, my dear. She needs you. In fact, let’s sleep together, just this time. Like the old days.”

Slowly, the blind man made his way to the bed, guided by the many years he had spent inside the small lodging. And then, he picked up Felicia, hugged her, before resting beside his wife, putting their daughter in-between them.

“There… there… let it all out… I won’t tell you not to cry, for you will not have anyone else to cry to.”

He patted her head, feeling the warmth of her daughter’s hair between his fingers. His only regret was not being able to see her face one last time before he’s gone.

Eventually, the little girl fell asleep, leaving only two of them awake. 

“Dear…” He heard his wife’s voice. “Now that she's asleep, can you please kiss me again? Oh, and hold my hand too. If I'm going to die, I want it with you by my side."

The man chuckled. "Now, my dear?"

"Yes, now. If not, I'm going to cry. This pain in my heart… only you can soothe it, my love."

He sighed. "You're right. I've been staying strong for Felicia's sake, but inside, I want to cry as well. Four sons dying in two days. And in such a horrible way too, from a plague that our mages cannot cure. What are the odds?"

"Do not blame yourself, my love," she replied. "We, powerless, magicless people, can only accept the cards given to us. But Felicia, she's different. She's going to outlive us and become a great mage."

"That would be nice," her husband replied with a smile. "Let us pray to the Founder that it comes true."

The two shared their one last kiss, before linking their hands together with Felicia in the middle.

When Felicia woke up the next morning, she woke up to the smiling faces of her beloved parents—smiles that they had kept even as crystals perforated the father's eyes and the mother's back.

Now, she was truly alone.

\---------

With the words of her parents ringing in her ears, she began her work.

Using a shovel she had procured, she began digging two large rectangular holes and four smaller ones.

Graves. She was digging the graves for her own family.

The rest of the village had gone quiet. They all had perished from the plague as well, leaving her as the only survivor.

It would be impossible for her to build a grave for everybody else. But, at the very least, she wanted to send her family to the afterlife in a proper manner, before she made her way to Karkala.

And so, using what strength a nine year old girl could muster, she stabbed the far end of the shovel into the dirt. Immediately she found that the process was harder than she expected.

She wasn’t going to give up though. She would give them the graves they deserved. It was the least she could do.

So, through the tears clouding her eyes, she continued her work.

It took her an entire day and night to finish the job. She collapsed on the dirt once she did, luckily not going into one of the holes she had built. When she woke up, she promptly returned back inside her home and carried the corpses of her family. One by one she did it, even if she had to drag her father and mother’s corpse on the dirt. Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten anything at all. Her mother had put some dried bread onto her travel bag, but she refused to eat it. It was for the road, not for when she was still here.

In retrospect, it was a miraculous feat, for a girl of her age to be able to do something like this on her own. But her determination had led her to do the impossible feat of climbing the mountain on her own and returning back safely. This was nothing compared to that.

First, she put Aaron and Pip side by side in their respective burial holes. The two had been dead for a while so they began to stink, but it didn’t bother her. In fact, ever since this day, the smell of corpses no longer bothered her in the slightest.

Then, it was Bryn and Elt's turn, an easy task knowing their light bodies.

Last but not least, her parents. She began with her mother, then her father, dragging them by their hands as strongly as she could. To make sure they fell properly, she pushed them instead once they were close to their holes. Still, they fell head first, with their arms and legs in awkward poses. She hated it, but it was the best she could do.

And then, after saying her goodbyes to them, she began the next step, bursting into tears as their faces disappeared forever under the dirt.

The process took her half a day, and when she finished, she wailed in front of their graves, promising them that she would not disappoint them, and that she would be a great mage when she grew older.

“Oho? What is this? A graveyard?”

“Seems to be freshly dug. Don’t tell me that little girl was the one who did it?”

“On her own? Don’t be silly. Unless she uses magic, it’s impossible.”

“Look. She’s the only survivor. That means she has the potential. Maybe she does use magic after all.”

Her tears only stopped when she heard voices coming from behind her.

It was an entourage of mages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to FailerQt on Scribblehub for being my first donator. You made me get this chapter out faster.
> 
> Yes, I'm taking donations now. Here. https://ko-fi.com/forestdweller
> 
> It's to get money for requesting artwork commissions. Currently, an artwork for teenage-aged Sherry is in the works, and donators would get to see the artwork earlier. It's still on the sketch stage currently.


	160. The Girl Named Felicia Myne (Part 4)

_M-Mages?_

They were a group of men and women, numbering at five, standing at some distance away from her. Felicia warily stood up, taking a step backwards. They wore brown robes, the kind that magicians liked to wear. And attached to their belts were holsters for their wands, proving to her that they were indeed mages. Not native to the village, obviously, as there weren’t any mage residents here.

“Oh look, you’re scaring her.” One of the women threw a short glare to one of her companions. “Hey, little one!” She put up an awfully obvious fake smile as she walked closer to her. “Don’t be afraid! We don’t bite! We’re just officials from Karkala, here to check on the plague. And as you no doubt already know, this whole place has been infected by it. Except for you, that is.” Her smile suddenly became a lot more genuine. “You are a mage, aren’t you? Or a mage hatchling, someone who simply has the potential, but not the training. I don’t know how there’s a mage child all the way out in these boonies, but I suppose you’ll have to come with us.”

Felicia took another step backwards. She looked as if she was ready to bolt into a sprint at any time.

“Those graves behind you… they’re your family, aren’t they? I happened to overhear your wailing when we’re walking here. What a shame. None of them shared your potential even though they shared your blood.”

The way she talked about her dead relatives so dismissively… it immediately made the little girl hate her.

“So come. We’ll take you to Karkala. The Lord is always interested in budding young mages such as you.”

“T-The Lord? You mean, Lord Garza?”

“Correct.” The lady smiled. “I see your parents have taught you well.”

Felicia thought to herself. She was supposed to see him, right? So she should be going with them. The road could be dangerous after all. And she might get lost in the city. Even though she disliked this lady, she should still go with her.

“A-alright. I-I’ll come with you.”

“Perfect. Then wait there with my colleagues.” She gestured to the other mages.

She nodded, warily walking to where she had instructed her to. She was greeted by a smile from an older-looking, bushy-bearded gentleman.

“Hello, little one. Your name?”

“F-Felicia, Sir.”

“Ah, Felicia. That’s a good name. A good name indeed.”

When she turned to see the woman she had just spoken to, she flinched from the two large hands that suddenly rested themselves on her shoulders. She looked behind her and saw the man smiling at her. Perhaps he was trying to comfort her, but somehow, it only made her more anxious instead.

“Now boys, we have a job to do.” The woman spoke.

The rest of the mages walked forward, leaving only the old man to keep Felicia company.

When Felicia saw that they brought their wands out, she immediately knew something was wrong. She lurched forward, only to find that the man was keeping her in place.

They began chanting. She didn’t know what the words meant, but why were they doing it in front of her graves?

And then, they aimed their wands right at said graves.

“Earth Rise!”

What happened next shocked her to the core.

The graves she had dug so hard… were destroyed in just a single spell.

Platforms burst out from each hole, carrying with them the corpses of her family.

“NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

She struggled to free herself from her handler’s grasp with all her strength, but it was completely futile. His grip was simply too strong for her.

“GET AWAY FROM THEM!”

“Relax.” The woman turned back with a smile to face her. “You don’t need their corpses anymore, do you? The Mana crystals growing inside them… they would provide great value for this province, so we’re taking them. And besides, you’re a mage, aren’t you? You should stop being so attached to your old, non-mage family.”

Felicia remembered the words of her mentor. “The mages of this country do not care about the lives of the non-mages in the slightest.” She thought she was just exaggerating, but now—now she witnessed it, and suffered from it. 

Anger filled her chest. Power surged inside her. It was the same power she felt when she had to fight against that wolf back on the mountain.

She gathered that power to her palm. She had to protect her family, no matter the cost.

Only for the man to punch her on the head.

She was knocked down with that single blow. The man barely reduced his own strength. He could sense the mana brimming inside her and how she was going to cast a spell to attack him.

Gone were his smiling visage. He was now looking at her with a grim, disappointed look.

“Ha, that’s a feisty one alright.” The woman chuckled. “Alright boys, like usual, store them in your dimensional pockets. As for the kid, drug her with some anti-magic drug and tie her up.”

“N-no, please… I beg of you… Don't take them away…"

To their surprise, Felicia remained conscious. She had fallen face first to the dirt, and now, she was slowly lifting herself up, only to find that her arms and legs refused to cooperate.

“Father… Mother… Aaron.. Pip… Byrn… Elt… please… let them rest… d-don’t—don’t defile their bodies…”

The woman responded by a roll of her eyes.

“Defile? Ha! There’s nothing to defile here! They’re dead! We’re not like those superstitious fools at the Holy Continent who believed a grave is sacred! We ran only by logic and wisdom here, not some belief in some morals bestowed by a higher being. The only morals a mage should have is the desire for more knowledge. And these crystals… Lord Vehta is going to use it for exactly that—a far better purpose than just to let them rot in the ground.”

“L-Lord Vehta…” Felicia replied weakly, tears in her eyes. “Did he… did he really cause this plague?”

Hearing her words, a scowl formed on the woman’s face. She walked right towards her and threw a kick at her face, sending the girl rolling on the ground a good few steps away.

“How dare you accuse him of such a thing, you stupid child?! If you want someone to blame, then blame your ancestors for being mindless monkeys who can’t cast magic! Yes, I see it now! You’re one of those mutants who by sheer luck managed to obtain the talent to use magic! You’re not one of us true magicians who shared the blood of the Founder!”

Felicia could barely hear her voice. Weak from the fasting she had been doing, combined with the blows she had received, she was hanging on a thin thread, barely holding on into her consciousness.

And yet, she still tried to rise up. With her small body, she slowly stood up, to the surprise of the mages.

“I-it’s true… E-everything she said… i-it’s true…” She wavered, nearly tumbling down to the side. “T-the mages… protecting us… i-it’s all… it’s all a lie…” She reached out her right palm. With whatever strength she had left, she gathered her mana for another spell. "I won't… I won't let you take them… I will protect—Aaaahhh!"

Before she could finish her words, one of the mages fired a lightning spell at her. It electrocuted her, not enough to do any lasting harm, but enough to knock her out for good.

The woman mage fired a glare of annoyance at the perpetrator, who was a man with a goatee and a bored look.

"You're getting too heated up, Larisa." He spoke. "You even spoke too much. We're supposed to keep this whole operation a secret, you know."

"Hmph." The woman threw her arms and shrugged. "These filthy non-mages don't know what's good for them. They're lucky we let them live in our land, considering what they did to the Founder."

The history taught to the people born in the Magocracy was that before the nation existed, magic users were persecuted by those without it. Only after Mira repelled the Demon God that magic slowly became more accepted and commonplace. She brought up magic users to be just as powerful as martial artists who could cut their opponents in a blink of an eye, by simplifying the chants and categorizing it into levels so it would be easier for her subjects to learn.

"That was a millenia ago." The man sighed. "I truly don't understand your obsession with her. For an outsider, you sure are quick to act like a native."

"And this, coming from another outsider like yourself."

The two were originally adventurers who were born on other kingdoms. They had become citizens of the Magocracy, after being recruited into becoming Vehta's underlings. They were paid well and given the same privileges as natives who held the same position. And the woman—she had forgotten her origin, believing herself to be a pure-blooded Magocracy citizen. After all, she was a mage, and the Magocracy welcomed all mages.

"Alright, everyone. Finish up here. And someone please carry that child. I'm not touching her."

The other mages followed her words. The burly man ended up being the one responsible for Felicia.

And thus ended the first chapter of her life, with her entire family dead and their graves being desecrated in the name of the Magocracy.

The veil covering her eyes had been lifted. There was no going back to her old, ignorant self.

From that day on, the old Felicia Myne, the daughter of a simple farmer, was gone.

Now, she was Felicia Myne, the girl who held vengeance and suffering in her heart.

\----------

When she woke up, she was in a completely different location to where she once was.

The first thing she noticed was the ceiling above her. It was a wooden one, made out of shiny mahogany that only the rich could afford.

The next thing she noticed was the bed she was sleeping under. It was soft and fluffy, far different from the straw bed she was used with.

She slowly sat up, where she saw how she was wearing a completely different dress. No longer was she wearing the patch-filled dull-colored dress, she was now wearing a dress of pure white. The fabric felt so much softer than her old dress. And it smelt much better too, as it was perfumed with a pleasant flowery scent. She kicked the blanket off her body, revealing her one-piece dress to be reaching down her knees.

Bewildered, she looked around: a fireplace, with a lit fire; two bookcases; a red carpet covering the floor; and many paintings of nature decorating the walls.

It came to her at last. She was in some rich person’s room. 

“Good. You’re finally awake.”

She jumped. She had failed to notice the person sitting behind her, right beside her bed.

It was a young woman with long, black hair wearing a blue maid’s outfit, complete with the white cap and apron. Her dark eyes caught with hers, and immediately she pinned her as someone stern, just from the sharp way she was returning her gaze.

“Welcome to the residence of Lord Garza.” Her blank face suddenly transformed into a light smirk. “Congratulations. He has taken an interest in you and he’s willing to accept you as a servant.”

“L-Lord Garza?”

The last thing she saw was the faces of those vile mages, and the lightning bolt that struck her from the side. She was about to fire a spell at them to—

“Father! Mother! T-their bodies! I-I have to stop them!”

She leaped off her bed and ran straight to the door

Only for her to lose her balance and trip, as a pair of cuffs made out of hardened soil bound her ankles together.

“Earth Cuffs. A good method to keep ungrateful young girls like you in place.”

It was the maid. She had pulled out a wand from her apron’s pocket and fired the Beginner-level Earth spell at her.

With a disgusted look, as if she was looking at a roach, she walked towards the girl; her boots’ steps absorbed by the carpet. She then fired another pair of earthen cuffs, tying her hands together this time.

“Let me go! Let me go! I have to— I have to—”

“Silence, girl,” she scolded her. “If it weren’t for Milord’s kindness, I would have been more severe than this. Your family is gone. And there’s nothing you can do for them. Now, it’s your duty to repay Milord by devoting your life to him.”

And yet, Felicia continued struggling. She even tried to wiggle her way towards the door like a snail, anything to get out from this place.

Of course, it was to no avail, as the maid picked her up with one hand and pushed her down on the bed.

“You are a mage, are you not? Then, once you are older, you shall serve him as one of his personal maids, just like me. He shall grant you education befitting of your status, something that your poor family could only dream of.”

“Don’t you talk about my family like that!”

Felicia sent her a glare like she never sent before, but the maid was not impressed. Her brown eyes remained cold and dispassionate. And yet again, that disgusted expression returned, as if she was looking at a rabid dog only fit to be put down by its owner.

“You shall learn propriety and manners. You shall learn how to speak and write. You shall learn how to serve. And of course, you shall learn how to do magic as well. Unless you wish to join those scullery maids in their filthy and menial tasks.”

Felicia barely listened to what she had to say, as she had started to cry once again.

“Stop your tears. Milord will prefer you to face him with a smile. Calm and ready yourself. I shall call for Milord and he would no doubt wish to meet with you right away.”

The maid then turned and left the room, not bothering to undo the cuffs that locked Felicia’s hands and feet together.

The moment she closed and locked the doors behind her, the fiery-haired girl immediately tried to free herself from her chains. Alas, the cuffs were tougher than they looked. The maid was a capable Earth mage and she would not be beaten by the strength of a nine-year old girl.

She then thought of just crawling her way out of the door, but she knew she wouldn’t get far without her legs. And so, she could only stay there, sobbing at how weak and useless she was. Not only had she failed to save her family and village, she had failed to keep their rest from being disturbed as well.

For what seemed like an eternity later, she heard a click on the door.

And then, it opened, revealing a tall gentleman behind it. If she had to guess, he was around his late forties or early fifties. He wore a set of aristocratic-looking clothes, consisting of a brown jacket with a long coat tail, a white shirt beneath it, and a pair of brown trousers. He also wore a cravat, and she could see a handkerchief poking out from his chest pocket. He had a bushy sideburn on his slightly wrinkled face, connected together at his short beard in the middle. He didn’t wear a hat, though she could imagine a top hat being a good fit for him.

“Esteena! What is the meaning of this? Why are you cuffing her like that?” His smile immediately turned into a scowl once he took notice of Felicia’s condition.

“Apologies, Milord.” The maid placed her hands in the front of her skirt before bowing. “She rudely tried to escape thus necessitating this treatment."

"Bah, you really don't know how to handle a kid, do you? Release her at once!" He ordered with a booming voice.

"Of course, Milord."

She bowed again before making a horizontal flick with her wand, disintegrating the cuffs immediately into dust.

Noticing that she was free, Felicia didn't hesitate. Once again, she tried to make a run for the door, only this time, the man was the one who swept her off her feet and stopped her in her tracks.

"Whoa, hold it right there, little lady!" He chuckled. "Where are you going?"

"Let me go! I'm going to save my family!” Felicia tried to free herself by hitting and kicking whatever body parts he could reach, to the man’s amusement.

“Your family? What are you talking about? Aren’t they all dead?”

“They are! But those evil mages stole their bodies! I have to return them back to their graves!”

“Ah, them!” His mouth formed a grin, showing off his pearly white teeth. “They’re already long gone though! You’re unconscious for quite some time after all! And you shouldn’t say they’re evil! They brought you here after all!”

Seeing that the little girl wasn’t giving up, the man shook her head. “I see why Esteena had to do that to you. You’re still in shock. Poor girl. To hallucinate like this, your trauma must be great indeed.”

“H-hallucinate? It wasn’t a hallucination! I saw them with my own eyes! With their magic, they dug up the graves of my family! I tried to stop them but I couldn’t do anything!”

“Tsk tsk tsk, what would they gain by doing that? Their job is to seek out survivors of the plague, not to be gravediggers!”

“L-Lord Vehta! He—he wants to use the corpses for his magic research! A-and he was the one who spread the plague as well!

“Oh dear, that’s not a very nice thing to say.” He shook his head again. “I owe a lot to him. He’s just an old man, albeit a bit eccentric. He would never do something so terrible, especially to his own people.”

“Shut up! You are a liar, just like the rest of this country’s mages! I’m not going to believe in your lies anymore!”

She ended her outrage-filled speech by spitting at the old man’s face. Naturally, that immediately drew the maid’s ire.

“How dare you! I should shear your tongue and—”

“It’s alright, Esteena. This girl… she just needs to be comforted, that’s all. Leave us.”

“But Milord, she’s—”

“Do not make me repeat myself. Leave us.”

That command, combined with the glare he gave her, was enough to make the maid surrender.

“...Very well. If, that is what you wish…”

She gave another, reluctant bow before exiting the room, leaving the two of them on their own.

“Well, now that the evil witch is gone…”

The old man placed Felicia back on the bed before sitting right beside her, causing the bed to sag and croak a little from his weight. Still with his gentle smile, he rested his left hand on her thighs, causing the poor girl to flinch. “You can tell me everything, alright? No holding back now. You’re now part of our family after all.”

Felicia didn’t know what to think. Looking at his smile, and the way he had been treating her, she couldn’t help but feel she could trust him. He was just as gentle as his father and even though he was a lord mage, he didn’t treat her like that maid or those evil mages from before. The only thing that differed was how big his stature was compared to the lanky and beardless man.

But then, he said that she was just hallucinating. But there was no way that could be the case! She saw it all happened herself! With her own eyes! She even remembered how she got kicked and punched and even electrocuted by them! Was he just lying to her, trying to deceive her just like the other mages?

"Come now, what's with the silence?"

"A-alright…"

It wasn't like she had any other choice. She wouldn't be able to run away.

And so she regaled him her tale, telling him everything that had befallen her. However, she omitted the truth her mentor had told her. She didn't think it was a good idea to say all that anti-mage sentiment to a mage, especially one as influential as him.

"I see. You've been through so much, my little angel…"

To her surprise, he lifted her up and made her sit on her lap.

"But don't worry. Everything will be fine, now that you’re with Daddy Garza.”

And then, he licked her right earlobe, sending shivers all across her body. _W-what? What is he—_

"Relax, my angel. Don't look so terrified. A girl is always cuter when she smiles, you know."

His left hand then went to her chest, groping the two nubile peaks beneath her dress.

_H-he's—_

Fear gripped her small heart. She didn't understand it, but she knew what he was doing wasn't right.

"W-what are you—"

"Shh, I told you to relax, didn't I?”

She could feel his warm breath behind her right ear. She tried to move, to run away, but his grip on her remained strong, far beyond what she could fight against.

He began chewing and gnawing on her earlobe. She could feel something hard pressing into her thighs from underneath her.

“N-no! Stop! Stay away!”

Once again, she struggled to free herself, pushing him away and pulling herself off him with all her might. Alas, his strength remained too much, even as she kicked him over and over with her feet. She even tried to use her magic, but she found she was unable to do so.

“Oh, my feisty little angel… Do you have to make this harder than it should be?”

With a laugh she would never forget, he pushed her down to the bed before he yanked her dress off.

What happened next… would remain in her nightmares for the rest of her days.

\--------

And so began the next stage of Felicia Myne’s life, as a prisoner of the mage lord Garza.

Oh, she wasn't chained or confined into a room like a normal prisoner. She was free to walk around his mansion as much as she wanted. And unlike what the maid said, she wasn't even forced to work around the house. The mage lord had declared her to be his adopted daughter, and thus, she was to be treated appropriately by the servants.

However, she was not allowed to leave the mansion without supervision. She tried to run many times but every single time she would be caught by her supervisors, usually the maids and butlers attending to her. They were nice and respectful to her, but ultimately, their loyalty was to their Master.

And, whenever her "father" wanted to meet her in his room, she had to comply. And every time, once he was finished with her, she would cry herself to sleep, as she prayed and begged the Founder to save her.

And when she refused, a servant would come and drag her there. Usually, the task fell to that sour-faced maid. She lectured her on how she had to be grateful to him and to stop being so selfish.

She knew. She and the other servants—they all knew.

And yet, none saw anything wrong with it. To them, their master was a superior being, and it was the duty for an inferior being like her to satisfy all his wishes, even his bedroom desires.

In public, the mage lord was a popular and benevolent ruler. But in private, he enjoyed the company of all sorts of females, from an older maid of his age to a young girl like her. He would grope and tease his maids freely even during the day, and they would respond with a joyful "Kyaaahh!" and "Aaahnn!"

It made her sick to her stomach.

And yet, she had no choice. She had to bear with it. Even if she could kill him or run away, preferably both, she would only end up ruining the only path she had to her dream.

To fulfill the wishes of her father and mother, who wanted to see her grow as a great mage.

To reveal the truth with her own hands and to seek revenge for her family’s death.

And, to prevent anyone from having to go through what she had suffered.

To accomplish those goals, she needed him. She needed him and his power; his influence; his wealth. Esteena said that if she were good, he might send her to the Academy. And that’s exactly what she needed.

And so she dried her tears. She would hold the bile in her stomach and act just like those maids towards him. She would become his favorite, manipulating him to give her what she wanted.

No one would save her. Not him, not his servants, and certainly not the Founder, whom she stopped praying to entirely since that day. The only person she could rely upon was herself. She and the talent she was bestowed upon.

And thus was born the new Felicia Myne, the dark seductress and future necromancer.


	161. Hugo’s Oath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The commission for Sherry's picture is finished. If you are interested for an early viewing, you can donate on my Ko-Fi and I'll send you the picture. Just PM me when you did.
> 
> https://ko-fi.com/forestdweller

**Hugo**

I was speechless.

To think that she had been through that much…

My suffering… it was nothing compared to hers…

If it was me, I would’ve lost it for sure...

“A-and then, what happened afterwards?”

“What happened?” She returned with a laugh, followed by a grim smile. “Once I secured his promise to send me to the Academy, I killed him. With my very own poison that I brewed myself. None of them knew I was an alchemist as well. And not only that, I framed that sour-faced maid for it. You should’ve seen her crying face as she begged to the authorities that she didn’t do it. She tried to accuse me back, but as I was already a full-blown adopted daughter of that man, not to mention me being a young and innocent girl, nobody believed her.”

Her grim smile widened, making it even creepier than before.

“They executed her publicly the next month, right before I left for the Academy. Her punishment? Being drawn and quartered. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to attend, to see her scream in pain in her last moments."

She let out a soft laugh.

“Was it evil? Yes. It was revenge. I hated her with all my might back then. Do you know what she would say to me over and over again? ‘Devote your life, body, and soul to Lord Garza'. She never listened to my plight, how painful and scared I was when he defiled me. It wasn't just me too. There were others—young adventurers who were told to work with him. He imprisoned them in the dungeon and used them before disposing of their bodies. The Guild never sent an official investigation. Heh, they were no doubt under his control as well."

The carriage's wheels hit a bump on the road, pausing her speech for a bit as she recollected her thoughts, her somber expression returning.

"...Tell me, Milord. Was it wrong for me to kill him? As a mayor, he was a good ruler that cared for his subjects. He would mingle with them and listen to their complaints. And after his passing, with no heir as he couldn't produce offsprings, the town was given another ruler by Vehta. He was a weak and inept ruler, thus the town fell in prosperity as a result."

"That's…"

"Esteena said that a ruler deserved privileges that a subject deserved not. He could bed anyone he wished, as long as the town of Karkala ran smoothly under his charge. Just like how a subject paid taxes to her ruler, so they should not complain if said ruler forced her to his bed. She should be honored instead. So, tell me, Milord. Should I be honored that my virtue was taken by him?"

"No. No, you shouldn't."

The words came flying out of my mouth.

I couldn't help it. For her to even entertain the idea, somehow, it made me boil with rage.

"He's not a good person. Just because you're a good ruler doesn't mean you're a good person as well. If I were in your position, I would kill him as well."

A monster that r*pes children. I might be a citizen of this world now, but my modern Japanese sensibility could never let that slide.

"No, I wouldn't, actually." I added with a chuckle. "I am nowhere near as clever as you are. I would be a coward that just obeyed his will for my own safety. Hell, I might even delude myself, to accept that sickening philosophy that maid professed."

"T-that just means you are a good person, Milord! Better than I could ever be! Ever since that day, I turned wicked and evil, but you, who have a more righteous soul than mine, would not be broken by it!”

I broke into a laugh.

“How many times do I have to say this? I am not a good person at heart. I am a cowardly, perverted bastard, just like that Garza character is. I’m just better at keeping that perversion in check. Look, even now, I’m stealing glances at those milky white thighs of yours, barely covered by your robes.”

The ex-necromancer turned crimson, fixing her robe so it would cover more of her flesh. I chuckled at the sight. That was surprisingly cute.

"And that is a sign that you're just a pure maiden at heart." I gave her a grin 

"No! There's nothing pure about me! How can you say that?! I've offered my body to multiple men before!" She let out an exasperated sigh. “Here. Let me continue my story. So you can really see what a vile woman I have become.”

Her melancholic stare returned as she resumed her story.

"After Garza's death, and me being accepted at the Academy, I moved to live there as a student. His estate might have paid for my tuition, but only for the first year. For the rest, I had to provide my own funds, as his relatives refused to facilitate my education further. Thankfully, I managed to prove myself worthy for a scholarship, thanks to my ability as an alchemist. That, and my talent in the dark arts. As for my living expenses, I provided it by working as an adventurer.”

She paused for a bit, looking upwards at a slowly darkening horizon. The sun was setting behind us. Soon, we would have to set up camp.

“I lived like that for six years, trying to keep myself away from the eyes of the Magocracy as much as I could. I saw what they did to mages they believed to be especially talented, and since my talent was only in alchemy, they weren’t that interested in me. Still, I received some bullying nonetheless, especially from that girl who was gravely jealous of me when I beat her in her alchemy lessons. Let’s see… What was her name again? Merinda or something?”

_Wait, Merinda? That’s the name of—_

“Hey, I’ve heard that name!” I spoke out, interrupting her. “She was the bully who tormented Marina when she attended the academy!”

"Marina?" She raised her eyebrows.

"My big sister. She used to attend the academy as well."

"...Ah, I think I know whom you're talking about. In my last years there, there was this one girl who got treated especially bad by her. To think that she's your big sister…" She laughed coldly. "I used to think she was an idiot, to be stubborn enough to flaunt her talent in the open like that. I was even glad she took Merinda's attention away from me. I never bothered to help her. Shows just how much of a selfish coward I was." She paused, staring at the distance before turning to face me. "You say you're a selfish coward. Then I am as well. Perhaps even worse, as I never helped her in the end, unlike you, Milord. So cheer up and stop being so hard on yourself."

I fell silent. I didn't know what to say.

"...Marina, she's a strong person, far stronger than I am. She went through those two years with a smile. As her little brother, I am proud to have her as my big sister."

"And yet, I betrayed her."

I then told her everything about the kidnapping incident, emphasizing my cowardice on running away instead of facing her and begging forgiveness for my failure.

When I finished, Felicia's fists were clenched, and she had a mixture of sadness and anger on her expression.

"Another family… destroyed by the Magocracy… I'll never forgive them… But you, Milord… you should forgive yourself. As one who used to be a big sister herself, I know she would have forgiven you."

"Yeah, she has," I replied with a shameful smile. "She came to my dreams, telling me to go to where she was and how she and Erika had forgiven me."

"Ah, a Dream Orb. That's not an easy thing to find," she commented with a smile. "I'm happy for you, Milord. You still have a family to return to."

_Unlike her._

"...O-oh no!" Her voice suddenly went into panic. "By saving me, you have doomed your family too! The Church will be after them as well!”

I sighed. “I know that. Ilymhrra warned me as much. But, I couldn’t just let them have you. Not after what they did with Leila. I did it not out of some clear-minded sense of heroism, but out of simple rage.”

“T-then they should go to the Demon Continent as well, where the Church couldn’t find them! But you don’t have any Dream Orbs you could use to send the message, do you? Curses! Getting one is no easy matter too!”

“Relax.” I gave her a comforting smile. “I used a fake name and background all this time. They wouldn’t know who I really am or where my family is.”

“A-ah, right… but still… eventually…”

“Eventually, I wish to confront them. Just like I will confront the Magocracy. I will become even stronger, strong enough to win against their best warriors. Then they would have no chance other than to leave me and my family alone.”

“C-Confront them? A-and the Magocracy too?”

I nodded. “I’ve resolved myself. To free myself from my past, I need to go back there. I will train myself in the art of magic and sword, so I may triumph against their Grandmaster-level magicians in a fair and honest fight, no matter how long it may take. I will kick them off the peak of that mountain and make a proper grave for Father and Mother.”

“And, after hearing what they did to you and your family, I’ll pay a visit to Vehta and make him pay for his crimes. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” I sent her a smile. “...Ah, but you probably won’t believe my words. For someone who was too cowardly to save a little girl from her death, it’s impossible to imagine he would be brave enough to take an entire nation on his own, let alone two.”

“T-that’s not true! You’re still young yet you’re already this strong! Ten years, no, five years! Just five years more and you would already grow up to be a strong and brave man, I’m sure of it!”

I chuckled. “Heh, let’s just hope so.”

I looked at the terrain ahead of us. Still more grassy hills with no end in sight. I looked for some landmark we could have a shelter on, as we were rapidly approaching the night.

“I’ve heard Marina talk about you, you know, as the necromancer who slew Merinda and a bunch of her underlings. I believe the incident happened during her second year at the Academy.”

“Which would be the sixth and final year of my time there,” she followed. “I could’ve graduated peacefully, if not for them discovering that I had been practicing necromancy in my free time. Yes, I suppose I should tell you how I seduced my own teacher to give me access to the forbidden section of the library, allowing me to steal the necromancy book written by the Necromancer King himself. It was all too easy. The old pervert already had his eyes on the more attractive female students in his class. And since, by that time, I was sixteen, I already had these full hips and breasts you are seeing now. Using them, I charmed him and slept with him. I didn’t even hesitate. I viewed my body as just another tool I could use to achieve my goals.” She paused, a forced grin on her face. “And so I closed myself from my secret dream, to marry a good man and have a family, just like my parents wanted. No good man would want to touch a girl who readily sold her body, unless she’s in a pleasure house.” She chuckled.

... _She’s right. I can’t imagine myself ever wanting to start a relationship with a woman like that. My old self would have called her names like a slut, a whore, or the classic 3D pig moniker._

_And yet, seeing her like this, I don’t even have any disgust towards her. There is only pity._

_Heh, it’s not like I am in any position to be sanctimonious, Mr. “let-a-little-girl-die-because-he’s-too-afraid”._

“I ran away, took care of my pursuers with a clever trap involving poisonous gas that they fell right for, and crossed the ocean. Once I landed on this continent, I gathered information, looking for a powerful figure I could seduce in exchange for his protection. I found Fiania, presented myself to that old creep, and once again, gave my body to him. No, not just that. My soul as well. Before I killed him and made him a zombie, I had to pretend to love him every single day, even in bed. No matter how much it wanted to make me puke, I could only bear it.”

Suddenly, the carriage stopped. She turned herself to face me fully. To my surprise, there were tears pooling in the corner of her hazel eyes.

“If… ignoring the fact that you already have a girl you love, I ask you to make me your wife… Would you—would you accept me, Milord?!”

...A love confession. That was **not** what I expected in the slightest.

...No, in retrospect, I should’ve known she was smitten by me, just from the way she acted when I left her back at that mountain.

I don’t know why. It’s the same with Anne and Amelie. I don’t really know what they saw on me. I might have saved them, but that’s not a good enough reason for a girl to fall in love with a man, is it? Not to mention how I’m still young like this. I’m growing in height for sure and my voice is getting deeper by the way, but I’m still more of a kid than a man. And now, I have a woman who’s a lot older than me be interested in me like this. Perhaps she’s just a natural cougar, thanks from the trauma of losing her little brothers?

...No, it doesn’t matter what her reason is. In any case involving love, honesty is the best policy.

And I know how I feel towards her.

“...Yes, perhaps I would. Like I’ve said, you’re an attractive woman, and I would love to have you warming my bed. And I don’t think you’re a bad woman either. I believe you can achieve redemption, and I would be happy to accompany you in that journey.”

A smile blossomed in her face. “M-Milord, then—”

“But, like you said before, I already have Sherry, and my obligation is to her, first and foremost. And she would not like me having another girl by my side.”

“I-I'm fine with being the second wife! O-or the third wife! Just let me be with you!"

She took my hands and held it with her hands. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

I released my hands and looked away. "You shouldn't say that. You'll only regret it if you force yourself to be my wife. I can't imagine a woman that's happy with sharing their beloved with another. You can do better than a kid like me."

"No, I can't! There's no one else like you! You think there will be another out there who's willing to save a filthy necromancer like me?" She yelled back, waving her right hand to the side. I could now sense anger permeating her voice.

"... I understand. I'm too filthy for you, aren't I? No good man would want to marry a dirty whore like me. Not to mention how old I am compared to you. Men like younger women after all…"

"That's not true. There are many men out there who chase after older, more experienced women."

"Like you, Milord?"

_...Oh great, I just stepped on a mine._

_Gotta be honest._

I shook my head. "No, I prefer girls of my own age."

And just like that, I had mentally punched her in the face.

"I-I see… So it is my age… Aha...ahahaha…"

_Uh oh, she starts to laugh all weird now._

"Look. You're still beautiful. You're in your twenties, right? You can't call yourself old at that age. With your large boobs and killer thighs, you can easily snag any men you want. Trust me." I gave her a smile.

"I know that!" She yelled back. "But who I want is you and you alone! Curse you and your faithfulness! You’re attracted to me, right? Then use me as much as you want! Like this!”

And then, she did something completely unthinkable.

She stood up and yanked down her panties in one fell swoop, before lifting her dress upwards, revealing her womanhood right in front of my virgin eyes.

My jaw dropped and I sat there staring at her perfectly trimmed labia.

It lasted only for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity, before she let her dress fall down, covering her flower once more.

“See? Look at your pants! They’re bulging like that! You might look young but you’re as much as a horndog like any of those men I have seduced!”

With a sigh, I shifted my legs, hiding my boner from her. "You know what? If you want to be my wife so badly, then you have to speak to Sherry and ask for her permission."

"D-does this mean that you're interested in me after all?" She clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, yeah, I've said it before, haven't I? You're a good-looking woman I wouldn't mind bedding," I replied with a light blush, averting my gaze. "And the way you took care of Leila, and how you begged for her life and cried when she died, I found that admirable. And attractive as well, since I do have a certain fondness of the motherly type," I added with a light chuckle.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Milord! I promise, I’ll reform myself and be the woman you wanted me to be!”

She leaped onto me, burying my face in her cleavage.

I could only sigh once again as I enjoyed the feelings of supple warmth and fullness and the nice feminine scent she emanated. 

_Sorry Sherry. Once again I’ve inadvertently made a girl fall for worthless old me. And this time, it seems I’ll be taking her all the way with me to your place._

_If you don’t like her, then that’s fine. I won’t touch her. But I won’t abandon her either. I just have a hunch that if I leave her on her own again, she’ll get even crazier than before. That, or she would end up taking her own life._

_She’s lonely. Just like you used to be. And I wish to be her friend at the very least, to alleviate that loneliness, even if just a tiny bit. And I wish for you to be her friend as well. In exchange, I’ll give you all the loving you want, so you would never grow jealous of her. That I swear._

_...Oh, who am I kidding? After I told her what had transpired, she would grow to hate me for sure. Not just her, but Marina and Erika as well._

_Once again, I’ve proven my cowardice. And this time, a little girl paid the price._

_...I’m fine with that. That is the punishment I deserve. If you no longer want me in your life, then so be it. You’ll never see me again._

With a grim smile, I imagined a future of me and Felicia living together on our own. _It’s not that bad, isn’t it, to do it every night with a busty redhead?_

I chuckled. _I really am a worthless pervert._

I moved my right hand and began patting the back of her head.

_Then I’ll be the best damn pervert a man can be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this Necromancer arc, I believe. That took longer than I expected. Feels like it's as long as the childhood arc.
> 
> Next chapter would be an extra chapter involving Fiora. And after that, I'm not sure if I should move on to the next arc immediately, starring Sherry, or I should add more Marina chapters first.
> 
> And here's a pic you can use as a reference to how Felicia looks as a kid.


	162. Fiora’s Tale — The Gates of Galahad (Start of the Myriad Tales Arc)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the start of the next arc begins!
> 
> This is what I would call a side arc of sorts, since it just consists of small story arcs involving characters that aren't Hugo. Well, mainly Sherry.
> 
> Thanks for FailerQt over at Scribblehub for editing this chapter!

**Fiora**

_Hmph, that’s the bridge? I expected something more.. daunting. I would even settle for more pompous, but alas._

Behind all the towering greenery and white mist obstructing my sight, lied one of the three bridges that the Galahad Order was renowned for. If my memory is correct, as it always has been, it was baptized as Solum Bridge. It was the First of Three Bridges, separating the Five Sword Shrines of the Order of Galahad. Each shrine was located on a plateau of a great mountain, and at the utmost peak, was where the Sword Goddess herself resided.

It was not some mammoth-sized diamond bridge or a gem-encrusted golden bridge like those you would often hear about in fairy tales. No.. it was a simple, unpretentious wooden bridge, wide enough for two carriages to cross at the same time. Accompanying it, like a chaperone of a maiden at her social debut, stood a wooden gate and a small enclosure made out of stone. And standing in front of said gate were two men, wearing what looked like bedroom attire. Each also possessed a sheathed blade with them, attached to their belts.

_The Adept-ranked sentries, I imagine._

Each bridge and corresponding gate are supervised by two sentries, and the further inside you go, the higher their ranks would be. The second gate ought to have Expert-rank guards and the final gate should have Champion-rank guards—each presenting a significant upgrade in difficulty. To stroll along the bridges, without either pummelling said guards with overwhelming force or vaulting over the wall, which would trigger the sentries to chase after you, one must either be an exalted sojourner or be in possession of the necessary documents to pass through. Local farmers carrying food and other provisions would belong in this classification. Another method was, of course, to be part of the Order yourself, and to possess the Sword-rank qualifications necessary for the sentries to let you through. For the first bridge, it was mandatory to be at least an Expert-rank in Galahad swordsmanship. For the second, a Master. And for the third, only the elite few Virtuosos are welcomed.

So, naturally, they weren't going to let, in their eyes a rug rat, go through.

"Halt! State your business!"

They drew their blades at me, not unpoised in the slightest by my abrupt presence. It’s something I already anticipated. To them, I would inexorably display the presence of a fragile and meek little lady who could never stand to their blades. If I were to utilize a flower analogy, I would merely be a virgin lily, ripe to be plucked by their mighty shears. 

_*sigh* How unfortunate_

Just by witnessing how excruciatingly sluggish they plucked their steels from their belts, I could already tell with absolute confidence that my victory was assured if we were to come to blows, even with this mere wooden stick instead of a proper sword. No need to sully the edge of my mithril sword with their blood. Once, I questioned my folly of surrendering that sword to him, but now, I recognized that the blade is residing in the grip of someone who required it far more than I did.

Now that I was merely a few steps away from them, I witnessed their well-chiselled and hairy chests, displayed proudly by the sizable neckline of their robes, and how the loose trousers they wore were made out of light grey cotton. As for their swords, well the saying two peas in a pod would apply quite nicely here; long and thin, with a light curve in the middle.

"Peacock School, I presume?" I smirked. “The school that prioritizes agility over defence. Never seen wearing any armour in battle. Most fitting for my style."

The two men exchanged looks in confusion. It seemed that in their arrogance, they didn't expect for such bold and confident words to escape from the mouth of a 13-year old girl.

"Silence! We ask you a question and you shall answer! If you believe we would show you lenience just because you're young, then you are a fool! This is a holy land, built by Galahad himself! Only those who follow in his footsteps are allowed to enter!"

I rolled my eyes. Not only was I having an audience with weaklings, but buffoons as well. "Business? Isn't it obvious? I'm here to join your Order."

"A brat like you? Don't make me laugh! You don't even have a weapon! And look at those fancy clothes! You're just some runaway noble girl from the outside, aren't you? Scram! We have no need of your kind here!"

I had heard how the Galahad Order didn’t take too kindly of nobles joining their ranks, for they never lasted long here, thanks to the gruelling training they had to endure every day. They couldn’t bring their servants as well, meaning, they had to wash their own clothes, make their own bed, and dress themselves every morning. 

Hmph, to think they would lump me with those fools.

I opted to respond with a confident smirk, firing back at them at the same time. "What's wrong with these clothes? This dress is both fashionable and really easy to move in. And it's really comfortable as well. I'd rather wear these than those dull clothes you're wearing."

As expected, my words roused their anger.

"How dare you?! These are the type of clothes Lord Galahad himself wore when he was still alive!"

Still keeping up my smirk, I ignored their mindless words and continued my taunt. "As for me being a noble, true enough. I'm glad you can tell just by my dignified appearance. As for my weapon though…"

In a flash, I took out the wooden twig from my pocket and leaped forward, swinging it to the first man's head, hitting him in just the right spot that it knocked him unconscious. My strike shouldn’t be so hard that it caused a haemorrhage inside his brain. Hopefully.

The other man, realizing that he was under attack, swung his blade to counter. Only to find a foot right between his legs, causing excruciating pain that only men could know. It knocked him out as well. I wasn’t particularly proud of kicking men in their family jewels, but the fact remained that it was an effective manoeuvre. In combat, you are a fool if you believe your opponent will always play fair.

The two hit the ground with near-simultaneous thumps. Just for added measure, I gave each of their heads a good kick with my right boot. No response. They were truly down for the count.

“Pathetic. Mere adepts really are no match for me anymore.”

Anger, a detrimental emotion to have when in a fight. “If you have to be angry, then hone that anger like a blade. Temper it and make it sharpen your senses, instead of blinding them.” That’s what that woman always said.

I pocketed the wooden twig back before taking a sword from one of the unconscious men. I also procured what looked like an ordinary block of wood from one of their pockets—a key for me to continue my journey. I then walked up to the gate behind them and pressed the wood into the crevice in the middle. It matched perfectly.

And then, with a creak that echoed through the silent mist, the wooden gate opened.

\-----------

The bridge was around the length of a thousand steps, and underneath it was a bottomless chasm, smothered with cloud-like fog, as if the clouds themselves had descended down from the skies and chose to settle there. They said that no one who fell into the chasm had ever returned, to the point that some even called the chasm a doorway to the afterlife. The remaining bridges had identical chasms under them, separating the mountain into three sections.

The pleasant scent of morning dew entered my nostrils, carried forth by the wind blowing from the distant summit. It blew away the fog permeating the air, allowing a momentary reprieve from the sea of white surrounding me. The bridge gently swayed back and forth like a pendulum—something that would terrify the hearts of lesser women. Like an ocean wave retracting and revealing seashells on the beach, I could see the pure white peak of the mountain in the far distance, before another white fog swallowed it.

The mountain was called Galahad’s Peak, named after the myth told throughout the ages, as the chosen resting place of the mythical/legendary warrior. He built himself a humble abode at the tallest peak/ledge, away from the affairs of men. Once he left this world, his students decided to build a sword school here in honour of him, and thus the Order came to be.

I didn’t dally once I crossed the first bridge as I made my way straight to the second bridge, bypassing the second shrine. That shrine was intended to train swordsmen and women of the Expert rank, and I had no need of such a facility, being an Expert-rank swordswoman myself. And since the building itself was located around thirty minutes from both bridges, it was all too easy for me to avoid it entirely, especially since there were barely any guards surveying the area.

Only to find that there were no guards guarding the gate.

I clicked my tongue. Well, this is troublesome.

I considered just cutting the gate open, but that would be impolite, wouldn’t it? I knew how these sword maniacs worked. If I were to be accepted, I had to prove my strength, fair and square according to their standards. I just did so by beating up those two Adepts from before, and now I was supposed to beat up two Experts here. And yet, they were nowhere in sight.

_Haah, I guess they just got bored standing here all day. I’ll go check the shrine then._

Turning back, I made my way to the large pagoda-like building I had avoided before.

\--------------

“Haa! Haa!”

"Put all your power into it! Don’t laze around! Hey, you! Don’t you dare loosen your stance! It’s only been an hour and you’re already tired? You’ll never reach Champion-rank at this rate!”

A chorus of spirited yells filled the morning air, followed by the ballad of swords cutting through the fog. It originated from the forty or so men and women standing in the building’s courtyard. They were in the middle of their morning training, as they were required to practice their form for a good three hours before they were allowed to have their breakfast.

This was the Shrine of The Cymbal, the Second of The Fourth. It was where the Order trained those who had reached Expert-rank swordsmanship. The students were of varying ages, from older men and women to their twenties and thirties to teens who were still full with their youth. The Order didn’t really care about your age. You would be placed according to your ability as a swordsman or woman and nothing else.

Standing in front of them, I assume, was their teacher, which made her a Champion-rank swordswoman, since her students were all Expert-level. She was a slim woman in her middle to late thirties, and judging by her attire—a loose white robe with not a single armour in sight, she should belong to the Peacock school, just like those two I had just pummelled.

I could just stop my journey here and ask her to accept me as her student, but it wouldn’t be sufficient. I need to become a Virtuoso. No, I need to go beyond that. A Maestro, just like the Sword Goddess. So I could defeat the Imperial Knights and crown myself the Empress.

"You know, it's quite rude to just stand there and not introduce yourself."

My heart leaped. 

She somehow made her way beside me with a smile on her face. 

A blink. That’s all it took. If she were an enemy, she would’ve sliced my head off before my hand could even touch my sword.

“Hmm, can’t follow my movement, can you?” She giggled. It was adorable in a strange, somewhat awkward way. “That’s okay. Do you know what they call me around here? The Flash-Footed Peacock. Quite the grandiose name for a humble swordswoman, no?”

"Flash-Footed— but that's—"

"Oh, so you've heard about me before." Her smile grew wider. "Yes, you are now speaking to Lady Frida herself—the current head of the Peacock branch of Galahad."

...I was terribly wrong. She wasn't some Champion-rank swords woman. She was a Virtuoso—one of the three.

I didn't hesitate. I knelt down and lowered my head.

"Please, take me as your student!"

If I had to sacrifice my pride, then so be it, for I needed another mentor. One who wasn’t beholden to the throne, and she just so happened to be the perfect candidate. Her style matched mine to the letter, unlike the style of my old mentor. If she took me under her tutelage, I would be able to obtain even greater strength.

“...I see.” Her cheerful voice vanished, replaced with a severe speech of an experienced warrior. “Pray tell, who are you exactly, miss? Another daughter of some noble who decided she was better-suited for the blade than the ballroom? Or are you someone else, someone with an exact purpose in her mind, someone with the determination to devote her body and soul to the way of the blade?”

I gulped. I had thought about this oh so often throughout my journey, should I reveal my real identity or not. I had left Helen at the nearby village, so I could probably pass off as some no-name noble’s daughter.

...No. I couldn’t lie to her—someone who would teach me for years. I had to be honest, even if it meant risking her and the rest of the Order throwing me out to not involve themselves with the politics of the Empire.

I straightened myself, gazed at her azure eyes, and said, “My name is Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, the Second Imperial Princess of the Holy Milicis Empire. But I arrived here not as an imperial princess, but as a student. I swore an oath, to my name and the Saint’s, that I would do everything you ask of me without a single word of complaint, just like any other student of yours.” I then lowered my head and knelt down once again. I couldn’t see her expression afterwards, but I imagined it was one of surprise, as she was made speechless from it.

_*step* *step*_

As I grovelled there, waiting for Madam Peacock's reply, I heard footsteps approaching.

Oh lovely. Someone is about to interrupt us.

“Who is this?”

The voice, oozing with a crude volume of suspicion and hostility, came from a girl much younger than Frida's. If I had to divine a guess, it belonged to someone much closer to my own age.

I stood up once more, turning my gaze at the uninvited guest, finding the girl who spoke was a youth not that much older than yours truly. I shall ascribe her attributes to a blazing sun, as such was the impression she graced me with: flaming hair tied in twain, descending all the way to her thighs, and sharp scarlet orbs peering into me, unabashed and unreserved. The girl wore an outfit much different than Frida's: leather vest, gloves, and boots (Frida opted to wear sandals), complemented with a sword attached to her hip. Black stockings adorned her long legs, ending at the short white skirt midway up her thighs. Hmm, makes one wonder if she doesn't flash people with a skirt that short, not that there's anything fundamentally or morally wrong with such an action. Giving the masses a nice view of your legs and buttocks from time to time could add to a maiden's charm significantly, though you always had to be careful not to show too much, or else they would believe you're a whore with loose morals. Most men don't like whores except when they lied down with them.

...Hmm? You're inquiring why I donned an ankle-length dress then? Hmph, it's inconceivable for a lady of my stature to mesmerize the male sex in such a manner. They would have to perspire blood to even attain a glimpse of my knees. Akin to a thorny rose, one must injure their hands before they are permitted to pick me from the horticulture of aristocratic women. With the exception of Helen, only one boy ever saw me in my undergarments and he had certainly earned it, for he had beaten me in a fight. His wind spell, being too strong for me to block, shredded my clothes completely, exposing my frilly regal whites to his eyes and the rest of the world.

Ah.. such fond memories I have of him.

"Greetings." I smiled, for the sake of cordialness. "My name is Fiora. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I bowed, pondering if she had caught my name.

“Cut the crap! You just said that you’re an imperial princess! Do you expect us to believe that?!”

Ah, so she did.

“You are correct. I am Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, the second imperial princess of the Holy Milicis Empire. But rest easy, for I shall not demand any preferential treatment. Interact with me as you would interact with the rest of your peers.”

"Hmph, I see it now. You're just the usual runaway noble brat. How did you get here anyway? Bribed those two guards?"

"Why, I took them down. Fair and square."

I gave her a haughty smile. As expected, it made her even more mad.

"You expect me to believe that?" She yelled.

"Now now, Sara," Frida smiled. "No need to be rude. If you don't believe her words, then why don't you test her strength on your own?"

_Oh? She's suggesting a duel? Now this is interesting._

The ill-tempered girl, however, was taken aback by the suggestion. "You want me to spar with her?"

"Of course!" The sword master’s smile widened. "As the sword genius who became the youngest and strongest Expert-rank swords woman in the entire Order, it should be an easy feat to teach her a lesson." She gave a mischievous glance towards my direction. _Heh, she's enjoying this. What a troublesome teacher._

"I'm up to it. I don't know about Miss Redhead over there though." I smirked.

"O-of course I’m up to it! Who do you think I am?” She drew her blade and pointed it at me. “Fine! I, Sara of the Gazelle, challenge you to a fight!”

I smirked. This is exactly what I wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have a Patreon you can subscribe to if you want advance chapters. Nothing much though. Just an extra two chapters for five bucks. And some early viewing of artworks I've commissioned for future characters. Currently, I only have the artwork for teenage Sherry and teenage Hugo. It's over here. https://www.patreon.com/forestdweller
> 
> Please do not use the Ko-Fi link anymore since I haven't set up the rewards there. Unless, of course, you're donating simply out of the kindness of your heart.


	163. Fiora’s Tale – In Which Fiora Makes A Poor Girl Wets Herself In Public

Frida announced our impromptu fight to the rest of the class, telling them to stop their training before instructing us to face each other on the rectangular courtyard. Naturally, confusion broke out among the rest of her students, questioning my uninvited presence there. But she readily told them to shut up (putting it harshly) and just watch the show.

I looked at the girl I was about to fight once more. Sara of The Gazelle. Another one of the Three Schools of the Galahad Order. Unlike Peacock School, it preferred a balance between evasion and defense, making its practitioners wear some armor but not too much that it would impede their movement too much. In her case, she wore a leather one.

“Show her no mercy, Miss Sara!”

“Yeah, kick her butt!"

From the small crowd, cheers of encouragement flooded towards her, making her beam with pride. How cute. She's just like him. He'll be all smiling like that whenever I praise him. Though I am concerned how some of her cheerers were middle-aged men.

It was now clear to me that the rest of the rabble feel the same way as her, that a stuck up, noble brat like me should be taught her place.

Ha, too bad I won't give them the satisfaction.

And it seems Miss Twintail here is quite the popular one too. So if I could win against her—no, that wouldn't be enough. I need to humiliate her thoroughly as well. That way, I would prove my superiority, and none of them would dare mess with me as a result. 

That is how you deal with your tormentors. I taught that once to a weak-willed girl, back when I still attended that academy, She never really acted on it though. Too kind for her own good, to the point of martyrdom. How fitting for a priestess-to-be.

Frida then told us to put a distance of fifty steps between us. Considering the spacious nature of the inner courtyard we were in, it was an easy task to do. We were allowed to draw our blades and prepare our stances, but we were not to move a single muscle until she gave the signal. I opted not to do the former, making the girl send a death glare towards my direction. If I had to guess, her poor little honor was insulted by it, and she probably believed I wasn’t taking her seriously in the slightest.

Good. The more you’re angry, the more you’re going to be more predictable in combat.

The crowd fell silent.. As if observing a decorum, they all sat down cross-legged on the sides, with only Frida standing as the referee of our match. She walked to the middle of the field between me and Sara and raised her sword to the skies with a smile on her face.

“Hear me, O Great Galahad! Bear witness to this spar between them and punish those who would dare defile your sacred traditions!”

_Ah, the classic pre-spar speech. I imagine they do this every time a duel like this happens, just to make sure that everyone involved will engage in it in an honorable way._

_Apologies, but I have no interest in fighting honorably. Not when I need to make an example out of my opponent._

The moment Frida left the field, was the moment where our match began.

As expected, the hothead took the initiative. She flew all the way to my side of the field, using Graceful Step to boost her speed considerably. I, however, opted not to move a single feet. Why should I? Let the opponent tire herself coming to you. That’s how a wise swordsman would fight.

“Scattato! Turbulence!"

Unlike my Scattato: Storm, this technique is noticeably slower. However, thanks to her larger sword, and how the technique sharpened the immediate air around said sword, she didn't have to be so accurate with it to land a blow.

Well, nothing that I couldn't handle, of course.

"N-no way! She's—she's dodging every one her blows!"

"And she does it without even using her sword!"

Whispers of awe and confusion spread around the crowd, granting a smile to my face. She probably heard them too, so I decided to twist the knife even more into her pride.

"Well, this is disappointing. Your movements… they're just too slow and predictable."

"SHUT UP!"

My taunt worked. The girl now swung her sword around even faster, in her exasperation to land a hit on me. It only had the opposite effect though, as her swings became even more imprecise and predictable.

_"Predict the movements of your opponent by their eyes and muscle movement. Utilize your peripheral sight to see every blow, not just the one right in front of you. Feel the shift and twist in the air and learn of your opponent's intention. React in an instant without hesitation. Imagine them as your dance partner in the ballroom. It's your job to follow up to their every movement so their feet wouldn't hit yours."_

Such was the words of my teacher when she forced me to dodge her blows over and over. Heh, she's really a hard mistress, not even caring about beating up a small kid until she loses her consciousness day in and out.

But, thanks to that, I can dodge these pathetic slashes and thrusts without any problem. Not to mention how I’ve gotten even faster in my travels as well, thanks to his training. Compared to her sword and his spell, she's a complete joke of a swordswoman. My honed motor skills and reflexes were simply too much for her to overcome.

...Oh, that might be too harsh. She's probably around that boy's level, objectively speaking, which is decent. But decent is never going to be good enough to defeat me.

I sighed. I think it's time I end this charade. It's already enough time for her admirers to see how weak she is.

I waited for an opening, which there were many, and struck back with lightning-fast precisition. In a millisecond, I drew my blade and parried hers. She, completely taken by surprise by my maneuver, lost her grip on her sword, sending her sword flying away from her hand. It landed on the ground ten steps away from her. Not that far of a distance normally, but in a swordfight like this, it’s a clear sign of defeat.

“Gah!”

I wasn’t done however. Like I said, I aimed for her complete humiliation.

She leaped towards her sword in a vain attempt to grab it back, but I prevented her from doing so by landing a kick on her crotch. Unlike what the common knowledge imagined, it still hurt terribly for a girl to be kicked in that spot, even without a male’s equipment.

She went flying for a short distance, whimpering from the pain I had inflicted on her. And yet, she still refused to surrender as she tried to roll herself towards her sword. I have to applaud her perseverance.

Of course, I didn’t allow her to do so. I kicked her pretty little face and thrust my sword right towards her forehead. Naturally, I didn’t actually pierce her head with it, not wanting to actually kill her and all, but I gave her the illusion that I did, using my aura to convey killing intent. To cut the spirit without cutting the flesh. That’s what my teacher said the technique was about.

She flinched, closing her eyes out of reflex. She whimpered, tears of fear leaking out from her eyes. It wasn’t just that who leaked out, however, as a stream of shame exited her crotch as well.

And then, she stopped moving entirely. She had fainted.

The crowd fell silent, their jaws agape by the sight in front of them. Their best student, the so-called young genius, had been defeated in the most humiliating manner by this disrespectful noble brat who had come out of nowhere without any invitation.

Frida declared me to be the winner, before telling them to take the unconscious girl to the infirmary. She then came to me with a glare on her face. Understandable. She probably didn’t take kindly to what I did to her pupil.

“Was it really necessary?”

I smirked. “Yes. To be accepted here, I have to prove my strength, no?”

She sighed. “The poor girl would be livid when she wakes up to be sure.” She shook her head. “Though I have to thank you as well. She has gotten too confident for her own good lately. It’s nice for someone to show her that her swordsmanship still has much to improve.”

“I see.”

She drew her blade in a flash, pointing its tip right to my forehead, just like the way I pointed mine to that redhead. “But so are you. If I choose to, I could humiliate you the same way you humiliated her.”

“Of course you could.” I kept up my smile, even though I flinched from how fast she did it. “That’s why I am here. I desire more strength. I want to reach your level, Lady Frida.”

“...Very well. Follow me. From this day onward, you’ll be learning the blade from me personally. If Lady Solis wills it anyway.”

My ears perked up. “Are you taking me to see her?”

“Yes. Knowing who you are, I have to report you to her first.”

A smile brightened my face. Of course I would be excited to meet her. My goal was to be trained by her, but I suppose Frida would do for now.

\---------

We made our way to the second bridge, running as fast as we could through the trees, jumping on the tree branches in the process. Well, I was the only one who did, as I knew she slowed down her movements so I could catch up.

When we arrived there, once again, there weren't any guards around. She didn't seem to be bothered by it however as she took out her own key from her pocket, opening the gate on her own.

“You know, you can just jump over this wall. I wonder why you didn’t do so. Looking at your skill, you’re too strong to be training on the Cymbal Shrine,” the swordmaster asked me with a curious look.

“To show respect,” I replied with a smirk. “I defeated the guards of the first gate fair and square. And I wanted to do the same with the second, to prove to the people here that I am worthy. And besides, my teacher told me I was around Expert-rank as a swordswoman, so I figured I would test if her assessment still held any water. And as you witnessed by yourself, I clearly had surpassed that level.”

“Hmph, you’re a cocky one, aren’t you?” she returned with a scowl, though it quickly transformed back into a smile. “You’re right though. Your skill back there… you’re already worthy of the Champion title.”

“Good. One more step for my goal to be a Virtuoso.”

“Then prepare yourself for my merciless training,” she replied with a smirk. “You’ll train day and night without rest for years. Are you ready for that?”

“Of course.” I looked her right in the eyes, not showing any signs of weakness. “I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t.”

\---------

After we had our short conversation, we made our way across the bridge. The weather was windy, making it away more than one would be comfortable with. Well, if you weren't a pair of skilled swordswoman, that is. For us, we ran straight across it, with Frida even running on the left rope, and not the bridge itself. It was an amazing display of balance from her.

"Oh, do be careful." She yelled as she ran. "It's not advised to utilize Feather Step to cross. It's hard to step on the air when the wind is this strong."

Her mentioning it only made me want to try it though. So I jumped and began to use the technique, only to slip immediately. I recovered nicely though, thankfully enough. I didn't want to be seen by her landing on my face like a clumsy maid. That, and falling off the bridge.

"The air is thin and slippery. You'll need better control than that." She yelled again, followed by a chuckle. And of course, she then utilized the technique flawlessly, mocking me and my weakness.

Once we made it across, we journeyed on even higher up the mountains. At this time, snow started to fall around us.

"The snow here lasts all year, since this place is so high up," she explained. "And I expect you to do your training, even if there's a blizzard."

_Hmph, if she thinks a mere blizzard will stop me, then she doesn't know how stubborn I could get._

Eventually, we made our way to the third shrine, the Shrine of the Harpsichord. Unlike the previous shrine, it consisted of three smaller pagodas standing near each other in a triangle. We decided to stop and rest there for a bit. Or rather, she decided so. Secretly, I was thankful for it. We had run all the way up here and I was now out of breath—my dress clinging into my skin with sweat. And yet, the swordmaster remained unruffled in the slightest. Another showcase on the difference between our strengths.

"Three pagodas, representing the three prominent schools and families of the Galahad Order.” She began her tour-guide like explanation. “My school, the Peacock, Sara’s school, the Gazelle, and the Cassowary, whose practitioner you haven’t met yet.” She sighed. “To be fair, we have a problem in that department. After Gloria, who was supposed to be the inheritor of the school, left us to be an Imperial Knight, everyone who wants to train in the school would enter themselves in the Empire’s Knight school instead, since she would actually train the people there.”

“Oh, by the way, I haven’t mentioned it yet, have I? That my master is Gloria herself.” I couldn’t help to add a proud smirk at the end of my sentence.

“Hmm, really?” She turned to face me and narrowed her eyes. “Ah, I suppose it makes sense. If you’re really the Second Imperial Princess, of course you can obtain such a privileged treatment. Though that makes me question why you choose my style instead.”

“Because that’s what she told me to train in,” I answered with a shrug. “She told me that I wasn’t suited to her style, to wear heavy armor like her and to block attacks instead of dodging them. And I’m grateful for that.” I added with a small grin. “Wearing a full plate armor sounds much less comfortable than wearing a simple dress like this.”

“I see. Well, I agree with you. I too won’t be able to bear lugging all that steel around." She gave me a smirk.

We made our way inside one of them, the one on the left to be exact. The statue of two peacocks greeted us at the entrance, signifying the school the building belonged to. Just like the second shrine, there weren't any people walking around in the entrance hallway, so we made it to the center courtyard without stopping for a greeting.

"Here is where you would do your morning practice, along with other Champion-rank swordsmen. Well, truthfully speaking, there aren't that many of them. And they're all middle-aged men and women too. Hope you don't mind," she added with a smirk. "As for where they are now, they're doing an assignment I've given to them somewhere else. So yeah, the place is pretty empty."

"I presume each school trains their students separately, judging from the three separated buildings?" I asked, out of pure curiosity.

"Yes, you are correct. At this level, a swordsman has to have pledged their service into a house, and since we don’t really openly share the teachings of our techniques with other houses…” She smirked, with an all-too-obvious expression of cockiness coloring her face.

“So, you want me to pledge some oath to you then. What, that I would spread the good name of the Peacock School all across the world? Hmph, if people know their empress belongs to that school, you’ll get the promotion you wanted.”

“Empress?” She raised her eyebrows. “Now that’s a curious declaration. You have an older sister and a brother, if I’m not mistaken. They should inherit the throne before you do.”

I didn’t need to answer. She put two and two together immediately, looking back towards me with a frown.

“To use our art in a civil war… our Lady wouldn’t like that to be sure.”

“I care not what she likes. For someone who’s really strong like her, she sure is happy just keeping to herself like this, away from the world. With her strength, she can transform the world to be better. And yet, she chooses not to. Personally, I don’t find that to be an admirable trait. It is the duty of the strong to rule over the weak. To refuse that over some naive idealism is foolishness.”

In a flash, she drew her blade to my forehead once more.

“I would duly appreciate if you do not badmouth her in that way, little girl.”

A demon. That's what I saw in front of me now. Bloodlust filled her gaze, making my knees buckle in terror. I saw a vision—of her piercing my head with her blade. I could even _feel_ the steel tip piercing through, even though it didn't actually happen.

"Y-you're right. I am sorry."

"Good." She sheathed her blade. "I see now that I need to teach you what it means to be a Galahad swordmaster as well. I'm not teaching you if you're just going to use my sword skills for evil."

"Evil, huh?" I smirked, quickly recovering from my terror. "I don't know about that. I want to rule so I can reform the Empire. That change won't be easy, and a lot of people will suffer from it, but it is my will as their ruler."

"...Hmph, you sure talked big for a kid." She wrinkled her nose. "What change are you talking about anyway?"

"Oh, nothing big. I simply wish to eradicate all slavery, that's all."

She paused, seemingly surprised by my answer.

"Call me surprised. An imperial princess, wanting to free slaves?"

"I shall not tell you my reasons. You have to earn my trust first," I replied with a smirk.

Earning me a hard knock on top of my head.

"If you're going to train with me, you'd better show some more respect, little girl." She scolded, before returning to a sigh. "Aah, now I am reminded of that tale. Of a knight in shining armor who stroke down evil wherever he went. He particularly despises slavers and would kill any slave merchants he met, even when they were just peacefully conducting their trade in the middle of a town."

I shrugged. "Let me guess. It's a cautionary tale at how one can go too far in pursuing righteousness, or something like that."

"Hmph, I guess you're too old to be taken by a simple morality play like that." She gave a small grin. "You're right. In the end, he grew despised by the people, and so he chose to live as a demon, believing that we humans as a whole deserved his scorn." She rested her arms under her chest and looked to the distance. "Oh, by the way, this isn't just some made-up morality tale to make kids behave. This is history, for that knight used to belong to the Order a really long time ago. Hundreds of years ago in fact." She turned back to face me. "Beowulf The Executioner. That was his name. Remember that well."

She resumed her walk, towards the other exit on the other side of the courtyard. I followed, giving another series of glances towards the building before leaving it.

_Beowulf the Executioner, eh? Never heard of him up before. Wonder why she never even gave him a mention._

And then, we made our way to the last bridge.


	164. Fiora’s Tale – The Sword Goddess, Esther Solis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to FailerQt over on Scribblehub for editing this.

We moved on to the next and final bridge, Caelesti, the one we had to cross to reach the final shrine, The Shrine of The Lyre. After running and climbing some more, through ever increasingly more difficult terrain, we finally made it to the gate. However, unlike the one from before, it wasn't unguarded, for there was a figure sitting cross-legged in front of the gate. He was a dark-haired middle-aged man, wearing a leather armor with a sword on his hip and a buckler tied to his wrist.

“He’s the Champion-rank guard, isn’t he? Shouldn’t there be two of them though?”

“Hmm, like you saw at the previous gate yourself, sometimes, the people who are supposed to be there aren't there. It can’t be helped. Guarding the gate is such a tedious job after all. Quite frankly, it is done solely out of tradition as there hasn’t been a serious intruder in a long while” She shrugged.

“Well.. I guess it was my job to test the sentries right?” I asked back with a smirk.

“Hehe.” She giggled as she covered her mouth in one hand. “I have to admit, it’s really rare to see someone as bold as you, climbing up all the way here on your own. Most people who want to join the Order would wait for the entrance exam back at Orthard.”

Orthard was the small village all the way back on the bottom of the mountain. It’s also where the first shrine is located, where all the beginners have their training. Naturally, I refused to go there. I refuse to waste my time on it, even though it’s the proper way to enter the Order.

“My maid decided she wanted to stay there though.”

“Your maid?" She raised her eyebrows. "Ah, of course! A royal princess would have a maid or two!" She clapped her hands with a smile.

"Just one. The rest… didn't make it. If only I was stronger back then, I could've defended them better."

Thanks to my out-of-nowhere somber speech, the atmosphere turned noticeably heavier. Her smiling face disappeared as well.

"What happened?" she asked with a concerned look.

"Oh you know, the usual royal family fued, assassins sent by my older siblings. They wish to prevent me from becoming a serious contender for the throne."

I walked forward, leaving her behind. I wasn’t pleased with the direction our conversation had gone. No one liked to be reminded of their failure.

She quickly caught up, and out of politeness, she refrained from saying anything else. Probably because of the bitter look I most likely have right now.

When we got close enough, we were greeted by a horizontal swing of the man’s blade. He cut the grass in front of him in a half-moon fashion, leaving a bald, half-circle patch with quite the significant size.

“Ehh? Whoze there?”

“You’re quite bold, Carn, swinging your blade towards a Virtuoso like that. I would’ve excused you from sleeping on the job, but now, I might just take it up to Lady Solis."

"W-wait, please don't!"

The man immediately prostrated himself. Hmph, just looking at this made me lose respect for him.

The swordmaster then covered her mouth with her sleeves as she giggled.

"Alright, stand up, you lazy bum. Fiora, this is Carn, a Champion-rank swordsman of the Gazelle. Carn, this is Fiora, a candidate for a new Champion-rank swordswoman. For my own school, of course," she added with a smug little smirk.

He stood up and froze the moment he laid his eyes on me.

"This little girl? A Champion-rank swordsman? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Oh? Do I just hear you saying you want to spar with her?"

"N-no, not at all!" He waved his hands around. "M-my head! I-it's killing me!" He put his right hand on his forehead while grunting.

Frida and I exchanged looks. Yep. He's faking it.

"Alright." Frida narrowed her eyes, a look of disgust on her face. "We're going to see Lady Solis now. You stay here and be a good little guard. This is part of your punishment, remember?"

He moved to the side with an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"Punishment?" I asked after we'd walked past him.

A scowl formed on the lips of the swordswoman. "He was caught sneaking into a villager's house some months ago. He had forced himself on the young daughter that lived there. He was lucky he's a Champion-rank swordsman in the Order, or else we would've banished him from the Order. That man is an irredeemable pervert and a coward!"

_Hmm, is it just me or is there something peculiar about her expression now?_

She reached into her pocket and opened the gate once more with her key. As it croaked open, however, I managed to catch a little whisper.

"I can't believe he's the only man that has ever proposed to me… Out of everyone… Why must it be just him?"

A grin formed on my face. I know what's going on here. A middle-aged career woman can't get a husband and secretly worries about it every day. And the only guy who ever proposed to her is so hilariously pathetic that she refused to even consider it.

Hah, I'm glad I already have him as a suitable candidate. I refuse to reach her age and stay a virgin, that is for damned sure. Hmph, even if I have to negotiate terms with the flies that will surround him.

\-------

We continued our ascend to the last shrine after crossing a bridge more turbulent than the last one. At this height, the air was noticeably thin. I could feel my breath getting shorter and shorter, with not enough air entering my lungs.

"Hmm, you're slowing down." Frida spoke with a giggle as I chased after her. "It's hard to breathe, isn't it? That's another technique you will need polish on."

As much as I hated it, I had to admit that she was right. I could feel my lungs trying to kill me and I had to slow down just to stay conscious. And eventually, I had to stop entirely, panting furiously like a dog during the height of summer.

"Alright, we'll take it easy from now on." She smiled, sitting on a nearby tree stump, crossing her legs as she waited for me to recover.

And so, for the rest of the trip, we walked instead.

\----------

Eventually, some hours later, after climbing sheer slopes and jumping over multiple cliffs, we reached the mountain summit.

And there, at a small grassy clearing with a spring behind it, stood the final shrine, the Shrine of The Lyre. It was where Esther Solis, the Blind Sword Goddess herself resided.

And yet, it was the smallest of the shrines. It practically was just a one-story house, with the same architecture as the other shrines. Apparently the style originated from a far-off miniscule kingdom where the founder of the order came from. That kingdom was no more, and all these shrines were made as a remembrance to it.

It didn’t take us long to find the Sword Goddess, for she was sitting right there on the terrace, having tea with herself as she sat facing the bonsai trees in the garden. I couldn’t say the word “gaze” for her, obviously enough.

And then, when I had a good look on her, I paused.

My breath—it was taken away from me.

The word "beautiful" doesn’t do her justice. She was ethereal, almost like a fairy, with her long and flowing silver hair tied up in a bun behind her head. It was hard for me to decide on her age, for she simultaneously looked as young as myself and as old as Frida. On her back, she has her sheathed sword—the pommel adorned with a scale—which certainly is an odd choice for a decoration. Her pale white hands were holding a cup made out of clay—her lips sipping it elegantly. She broke the silence as she put the cup down with a grace that would shame even the most lofty of noblewomen. 

“Frida, who is the young girl with you?”

_Young girl? How in the world could she know that?_

“It’s a long story, Milady.” She knelt as she gave her response. “She’s—”

“I would explain it myself, if you don’t mind,” I interrupted her. I walked forward, kneeling down as well. I then told her everything, leaving barely any detail out. I had a hunch that I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from her. Perhaps her senses were so sharp that she could tell when you’re lying just by the irregularities in your heartbeat, even when you knelt twenty steps away from her.

When I finished, she remained silent for a long while, taking another sip at her tea cup as an uncomfortable curtain of silence fell between us.

"...Young one." I shivered, for her voice was akin to the chill of a snowy morning. "You should've gone to the Lancelot Order instead. We at the order of Galahad do not believe in gaining power just for the sake of more power," she replied with a smile. "Or do you believe you are fighting for justice itself?"

"I am under no impression that I am some legendary hero like my ancestor," I answered, looking her straight in her dull, lifeless eyes. "I'm simply here to gain power to exercise my will—to obtain the dream I had ever since I was little."

"Your dream? For power?"

"For reform. The Empire needs to change. And I'm willing to—"

"...If you shan't speak the truth, then you have no place here, little one."

I chuckled silently. _She saw right through me, didn't she?_

I stood up, putting on a brave smile and folded my arms together under my chest.

"You want me to tell you my secret, my true reason for wanting the throne and to transform the Empire. Just so you know, I am only willing to share it to a friend—someone I can trust. And you… are not someone I trust. You might be the Sword Goddess or whatever, but that doesn't give you the right to pry into my past."

Frida immediately stood up as well, probably to chide me for my insolence, but the Goddess told her to stand down. Her smile remained unabated, and I had a feeling it was the same smile she would use when talking to an ignorant child, which probably explained why I felt a bit irked right now.

“Then, I have a different proposal. Fight me, child, and if you can make my feet move from where I am sitting right now, even by just a hair, I shall accept you as a disciple of Galahad. And don’t worry, I won’t attack back, so feel free to attack me with all your might.”

I sighed. Somehow, I already expected something like this to happen. It’s a common thing you’d find in those stories involving swordsmen and the like. The master would challenge the cocky pupil, and the pupil would heartily accept, believing it to be a doable task, only to find herself being completely humiliated by the sheer difference in strength.

And now, I am that pupil. But I was under no illusion that making one of the strongest swordswoman in the world move would be a possibility, especially for someone like me, who’s still leagues behind her in skill.

But, it wasn’t like I had any other choice. I had to go all out with my strength. Even if I failed, hopefully, she would acknowledge me for it.

I drew my sword and gave a bow. As expected, she didn't bow in kind. She still sat there on the wooden terrace, sipping her tea without even bothering to draw her own sword.

I charged forward, opting to use Staccato Storm as the opening move. Without holding back, fully intent to harm or even kill her, I rained down slashes and thrusts at the speed of sound.

Only for her to block every single attack. Not by taking out her sword from its sheath, oh no. but by simply moving her back around.

“What’s the matter? Your movements are all so terribly predictable, even a blind woman like me can see them coming.”

I saw it—the small smirk drawn on her lips. She is taunting me.

I resumed my assault, not letting my hurt pride get in the way of my sword skills. Anger in battle only leads to mistakes, and I could afford none if I were to triumph against a swordswoman of her caliber. I didn’t even notice Frida watching from a distance, all with an amused smile of her own.

\-----------

**Esther**

_This child… she’s a tenacious one, isn't she?_

_It’s been hours since we began our little play, and yet she still keeps going on it with all her strength. Surely by now she has realized it to be an impossible task, right? Or is she simply too stubborn and foolish to accept it?_

_She is now drenched in her own sweat to the point that it steamed off her heated skin. Her breath is as ragged as an old woman affected by lung rot. And yet, she still refuses to give up._

_Is her dream of reform really that important to her?_

_And yet… Her blade… it’s terribly lonely… It’s a blade that does not belong to someone who desires power above all else. It seems my assumption is correct. She's hiding her true intention beneath the mask she has put on herself._

_...I suppose I will have to be the one to make the first move._

The moment the young princess lunged forward for another round of her clumsy, slow attack, I countered, parrying the sword off her hand before hitting her stomach with my still sheathed sword.

Her shocked expression said it all. She didn’t actually expect me to break my promise. And she was right. By doing this, I have forfeited the match.

The blow knocked her unconscious but I managed to catch her body before it could hit the floor.

“Frida, leave us. She will be staying here for the night."

"O-of course, Milady." She bowed. Always a polite one.

“And send a servant with a change of clothes. I assume you want her to be wearing the same uniform as your other pupils. I’ll send her your way the next morning.”

“Right!” She bowed again. “Would that be all, Milady?”

“Yes. You may leave.”

With another bow, one too much in my opinion, she made her leave. To an untrained eye, she would have disappeared, as she had used her well-polished step skill to move faster than even sound could. But I could still tell the direction that she ran off to.

"Now…" I looked back at the girl whose arm I was holding, a smile forming on my face. "Let's revive you with a good, nice bath, shall we?"

\------------

**Fiora**

_….U-urghhh._

_What is… this warmth…_

I opened my eyes to a bewildering sight.

_What in the— this is… a hot spring? W-why am I here? And why am I naked?_

Out of an instinct any decent girl should have, I covered my chest with my arms.

"Oh, you don't need that. I'm blind after all."

I yelped. I didn't even notice the lady standing across me on the other side of the spring. It was her, the Blind Sword Goddess, in all her naked glory. If I were my brother and sister, who were all too fond of women, I would’ve assaulted her. Her ethereal presence only grew as she stood there with her breasts and nipples shyly covered by her long silver hair.

"...Right. You knocked me out. That was unfair, you know. You told me that you wouldn’t attack. Though it’s my own naivety for trusting you in the first place." After all, there is no such thing as fairness on the battlefield.

"Yes, you’re right,” she replied with a smile. “I knocked you out and carried you here. Since you were so dirty, I thought it would be a good thing for you to take a bath here."

"Dirty? How rude," I huffed. "Sweating is normal when a swordswoman exerts herself."

“To exert yourself against an opponent simply means you haven’t been training enough.” She continued her smile. “I haven’t broken a sweat in a long time. And the little exercise you gave me certainly wasn’t enough to make me do so.”

“Aah, yes, rub it in. The strongest swordswoman in the world bullying a little girl who can barely wield a sword.”

“The strongest? Hmm, I’m not so sure of that.” She tilted her head, touching her left chin with her index finger. “There’s Ciaran Hrothgar, the Sword Demon.”

“Ah, the leader of the Lancelot Order. You believe he’s stronger than you?” I smirked.

“Hmm, that’s a hard thing to say.” Her smile returned. “We haven’t sparred in ages.”

“Fine. Second strongest it is. Still a long gap, no?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m the second strongest either,” she quickly refuted my suggestion. “There are a lot of blademasters out there that are really strong, especially at the Demon Continent. Have you heard of the personage called the Demon of A Thousand Blades?"

"Uh, no. Who's that? Some super strong demon?"

"Correct. Hundreds of years ago, she was a living legend, cutting through any demon that stood in her path, leaving a sea of blood behind her. She earned her title of Demon Lord. She belonged to the race called the Izurdians, possessing the ability to use each strand of their pitch black hair as a sword. If only she hadn’t disappeared, I would very much like to spar against her some day.”

“Hmm, Izurdians, eh? Never heard of that type of a demon.”

“I’m not surprised. They are considered extinct these days. My hunch is, though, that they are merely in hiding, including their leader, the aforementioned Demon of A Thousand Blades.”

“In hiding? Why? If she’s so strong, why hide away from the world?”

She fell silent, only responding with a wordless smile.

_...Ah, that also describes herself, doesn’t it?_

“Well, enough about me. Let’s talk about you instead.”

In a flash, she disappeared, only to reappear right behind me, wrapping her arms around my stomach before I could even react.

"...What is this? Don't tell me you're some kind of a pervert?"

"You're warming up. You're blushing."

"In case you don't realize it, we're inside a hot spring right now."

"I beg to differ. You see, my senses are much more honed compared to the average person. I can sense people's movement by the slight shifts in the air. And when I hug someone like this, there's nothing they can hide from me. You're embarrassed, just like any other growing girl will feel when she's being hugged by her mother at such an old age."

"... Don't you dare compare yourself to my mother."

"Ah, anger. It seems I have offended you. Your mother… she's precious to you, isn't she? Please, child, tell me all about her."

She then started to gently pat my head. The worst thing about this wasn’t the fact that she was invading my personal space and treating me like a child, but it was the fact that I _enjoyed_ it. Her touch… it was as warm as the touch of Mother back when she was still alive, or the touch of Helen whenever she comforted me. As shameful as it was to admit, she was right. I was still a lonely child at heart.

"...I do this for her. I don't wish to see anyone else suffer in my empire. Not like her."

I told her the truth, how her life, her death, and her abandonment by my father led me to desire a nation where people like her would not be taken advantage of by others. I told her that I also desired revenge, against those witches who conspired her death. And against Father who had abandoned her to her fate. And, above all, I told her that I wished to fulfill Mother's desire to see me as Empress.

When I was finished, she hugged me even tighter, pressing her average-sized breasts against my shoulder. Nothing like Helen's, but it still sent a wave of pleasantness in through me.

"Little one, I see it now, why your blade is so terribly lonely."

"My blade? What are you talking about?"

"Every sword user swings their blade differently. I can judge a person’s heart just by the swing of her blade.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe.”

She responded with a giggle. “I’m the Sword Goddess here. Do you think I would lie about this?”

“...True enough.” I sighed. “There are still a lot of things I don’t know about the sword. It’s my only talent too, unlike my sister, who’s probably the most charismatic and beautiful princess in the whole world.”

“Then, you just have to polish that talent.”

I paused. “Wait, does that mean—”

“Yes, I’m accepting you as a student, or rather as Frida’s student. You should train with her first. When you get better, then you can train with me.”

She released her grip on me at last, and once again, she disappeared from my back, reappearing right in front of me in a flash. It was another movement technique my eyes couldn’t follow.

With a serious look, she stood in front of me, slightly towering over me due to our height difference.

“Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. I accept thee as a disciple of the Order of Galahad. I hergrant thee the rank of Champion. Do you accept?”

“I do.”

She reached her right hand towards me, resting it on the top of my head for a few seconds before retracting it.

“Then, from now on, thou shall walk and swing your blade at the path of truth and justice, as our founder, Galahad, and his teacher, Arthur, once did.”

And then, her smile returned.

“There. I am not much for formality, you see, so I would rather keep this short. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Ha, I can see that. Who does their acceptance ceremony butt-naked in the middle of a hot spring?” I returned with a grin.

“Now get yourself dressed. I’ve told Frida to prepare a robe that will fit you as her student.”

And so, from that day on, I was a student of the Galahad Order.

I didn’t know how many years it would take. But from this day onward, I would train without rest every single day. I needed to graduate as quickly as I could, before either of those two took down the other, thus consolidating the entire might of the Empire beneath them. The best case scenario would be for me to come back before any of them fell to the other’s machinations, and before Father fell to his illness as well. The worst case scenario: Father would have died and one of them would have been crowned Emperor or Empress.

...Yes, it would be harsh and unpleasant. But it was necessary—to gain the strength I needed.

And besides, I couldn’t lose to him. I just knew he would be so much stronger when we met again. And next time, I would be strong enough to beat him at last, even against his magic. After all, an empress must be stronger than her knight. That is the way of the Holy Empire, a nation founded by the most powerful warrior in history, the Legendary Hero himself.

Just you wait, Hugo Greenwood. I’ll make you fall in love with the adult and improved me, even with that pesky Sherry girl by your side.


	165. Fiora’s Tale—Ars The Woodcutter

The clothes given to me were robes somewhat similar to the ones Frida wore, though without all the fancy pomps and embroideries that decorated hers. It was made out of white cotton, designed for comfort and mobility over protection. The fabric seemed to be well-suited to absorb sweat as well, a necessary component in designing clothes you would wear in your training.

Once I finished dressing myself, I had a light dinner with Miss Sword Goddess. Mrs? I don’t think she’s married. Just looking at her though, it's hard to figure out what her age is. She looks young but at the same time, she feels old as well. It's hard to put into words.

We had our dinner on a low table that one must sit cross-legged to eat on. It was clearly a personal table she used whenever she had to eat on her own. I don’t believe she even had a special dining room as we were eating at the terrace. As I looked around the place for a bit, it became clear that the shrine was as small as a tiny house. Truly the shrine of a hermit.

Which meant her Virtuoso underlings aren’t staying here. This really was just her personal property.

Our dinner consisted of what was basically a plate of salad, making me wonder if she's some sort of a vegetarian. I heard hermits tend to be that way.

"No meat? That's disappointing."

"I don't like meat that much," she replied, putting a piece of leaf into her mouth with her fork. "Too chewy for me."

"Maybe you just don't cook it right. You… cook for yourself here, don't you? I didn't see any servants around."

"Servants?" She raised her eyebrows. "Just who do you think I am?"

"Well, you're the head of an organization that trains powerful swordsmen and swordswoman, with a lineage dating all the way back to the Legendary Hero. The Imperial Knights all had their own estates and servants. Why shouldn't you?"

"The way of the sword does not care for the material world. Galahad spent the remainder of his days as a humble hermit, and I will do the same. "

That scowl on her face—she's clearly irked by what I was saying.

"And that's why I'm burning that dress of yours, along with the rest of your fancy clothes. From now on, you'll only wear that robe alone, got it?"

"Oh, this?" I pinched the fabric on the chest region with a little smirk. “You know, I just noticed how the fabric on this thing isn’t too thick. It might get translucent if it gets wet, like with sweat for example. So are you supposed to not wear any underwear while wearing it?”

Her eyes narrowed as her scowl grew. For someone who was blind, she certainly reacted just like a person with sight would do. Perhaps this meant she used to be able to see in the past?

“You’re supposed to wear them with the undergarments provided.”

“Ah, right, those white smallclothes. Yep, with those, I suppose nothing would show, since they are white as well.”

I didn’t actually wear them, however. Under this, I still wore a normal bra and panties, with a color that would surely show at the end of a vigorous training session.

I blame him for this one. Ever since he disrobed me like that, a peculiar hobby seemed to have awakened inside me.

“Well, it’s fine then.” I gave her a smile, even though she couldn’t really see it. “As long as the clothes are comfortable and not hideous, I’m fine with wearing them. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly like your standard-issue royal princess.”

The rest of our dinner went smoothly, though the lady didn’t speak a lot for the rest of the evening. She told me to sleep in the living room, which I complied with. No bed, just a thin mattress. I was already used to sleeping in poor conditions though, thanks to my travels.

She woke me up really early the next morning, far before the sun ever crept above the mountain. She told me to depart to the third shrine and report to Frida for her morning training.

“So,” I started up a conversation with her as I put my boots on at the terrace. “I guess I’m not going to see you again for a while.”

“Of course,” she replied with a smile. “You’re going to return here only after Frida deems you worthy, which could take many years with your current skill.”

“Heh, not holding back at all, are you?” I returned with a grin, standing up from the raised wooden floor. “Is it always this foggy in this mountain?” I asked, looking at the road heading out from the shrine, going back downwards to the third plateau. “You could barely see a step ahead.”

“Oh? Truly? It’s always clear for me.”

I looked back and saw an all-too-obvious smirk on her face.

“Hmph, I get it. This is part of my training, isn’t it?”

“Don’t be late. Arrive before the sun first peeks over the hill.”

“Of course.”

And with that, I departed the domain of the Sword Goddess.

\----------

A week has flown by since then. And the training with Frida was as harsh as I had expected. I was ordered to wake up awfully early in the morning and was only allowed to rest once it was far in the night. Every day she would only give me around four or five hours of sleep. I wasn’t sure if it was healthy, to put a girl my age in such a strenuous lifestyle, but I wasn’t going to complain. I swore to her that I would do whatever she asked me to, and so I would.

The training? Why, it’s something one would give for a beginner. From running, doing push-ups and sit-ups, and swinging my sword around for hours. She said that she wanted to start with the basics.

By the way, the other Champions being taught by her, a group of mostly middle and older-aged men and women numbering around ten (a stark contrast to the number of Experts from before that reached around forty), they didn’t have to do wha. Their training consisted of fencing against each other, performing all their fancy techniques with Frida watching and correcting their mistakes.

Yes, I was jealous. But like I said, I wasn’t going to complain. I grit my teeth and bear it, for that was what I had promised.

Oh, and they also had voiced their opposition with a kid like me being given the title of Champion. It was only natural. To them, who had spent much of their life climbing all the way up here, I was just a dirty cheater.

But then, when Frida pointed out how I had slaughtered Sara, who was another young genius who was really close to the Champion title, they all clamped their mouths. They had no grounds upon which they could argue anymore.

A shame. I would be interested in sparring against them.

Such was the strength of what they called “talent”. You could never reach the top without it, even if you worked your hardest every single day. It was just a fact of life that one should learn to accept.

I could never compete with my sister in the ballroom of grace. But I certainly could compete with her in the battlefield of swords. The key to happiness is to accept your weakness and to focus on growing the talent you actually have, no matter how silly or useless you might think it is.

\-------------

One afternoon, I was given the task of gathering berries for dinner. Frida seemed to have deemed it fit to give the occasional menial labor tasks to me (a fate not shared by the other Champions, mind you). I wasn't complaining though. I could use a little break, since I had been swinging my sword in one place all morning.

The forest I was sent to was located quite some time away from the main path you would use to climb up the mountain, so I was warned to be careful of monsters when I went there. Ha! As long as it wasn’t some dragon, I should be able to handle them just fine.

The place was called the Black Diamond Forest. Not because it had diamonds growing on trees or anything, but because the forest belonged to a certain species of trees called Diamond Ebony, pitch-black, glossy-looking trees whose hardness rivaled or even exceeded that of diamonds. Apparently, with the exception of a couple other places in the world, the species could only be found here, thus making construction with them terribly uncommon. Well, there’s the problem of processing them, considering that hardness.

Naturally, I had the idea to try my sword against them. Only to find that my blade failed to even leave a dent on their wood. It just clanged off in the most annoying manner.

I tried and tried and tried again, putting all my aura into my blade, but it wasn’t working. The tree remained unharmed.

I had to stop, unfortunately. I didn’t want to nick the edge of my blade. This was technically not my own blade after all, since I stole them from that guard. Frida had quite the laugh when I told her where I got the sword from. I continued onward, this time focusing on just gathering the berries for my task.

And this—this was when I met him.

\----------

_Hmm? That noise… that’s… That's the sound of an axe hitting a tree, is it not? But the only trees around here are these diamond trees, which means…_

I ran towards the sound immediately.

I was right. It was a young man swinging an axe to a tree.

And, to my bewilderment, he was actually cutting through the damn thing. Not all at once, mind you, that would be even more insane, but he was making steady progress through the diamond-like thickness of the wood with every swing of his axe, using merely his left hand.

_Just who is this person?_

Looking at his outfit, he didn’t seem to be a member of the order. He wore a brown tunic underneath a weathered wool jacket, dyed dark red. His trousers were made out of loose crimson hemp, somewhat similar in color as his jacket. His hair followed the color of his tunic, however, being light brown as well. It was an outfit one could see a peasant wearing, judging by how they weren’t that well-preserved. My thought first went to him being a woodcutter, but surely, a mere woodcutter couldn’t cut a tree this though, no matter how good they were at it.

“Hey, you, what are you doing here?” I called out to him. “I don’t believe a woodcutter is allowed to do their work in this part of the mountain.” I knew for a fact that the villagers at the base of the mountain were only allowed to gather at the part of the mountain before the first bridge. After that was private property of the Order, and only a few were allowed to trespass in it.

He paused once he finished another swing. He wiped his face by the towel he had around his neck, before turning around to face me.

“You’re a newcomer? Haven’t seen your face around here. Just so you know, I’ve gotten explicit permission to cut the trees around here.”

“Oh, really?” I replied, putting on a frown as I approached him. “Then show me your key. It’s the rule for any member of the Order to report any suspicious person that they met.”

He sighed and took out the all-too-familiar block of wood from his pocket. “Satisfied?”

With just a glance, I could see the sigil of the Order, carved there like the key given to me as well. There were slight differences though, signifying that he was an honorary guest instead of actually being a member of the Order.

“Hmm, alright. You’re in the clear. Apologies for accusing you. My name is Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I offered him my hand with a smile. Switch to a more amicable tone after confirming your suspicion, so he wouldn’t be too offended. Judging by his answer, and the manner he answered it, he no doubt had done this many times before. He wasn’t some outsider as I was a week ago.

To my surprise, however, he refused my hand, his eyes narrowing in response.

“Fiora. I’ve heard that name before. You are the newcomer, right?”

“Yep, that’s me, alright! What’s the matter? Got a problem with that?”

“So you were the one who hurt Sara.” His eyes narrowed even further. “Thanks to you, she had been refusing to leave her room this past week. So why don’t you do the decent thing and apologize?”

A smirk grew on my face.

“Ho? Really? She’s more of a pathetic weakling than I thought she is. Sorry, but I have no interest in kowtowing to a brat like her.” I shrugged, making sure to look as obnoxious as before.

Oh yes, I was taunting him. Why? Because I felt like it. Whoever this young man is, he clearly has a relationship with that brat. A friend? Perhaps a crush even. I want to see how he would react if I badmouth his beloved.

“So, if I can beat you, then you’ll be fine with apologizing to her, I presume?”

He swung his axe in the quite intimidating fashion. Really? Does he seriously want to fight me? His stance doesn’t even look like a proper one. Does this guy really not know anything about proper fighting?

“Oh ho, now this is interesting!” I drew my blade as well. “Fine! I accept your challenge.” I could already sense that he wasn’t just some lumberjack: from that stance and the fact that he could cut the tree when I could not. If I ended up being at the receiving end of a humiliating defeat as a result, then so be it.

“Don’t you dare hold back now!”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

He was the one to make the first move. He performed a horizontal swing with his right hand. It was fast, but not fast enough that I wasn’t able to leap over it in time. The force, after failing to hit me, landed on the tree behind me instead. Once again, it created a significant gash on its surface, signifying just how powerful the blow was.

_Yep. I can’t get hit by that. Not even once. Should I try to parry it though?_

Next move was my time to counter. I gave him a horizontal slice of my own, only for him to block it completely by the blade of his axe. I then retreated, putting some more distance between us.

And then, he put his other hand on the handle of his axe. He now wielded it with his right.

_Wait, this guy… Don’t tell me he’s—_

“Miss Guinevere, I lied. I have been holding back,” he spoke. “But in the only way I know how to. You see, I am not a swordsman like you are. I am just a simple woodcutter. So to keep my strength in check, I use my left hand to handle this axe. My dominant hand is the right.”

_A simple woodcutter? Don’t make me laugh!_

“So now, after witnessing how you dodge my blows with ease, I know I can not hold back if I wish to win against you.”

He charged forward, with a speed that surprised even me. And before I knew it, he was already at mid-air in front of me, bringing his axe downwards for a strong horizontal slash. Knowing how strong his attacks were with his left hand, I opted not to parry, instead moving my body to the side, just in time to dodge his slash entirely. Well, not completely, as he managed to graze against my robe, ripping some of the fabric.

I used the opening he gave to release my counter. To my surprise, he didn’t even attempt to block, allowing my sword to pierce through his right rib, just below the shoulder.

_Got him!_

He let out a groan of pain, as expected, and he staggered a bit, allowing me to continue abusing his weakness even more.

At least, that’s what I thought, until I realized he never decided to stop his attack. He merely shifted his axe to point sideways, before swinging it right towards my abdomen.

 _Barely_ , I repeat, _barely,_ I managed to kick myself into the air to save myself from a certain death. If it weren’t for my honed senses, I wouldn’t have noticed his attack in time.

I pulled my sword out of him mid-air, before using Feather Step to put even more distance between the two of us.

I dealt the first blow, and yet, I believe I was the one losing this fight.

He stood there with rib bleeding, yet he kept standing proud with a serious look on his face. With the exception of his groan of pain, it was as if I never injured him at all.

“You… this style.. I’ve heard of it from my teacher, my old one, that is, It’s the style barbarians would use in combat. Using their rage, they ignore all the wounds they suffer, continuing to chase and bite after their enemy without any hesitation. I believe the Lancelot Order also taught some of their students this style. However, it’s completely unsuited to the more defense-oriented Galahad-style. So, I have to presume that you really are not taught by our Order in the slightest.”

“I’ve told you before, Miss,” he replied. “I never had any formal training in your martial arts. In fact, I have no intention to.”

“And yet, you are terribly strong. Mind explaining why?”

He fell silent.

“Hmph, refusing to answer. Fine. I don’t really care. I’m just happy that you’ve been proving yourself a worthy opponent so far,” I replied with a grin, flicking the blood off my blade to the side.

“Once again, I have to apologize, Miss.” He spoke again. “Even with my right hand, I am still not going against you with my full strength.” His left hand then grabbed the handle of his axe as well. “But now—now that I’m using both of my hands, I am now truly fighting my full strength.”

_Ho? Two-handing it now? Just how strong you can get?_

This time, I took the initiative. I charged forward, closing the distance so I could utilize Scattato Storm to barrage him with the sharp end of my sword. He countered by dashing backwards while raising his axe above his head for a downward swing. Hmph, once again, he demonstrated how his speed could rival mine, something that should be impossible without any training. Unless he was some sort of a demon in disguise? Still, note that I said “rivaled”, not “beat”, as my speed was still superior over his. The only problem is, can I catch up to him before he launched his attack?

The answer is, unfortunately, no.

Mere breaths away from his flesh, I had to pivot to the side, barely dodging the insanely powerful slash he produced, nearly deafening me by just how loud it was. No doubt it was a swing far faster than the speed of sound..

I took one glance behind me to see the carnage and my jaws immediately fell wide open. Trees upon trees in a row had been cut in half—trees as hard as diamonds, trees I myself couldn't cut—with a single slash of his axe. The slash also left a deep and large gash on the land, as if a massive sword had just slashed through it, displacing all the grass and bushes into dirt.

One by one the trees fell, unable to keep their balance anymore, for even their roots had been destroyed. It caused a chorus of loud thumps and crashes that echoed throughout the forest.

And then, it happened.

*RIIPPPPP*

A loud sound of fabric being torn entered my ears, followed by my robes disassembling itself, falling apart into little pieces, revealing to the world my orange bra and panties that I wore today.

"Ah…" I looked down at my newfound nakedness, before looking back towards him. "Well, it seems I have been defeated." The attack from before had torn some of the fabrics off, and now, the sheer force of this attack had unraveled whatever was holding the fabrics together entirely.

I sheath my sword with a smile, not caring that I was showing my body to him. Well, not quite. I still could feel warmth creeping on my cheeks.

"Yes, I admit defeat." I crossed my arms. "I recognize your strength, and how it dwarves mine, as annoying as that may be. Take me to that girlfriend of yours so I can apologize."

He replied by walking towards me and handing over his jacket.

"...Apologies, Miss, for ruining your clothes like that. It wasn't my intent."

"Yeah, I know that. Your intent was to kill me. I would've died if I moved just a little bit slower back then."

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Like I said, I don't know how to control my own strength. So when I use both hands to handle my axe, I always attack with my full strength."

As I wore his jacket, which, by the way, still showed my panties thanks to it not being long enough, I noticed how he was completely unfazed by my state of undress. He looked away out of courtesy, but he wasn't blushing or stealing glances like that guy would. Ha! He probably isn't a perverted virgin like him then! My body isn't that impressive after all, so only pathetic losers like him get all excited when they have something to look at.

But still, I can't help but feel a little annoyed by his cold reaction. Ah, the paradox of women, wanting men to lust after them while at the same time despising them for being perverts.

"You, what's your name, boy?" I asked once I finished.

"Ars."

"It's a pleasure to meet you then, Ars." I offered my hand with a smile. This time, he actually accepted.

"Now, we should return back to the Shrine of the Harpsichord. I have to change first before meeting with her, after all." I smirked.

_Ars, huh?_

_I want him. I want him to be my knight as well._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find two early Sherry chapters over at my Patreon.
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/forestdweller


	166. Fiora’s Tale – News From The Outside

Ars decided to wait outside the temple as I got myself a change of clothes. I earned weird looks from anyone that was fortunate enough to see me at my current state, but I managed to get back to my room without anyone stopping me for an interrogation. Thankfully, Frida was kind enough to give me some spare robes, so I could change right away without asking for a new set of clothes.

Oh, by the way, she was off somewhere, thankfully enough, so I didn't have to explain why I abandoned my chore.

Once back outside, I let him take the lead. We crossed the bridge, pushed the gate open, as you only needed a key to get inside the order and we made our way to the second shrine. As expected, the brat lived in it as well, just like me.

Once we arrived, he made sure to ask permission first from the Champion in charge before going to the dorms. It seemed back then, when I first arrived here, Frida was just taking his morning shift as his presence was required elsewhere. Makes sense. For a guy who's not even a member of the Order to stroll into a girl's room, yeah, really quite easy for a misunderstanding to occur here.

Speaking of that, by how cordially the Champion addressed him by name, it was clear he was a regular. He actually sent more glares towards my direction. Understandable, since I was the person responsible for the current state of mind of his star pupil.

When we reached the brat's private room, as all experts and above have, Ars ordered me to be the one to knock.

"Alright, if you say so. Don't blame me if she isn't answering though," I replied with a smirk.

I walked forward, knocking on the wood loudly and shouting, "Hey, Sara! It's me! The girl who trashed you the other day!"

A rush of steps immediately erupted from behind the door, before flinging the door open, revealing hers truly behind it, in all her pajama-clad glory.

"So you came all the way over here to rub it in, didn’t you? Just so you know, you only won back then because you're lucky! I wasn't taking you seriously enough, that's all!"

Wow, this girl is loud. She's yelling right in front of my face.

"Oh?" My smirk grew. "Does this mean you want a rematch?"

"Yes! I want a rematch! Right now! In front of everyone! Do you know how much grief you’ve caused me because I lost to you?” She pointed her index finger at me.

“Well, it’s not the losing that’s the bad part, I presume. It’s the ‘losing your consciousness then wetting yourself’ part.”

“Y-you! How dare you?” Her face turned red in a flash. “That’s it! When I am through with you, I’ll not only beat you up to a pulp, but I’ll also make you beg for mercy! Not only will I make you wet yourself as well, but I’ll also strip you bare in front of everyone!”

“Feel free to do so. If you can, that is.”

Watching her like this, I can’t help but feel the urge to tease her more and more. It’s like watching a really angry puppy. No amount of barks and growls can make it not cute and adorable.

“Alright, that’s enough. Fiora, you promised that you'd apologize to her, right? Don’t taunt her like this.”

The boyfriend finally decided to step in, producing a yelp from Sara who had not noticed his presence in the slightest.

“A-Ars? W-why are you here?”

“I was the one who fetched her here, Sara,” he explained with a frown. “I’ve made her promise to ask for your forgiveness. So apologize.” He threw a cold glare at my direction. “You’ve promised, remember?”

“Alright, alright. If the boyfriend says so—” I shrugged.

“H-he’s not my boyfriend, you idiot!”

Her face now got even redder.

Ah, I see what's going on here.

"Well then." I gave a deep bow towards the girl. "Apologies for humiliating you back then, Sara. I just had to make a name for myself, you know. The people here… they won't accept me if I don't demonstrate my strength to them. And so you just so happened to be the perfect punching bag, and for that, I apologize."

"P-punching bag? HOW DARE YOU?"

Her hand went forward to grab me on the collar.

Too bad I was ready with a counter.

By simply dodging to the side and using my left foot to trip her, causing her to fall down face first to the floor with her buttocks up in the air.

Naturally, in response to the laws of nature, her pajama dress flipped down.

Revealing the fact that she wasn't wearing any undergarments whatsoever.

Oh my… how lewd~

To think that my first time seeing another girl's flower is from a brat like her... Fate sure works in strange ways.

Hmm, I wonder how he reacts to this sight.

I turned my head to the side and saw him bashfully looking away with blood trickling out of his nose. His face was beet red and as I looked downwards, I could see the tent that had formed in his pants.

Hmph, he actually reacted. That's annoying. He reacted to her but not to me. What, a princess' panty-clad figure isn't good enough for him?

Though this confirms one thing. He most likely does have some attraction to the brat.

Aah, what a shame. I suppose I can't seduce him to be my knight, like I did with that perverted mage brat.

Sara quickly recovered, with her expression now being an extreme mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Y-You! You did it again! You humiliated me again!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you decided to go commando today."

"I-I didn't! I just forgot to wear them, that's all!"

"Oh? Truly?" A grin grew on my face. "Perhaps you just wanted to seduce your boyfriend by forgoing to wear them? I understand. When I'm around my boyfriend, I like to tease him as well. Give little treats here and there~"

"Shut up! I've had enough of you and your smug little face! Just you wait! I'll hone my skill and I'll reach Champion-rank in no time! And then, I'll challenge you again!"

She then ran back inside her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Ah, there she goes." I folded my arms under my chest, still smirking. "And she just said she's going to challenge me now. I guess not." I turned to face Ars. "This will be enough, right? She should now stop moping around and go back to her old self."

He replied with a sigh. "Fine. Let's go back. I guess you’re the type that can never apologize in earnest.”

“Hmm, perhaps. I don’t think I’ve ever really apologized seriously, with all the crying and stuff. I never have any regrets in all the things I did after all.”

“You’re quite the selfish girl, aren’t you?”

“Of course. You have to be one to be a future empress. Or else you’ll let your subjects rule over you instead of you ruling over them.”

And with that, our short visit to the brat ended. We made our way back to the diamond forest, where we resumed the tasks we each had.

Ars didn’t speak much afterward. I asked him why he hadn’t become a swordsman with all his strength, but he just evaded the question. I asked him how he got so strong but he basically replied that he had been that strong his entire life naturally, which I didn’t really buy for one second. I then jokingly asked why he hadn’t asked Sara out yet but he just replied with a cough and a blush. Ha! He should already be at least sixteen years old but he’s still this naive in the matters of romance! I’m half tempted to be his matchmaker, just for the heck of it!

Only later on, once I returned to the shrine and met up with Frida, that I finally got a clear explanation on his identity.

“Oh, so you’ve met him. And you actually fought him too.” She shook her head. “How reckless.”

She then explained how he was indeed just an ordinary woodcutter. The Order had allowed him to cut down the Diamond Trees for his living. He lived at the base of the mountain, along with his mother and grandmother.

“Just who is he, really? Is he really just a woodcutter?”

“Yes, as far as I know, no one ever taught him how to wield a sword. Or an axe for that matter. He’s just that strong naturally.” A smile then appeared at her face. “Tell me, my pupil. How much do you know about the Legendary Hero? How he started, to be exact?”

“His beginnings?” I raised my eyebrows. “As far as I know from the tales, he’s just some no-name villager before he received the revelation to take arms against the Demon God.”

“So, does the Hero have anyone that taught him swordplay?”

“...No, you can’t be implying—”

“Oh yes, I’m implying exactly that.” Her grin widened. “That young man, Ars, he’s one of those anomalies. Throughout the ages, there have always been people who held exceptional, almost miraculous talents in many subjects. A great mage who can cast powerful spells at a young age, just like Mira. A powerful swordsman who can beat veteran gladiators without a single day of training, like Arthur, when he first made his way to the capital. Such personages are extremely rare, but nonetheless, they always appeared at every beat of history without fail, bringing great change to the world every time they did. And Ars, he might just be such a personage.”

“...Hmph. “I huffed with disgust. “And yet, he refuses to take the sword. I wonder why. Is he simply such a dull man that he refuses to take the greatness that has been offered to his plate? Or does he have another reason that compels him to desire to stay becoming an ordinary woodcutter for the rest of his days?”

"Well…" The swordmaster took a deep sigh. "Perhaps it's because of his father. He… was murdered by a member of our Order."

I raised my eyebrows.

"A group of drunken swordsmen, our swordsmen, had assaulted his wife one night on her way back home at night. In anger, he tried to retaliate on his own, only to be a target practice for the sharp end of their swords. Of course, we took action once we learned the truth, with Lady Solis ordering their execution, along with some reparative payments to their family. But the wound naturally never healed. And he grew up believing we were no different than them."

The swordmaster turned around, showing her back to me as she gazed upon the rising moon, in quite the melancholic fashion, I might add.

"Ah, that explains it. But how about Sara? How did he meet her?"

"It was a complete accident." Her head turned to face me with a smile. "When she was five, she got herself lost in the village, separated from her father. He found her and ever since then, they have been good friends."

Ah, the classic damsel in distress trope. And that is enough for her to fall for him. How simple.

"Oh, by the way.” The swordmaster folded her arms under her chest with a smirk. “Sara's father is the head of Gazelle school, so you might want to be nicer to her."

"Oh?" I looked up. "Truly? I'm surprised I haven't been visited by him then."

"Well," the swordmaster smiled grimly. "He's not the type to do so. He'd rather have her learn from the experience and grow strong enough to beat you from experience."

"I see." I smirked. "I am quite fortunate then."

"Well, enough of standing around talking! Let's have dinner, shall we?"

And so the day ended, with me learning of the strange and curious existence of a young man named Ars. A bile of jealousy rose from my stomach when I thought how he got so strong without any training, but I had to endure years of harsh training just to get to where I was now. But I chastised myself. He may have a talent rivaling the Legendary Hero himself but if he doesn't have the drive to use it, then it just becomes a worthless gift. I should be happy I was blessed with a strong and stubborn will, or I wouldn't have gotten this far.

Still, as I laid down on my bed, my mind played back the fight between us. And when it came to a close with him undressing me…

Haah, why am I getting turned on by it?

If only it was him instead… he would have ravaged me with those perverted eyes…

My right hand slid down between my legs. I began pressing into my panty-clad girlhood, using two fingers to rub it back and forth.

Haah… aahhmmm…

And just like that, I began pleasuring myself, imagining him ripping off my clothes over and over with his spells in various situations: in the middle of a fight, while I was relaying orders in front of my servants, in the eve of a ballroom, and even when I was making a public speech in front of my subjects.

I believe this is what they call exhibitionism. Thanks to him, I have awakened to this hobby.

I rubbed my labia faster, moving my hip up and down in the process.

A girl needs her relief after all, and ever since I met him, it seems a lot of my fantasies ended up involving him one way or the other. How curious.

I soon finished with a muffled sigh, feeling the wet stickiness spreading into my underwear and fingers.

I sat up to inspect the damage. Hmph, there's a wet spot on the front of my robe now.

And so I opted to not change out of my wardrobe. Instead, I went for round two, this time while massaging my chest as well.

I continued the process until I fell asleep with soiled clothes. Oh well, we were responsible for our own laundry, so there was no problem with me just washing them up the next morning.

\----------

A year has passed since then.

First of all, in just six months, Sara actually managed to climb up to Champion-rank. That resulted in her demanding rematches over and over, only to find that she was defeated every single time. After all, I was growing as well, as a swordswoman, and as a woman as well. Still, the gap between us was actually closing, which quite concerned me if I have to be honest. She too trained day and night, still keeping her resolve to beat me, whom she had declared to be her rival.

As for Ars, he’s still playing the woodcutter. No matter what I said to rouse his spirit, he wouldn’t budge, even when I promised him wealth and fame if he were to become my knight and train himself properly in the way of the sword. Such a stubborn man.

Every month, I was granted leave to visit the village at the base of the mountain. And there, I witnessed the progress of Helen and her swordsmanship.

Or that’s what I thought, until she told us that she had opted to hone her skill in daggers instead. Better for her to continue what she already knew instead of learning a new martial art skill entirely.

And from who she would learn it, you might ask? Why, from the Order itself. It actually had a branch school of sorts that was dedicated to non-sword fighting, That included the art of daggers. However, since it wasn’t focused on the way of the sword, it didn’t have a place in the so-called holy mountain, so they had to build their shrine at the village. The irony is that Galahad himself used to be a bard before taking up the sword. That's why the Four Shrines were named such, even though we weren't learning any musical instruments there.

Discrimination born out of foolish tradition? Perhaps. But I don’t really care where you learn, as long as you still have a competent teacher. As her teacher was this fighting bard whose nicknames was the Bard of A Thousand Instruments. Not just musical instruments, mind you, but weaponry as well, including bows, chakrams, daggers, etc. They even said he could kill with just his lyre, though I had no idea how he could accomplish such a feat, other than playing a tune that was so bad it just killed his enemies. Well, I guess bashing someone’s had in with a blunt object works quite well as well. 

As for Nicole, well, she had left a long time ago to resume her pilgrimage. I just hope she remembers everything Helen had told her. The road can be dangerous, especially to a kind and pure girl like her.

There was one thing I wasn’t pleased about, however.

It was when my old master decided to come all the way here and pay me a visit.

\-------------

It happened around the first couple months from when I was accepted into the Order.

When I was in the middle of my training with Frida, at the middle of the Peacock pagoda, she walked in without any fanfare, wearing her full set of silver armor as she always did.

I first thought I was hallucinating. But when the other students all fell silent and went into whispers at her presence, followed by Frida walking up to her and starting a conversation, I knew she was real. The sound of her heavy armor was unmistakable. I’ve heard that clanking of steel so many times before.

Frida glanced towards me, before gesturing towards me to come. I kept my eyes on my old mentor, however, since I had a pretty good idea why she was here.

“What do you want?” I said to her once we got close. “Came here by their order, don’t you?”

“You are right,” she answered without a pause. As blunt as always. Her blank expression didn’t even change a bit. “I am here to bring you back to the Royal Palace.”

“Well, no, I’m not going to. If I go back there, you know what would happen to me, sooner or later, don’t you? How cruel, asking for your own pupil to die. But then again, that’s what you knights do, don’t you, just doing whatever your master bids you to do.” I sneered at the older woman.

“...I see. Then, I suppose I would have to bring you back by force.”

The moment she finished uttering those words, two events simultaneously happened.

I immediately backed off, putting as much distance between us as I could.

And Frida—she drew her blade faster than one could blink, pressing the cold steel right at the woman’s neck.

“I’m sorry, Gloria, but she belongs to the Order now. The Empire does not have authority over the Order, in case you don’t remember.”

“Frida,” the imperial knight replied, not the slightest look of fear drawn on her face. “Does your mistress believe it is wise to harbor her amongst your midst?”

“Of course. We have no interest in your little power struggle. Anyone who has a love for the sword will be accepted here, even an Imperial Princess.”

“...Very well. Then I shall merely leave you this message, written by Lady Rhea herself."

She took out a sealed letter from the small pouch she had on her waist. She then gave it to Frida, who promptly put it into her pocket.

"Goodbye, Fiora."

And just like that, she left, with her white cloak and long golden hair billowing in the wind.

What's inside the letter, you may ask? Why, just Rhea telling me that she misses me very much and that she wants me to return back home. It was written in such a sickeningly sweet way that it could only be one big ironic joke from her.

...Ha, I get it. She herself was the actual message, that if the Order were to stand with me, they would not hesitate to crush it with the full might of the Imperial Knights.

Too bad I have endeared myself enough with Frida that she won’t hesitate to defend me like that.

\--------------

Oh, right, it's time for me to meet them.

Since a year has passed, it was time for me to meet up with those assassins. I wonder what news of the world they have in store for me.

I made my way all the way back to the bridge—the one we had our fight in. It was now fixed, thankfully enough, since merchants and travelers needed to use it to enter the Order's territory. As promised, I went to the other side where they should be waiting. It was exactly one year since I decided to spare them, and around the same hour as well, judging by the sun.

The moment I stepped on the other side, a familiar figure jumped out from behind the large rock to the side of the road. The blue-haired catfolk promptly kneeled though without lowering his head, as he flashed me a sight of his slightly yellowed teeth.

And then, he began his report. First things first. To summarize, there were no significant changes in the Empire’s political condition. My brother and sister—they were still locked in a stalemate of a sort, unable to really move against each other in any meaningful way. And it seemed they had abandoned the idea of assassinating me, at least for the moment. They knew they didn’t want to anger the Order.

The next important thing was, of course, him. To my surprise, he had made a mess out of himself in such a manner that defied belief. He had foolishly painted himself a big, fat target on his back by rescuing a necromancer from the clutches of the Church’s inquisitors.

“I see. Was the necromancer a male or a female?”

“A female?”

“Was she pretty?”

“Very. She’s well-known in the court for flirting her way into the position of a court mage. And she always wore outfits that emphasized her ample breasts and long, smooth legs.”

“...Ah, that explains it then.”

I groaned. Oh, Hugo, you said you’re going to be faithful to that girlfriend of yours, and now you’re throwing your life away to save some random necromancer girl? I know you’re a pervert, but I don’t think you’re a reckless idiot as well.

This is going to make it much more difficult if I were to have you as my knight in the future. I need the Church’s approval to gain the throne after all. How would I get them to forgive you after you killed a bunch of their elite inquisitors?

...Well, one thing comes to mind. If you, say, slay a Demon Lord, that might work. Ha! That means it’s killing two birds with one stone then! I just have to make sure everyone knows it is us who kills them!

Other than that, he had gained the nickname the “Divine Tempest”, after he defeated a dragon and its horde on his own, saving an entire adventuring clan in the process. Well done! You’ve gotten even stronger, didn’t you, Hugo?

“And his current whereabouts?”

“We haven’t been able to ascertain that, regrettably. But since there are no rumors about the Church capturing him, you can rest assured that he’s still alive somewhere.”

“Good. Sent one of your men to the Demon Continent to keep an ear on him and his shenanigans. He should already be there if he’s smart.”

“Of course, Milady.”

After that, the topic moved to the general situation of the various kingdoms and nations that existed in the Holy Continent. Just the usual politics stuff a future empress like me had to pay attention to.

We finished our talk a couple of hours later. The assassin-turned-informant then excused himself, promising that he would return the next year at the same place, day and hour.

“Hold on.” I stopped him before he could leave. “You’re not going to ask me for payment or anything?”

“You can do that later, Milady,” he replied with a grin. “As long as you keep your promise, we are happy to serve you without pay. And besides, working as a spy has been far more interesting than we all expected.”

“Good,” I smirked. “Then, you know your orders.”

The assassin left, leaving me alone with my own thoughts.

Hmph, a necromancer, huh? Do you have to go after the weird ones? Not to mention how old she is compared to you.

The catman said she had a good reputation among the people, how she cured a plague and gave out medicinal potions for free. Perhaps that's why you decided to save her? You were charmed by her kindness? Or did you fall for her seduction? Perhaps even to the point of losing your virginity to her? Just after I told you not to give it to some random girl you met on the road too… I'll be upset if you did, since this means I simply didn't seduce you hard enough, out of respect for that girlfriend of yours.

Still, killing a dragon, eh? I should do that too. Not sure if I'm strong enough for it though. Are there even any dragons around this region?

With a smirk on my face, and a renewed spring on my steps, I made my way back to the mountain, sprinting all the way there as fast as I could.

No time to stand around here. I have to continue refining myself.

When we meet again, I shall be like a diamond, shining so brilliantly over any other jewels that he won't be able to resist devoting his life to my service.

And then, together, the Empire shall be ours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've already posted two Sherry chapters on the Patreon, if any of you are interested.
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/forestdweller


	167. Sherry’s Tale — Meeting With A Motherly Loli Elf

**???**

_Haa… haa… haa… haa… I can’t… must… run away…_

Veridian Peaks, a place a traveler seldom travelled to. It was located near the so-called Veridian Road, a long road across several countries that would take travelers to the very northeastern edge of the Holy Continent. For most people, they would just follow the road, ignoring the Peaks entirely, but for some, like the two, or adventurers hired by the locals to gather herbs and slay monsters threatening their villages, they had to make the climb, sometimes going all the way up to the peak.

And there, near one of the said peaks, a certain girl was running for her life.

She was a member of the elven race, around the age of eleven, if speaking in human years, possessing shoulder-length silver hair and dull pink eyes. A part of her bangs hung in front of her face and below her eyes, curling around her left eye. The rest of her bangs rested around the shape of her face, curling outwards at the very tips. She wore a white flower with green leaves on the left side of her head.

Her outfit was a short, green and white dress that cut off at her thighs with gold trimming. She had a dark teal sash with gold trimming that she hangs loosely around the right side of her body. She also had opaque detached sleeves that fade from white to a pale green. Accompanying all that was a small, off-green bag.

The only means she had to defend herself was the long lance she held. It was a weapon taller than herself, with a bright blue gem at its end.

Alas, it wasn't sharp enough to pierce through the monster chasing after her.

*SCREECH*

It was a furry-legged tarantula, it's size easily deserving the size of the elven girl.

“Haa!”

*SLASH*

*SCREECH*

In a single swing, the girl slashed the giant tarantula into two. It fell onto the ground with a loud thump, its green blood and innards spilling out from its bisected abdomen.

The elven girl looked at her savior with a mixture of relief and surprise, for the girl’s strength defied her looks. She was just a young girl around the age of ten, with jet-black silky hair that went down over her waist, reaching all the way to the back of her knees, a contrast to her tomboyish demeanor. Her outfit was ill-fitting with that impression as well, consisting of a simple one-piece dark blue dress reaching down to her lower thighs. The hem flew upwards as she brought her sword down on the insect, displaying a flash of white that could've been avoided if she had worn shorts instead. Her eyes were sharp and focused—the eyes of someone used to wielding a sword. The elven girl had seen them before, from veteran adventurers she had met in her travels. To think that a girl her age could already have the same expression...

The sword-wielding girl grimaced looking at her sword covered in green, straight from the stomach of the unfortunate victim. She took the largest leaf from the trees near her, using it to clean the blade as best as she could. Once she finished, she sheathed her weapon back to its place, inside the plain wooden sheath hanging on the belt she wore on her waist.

"Are you alright? Any injuries? I have a balm of healing you can use if you want."

She approached the girl with a concerned look on her face. The elven girl couldn't help backing away a bit, as the presence of the black-haired girl was too much for her to bear. Was it the proud way she walked, carrying around her sword like it was nothing? Was it the fact that she just fell a Furred Tarantula in a single swing? Or was it something else? Even she herself wasn't sure.

"M-my right ankle… I-I think I've strained it…"

"Then, let me help."

The black-haired girl crouched down in front of her, taking out a small bottle from her belt pouch. Looking her up close like this, she couldn't help but notice how big her forehead was, a fact she didn't bother to hide, judging by how her hair parted in the middle.

That, and the fact that she could see her white cotton panties from the way she carelessly opened her legs. It's rude to stare at another girl's undergarments though so she averted her eyes.

"May I?"

The elf girl nodded, moving her right leg forward. The black-haired girl undid her sandal before she began massaging the swollen ankle.

"A-ah! Please be gentle."

"S-sorry, I'm not that good at controlling my own strength."

A hint of nervousness flashed on the black-haired girl's face, making the elf girl feel bad she had complained. Her grip was indeed a bit too hard for her liking though.

After she finished, the elf noticed that the pain on her ankle had vanished. Whatever salve she just used must be an effective one indeed.

She stood up, disobeying the black-haired girl’s plea for her to rest a bit more. “A-apologies, but I cannot dawdle here. Theo… he needs me. He’s my son, you see, and he has a terrible fever right now. I went all the way out here to look for some herbs I could use for a cure, but it seems I had gone too deep into the mountains.”

“Y-your son? Y-you have a son?”

The black-haired girl looked at her with her jaw wide open—her face a mixture between one of surprise and disbelief. After all, the elf looked more like a little girl than an adult woman. How could someone like that have a son already?

She covered her mouth and giggled. "Oh, it's not like what you think. I adopted him."

"A-adopted?" _Now that makes more sense. But for a girl her age to already adopt a kid... w-wait, she's an elf. I shouldn't come to conclusions._

"H-how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Huh?" She tilted her head. "I'm eighteen years old. I certainly don't look like it, do I?" She giggled again. "Well, we elves have late growth spurts compared to most other races. I myself don't know when I would have mine. It's all up to the heavens."

"I-I see…" _I guess that's just how elves work._

She looked down at her own small and childlike body. _I wonder if an Izurd will be like that too. I don't want to go back to him still looking like this…_

Secretly, she had always wished for a more mature look, similar to the one her adoptive mother and sister had. Not to mention that the boy she liked seemed to prefer that kind of a body type as well…

She took a shy glance at the elf’s chest. They were already there, two small bumps visible through her outfit. But hers, they still remained completely flat.

She sighed. Her mother said they would grow in time, but would they really ever grow as large as those bouncing monstrosities that she had?

"Is something the matter?" The elf tilted her head, asking with a concerned look.

"O-oh nothing, nothing at all!" She waved her hands, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"Oh, that's right!" The elf clapped her hands together with a smile. "I haven't asked for your name yet, have I? My name is Tira. Tira Elfiel. It's a pleasure to meet you." She offered her right hand.

"R-right, my name is Sherry. Sherry Izurdia. T-the pleasure is all mine." She shook her hand in an awkward manner. She was never that good with introductions like this.

Releasing her hand, the elf continued. "Then, if you'll excuse me—"

"Hold on! I'll escort you back to your son. These tarantulas… There are many of them around here. It's too dangerous for you to go back on your own."

“O-oh, but you can’t!” The elf waved her hands. “I don’t wish to impose on your generosity any longer!”

“Don’t be silly. If I’m going to help you, then I’m going to do it properly. I’ll be your escort, don’t you worry about it.” The black-haired girl returned with a reassuring smile.

And so it was that the two traveled down the mountains together, making their way down back to the nearest village, which coincidentally, was the village Sherry had been staying in as well, and just as the sword-wielding girl had predicted, they were assaulted by more tarantulas on the way. Thankfully, she didn’t lose her edge and managed to dispose of every single one of them with little to no difficulty, to the awe of Tira the elf. To Sherry, it was only par for the course, since the tarantulas were only C-rank monsters, no match for the level she was currently at. But for the elf, they were still beyond her capabilities. The demon girl would not hold it against her though. On her travels, she had met a lot of adventurers who were about her level in strength.

When they arrived, they promptly made their way to the only inn around. The inn, much like the village, was old and small, a sign that the place hadn't been developing much over the years. The houses were built out of wood and straw, including the inn, which just so happened to be the biggest building in the place, which didn't say much. The building was just one story, with around ten rooms lent to the rare visitors to the village. The innkeeper was the daughter of the village elder, and the business was pretty much a family enterprise.

However, before Sherry followed Tira into the front entrance, the demoness excused herself.

“You’re not coming in? Theo would be happy to meet you, I’m sure.”

“No, I have a companion, and I wish to fetch her first before I come back here.”

“Ah, right. The Myrilla woman, right?” The elf smiled. Sherry had mentioned her when the elf asked whether she traveled alone or not when they were making their way to the village. “Of course. She would be welcome as well. Oh, do you two stay here by any chance?”

"No, we… made camp outside the town."

"Why?" She gasped, covering her hand with her mouth. "Don't tell me that you two are running out of money? D-don't worry! I'll lend some to you! That's the least I can do to repay your kindness! Even though my purse is pretty empty too…" She trailed off with a sad look, touching her index fingers together.

"N-no, it's nothing like that! It's just that… this inn… it doesn't want to accept us as it's guests."

"Eh? What do you mean they won't accept you?"

"Myrilla and I are demons. And the owner doesn't want any demons to stay in her establishment."

Sherry's face was decorated with a bitter smile. After traveling for so long with her companion, and guardian, she had seen with her own eyes how people would discriminate against their kind, especially Myrilla, whose nonhuman features were really pronounced. At first, she found it terribly unfair. She would become really angry, to the point of punching the culprit, but Myrilla told her to just ignore it, so they wouldn't get in trouble with the authorities.

"Their dislike is towards me, not you." So the demoness said. After all, her companion looked perfectly like a normal human girl.

"That's terrible!" Tira replied, anger drawn on her face. "How could they do that? Don't worry! I'm going to talk to the innkeeper!"

Before she could walk inside, however, Sherry grabbed her shoulder.

"No, there's no need for that." Sherry shook her head. "We're fine just camping outside. And I don't want you getting kicked out too. Theo needs you, remember?" She gave a reassuring smile.

"...Alright then. If you say so." She sighed, followed with her own smile. "Come back soon, alright? I would love to cook you and your companion dinner."

And with that, Sherry made her way back outside the village.

\--------

Her companion, Myrilla, was away on a different part of the mountain—the more dangerous part. The two had agreed to split up to fulfill the quests they had taken. One was to slay a certain species of monster and bring back their body part while the other is to gather rare herbs from the area. Myrilla took the first while Sherry took the second, so when Sherry found her companion, she was sitting on a corpse of a massive beast, using her telekinesis to make her knife do all the work without touching a thing.

Sherry couldn't help but stop and admire her from a distance. Once again, she displayed how strong she was. She was an S-rank adventurer, far above her who was still only B-rank. She could fight large monsters like this without breaking a sweat. The creature she was sitting on was a Berserker Gorilla, an A-rank monster. They had received a quest to take down the rampaging ape, as it was getting too close to the village for comfort. If she were to fight one, it would be a difficult fight. And yet, Myrilla could take care of them with just a few spells. And some of them were nothing like Marina or Hugo's spells. When the young girl asked her about it, she only said that they were spells she created herself over the years she had become a mage.

"...Oh, you're here," she said with a deadpan tone, seemingly unsurprised by the sudden appearance of the young girl. " Which means you've gathered the herbs?"

Sherry nodded. "I have someone I want to introduce to you."

Myrilla raised her eyebrows.

\--------

When the two returned back to the village, the sun was rapidly sinking under the mountain. They made their way to the inn, though not before receiving some stares from the villagers they passed in the way.

"Urgh, it's that demon again. I thought she already left."

"Look at those feelers. Is she some kind of an ant demon?"

"Ha! Maybe she's a cockroach! Look at how dark her skin is!"

Some were expressing their astonishment, while others held far less kind opinions. There was one thing that they all had, however, and that was fear—fear towards the demoness.

Sherry could only grit her teeth in response. Myrilla told her over and over not to be offended on her behalf. But, as someone who had pride in her own demon blood, she could not stand having a comrade being badmouthed like this.

_If only… if only more humans can be like him…_

She remembered how the boy she loved, Hugo, made her proud of her heritage. He accepted her—hugged her, even when she was bathed in the blood of the monsters she had slain in her anger. She used to despise her demon blood, and yet, he made it so she could accept who she really was.

That was just one of the many reasons why she fell for him. Sure, he might be a bit too perverted at times, like when she caught him keeping his sister's dirty panties, but it's nothing compared to his virtues. She was even willing to indulge him in it, by giving him her own panties. There's nothing wrong in doing that for a boy you like. That's what her adoptive mother told her, that she should be more forward with her son if she really liked him in that way.

He was the light to the night of this rabble. Oh, how terribly she missed him. And yet, she had to go on, for his sake too. She wanted to be stronger so she could be of use to him when they started their travels together.

"Hey, the inn's over here."

"R-right."

Blushing, she doubled back on her steps. Thinking about him had made her lose attention to her surroundings.

"So, you want me to come in as well? The innkeeper won't be pleased."

"Oh, who cares about her? We'll just go in and—"

"I told you before that I would rather not cause any commission." Myrilla's eyes narrowed. "You know if we provoke the innkeeper, she might just kick out your friend as well. And you know that son of hers is ill. He'll need a proper bed."

"Oh fine." Sherry huffed. "I'll talk to her first. Stay here, alright?"

And so, she entered the building on her own. It didn't take long until she found the room where Tira and Theo stayed. All she needed to do was to ask the grumpy innkeeper, who responded by directing her to the room on the right, furthest to the back.

As politeness demanded, she knocked on the door first before barging in. The doors here didn't have any locks, unfortunately.

"Tira? We've returned. Myrilla isn’t coming in though since, you know.”

“A-ah, Sherry! Hold on a sec…”

Almost in an instant, the door swung open, revealing the elf standing behind it with a big grin on her face.

“Come in! Come in! Look! Theo’s all better already!”

She didn’t wait for Sherry’s permission to grab her hand and pull her inside.

The room was small and cramped, really only intended to be used by one person. Other than the bed, there were barely any other furniture in the room. It was truly a barebone room, yet the innkeeper was more than happy to charge a premium, since her inn was the only one in the village.

Monopolies, something Sherry would not understand without Myrilla explaining it to her.

Sherry’s gaze immediately locked towards the boy sitting on the bed. He wore a green shirt and brown shorts, the latter sharing the same color as his hair. If she had to guess, he was a few years younger than her.

“You're here!"

To Sherry's surprise, the boy jumped right out of his bed before running towards her, grabbing her hands and shaking it up and down with a vigor one would not expect from a sick child.

“Oh, thank you so much for saving Mother, Miss Sherry!”

“M-Miss?! Hey, I’m not that old yet!”

“O-oh, r-right…” The genuine smile on his face vanished, replaced by an awkward one. "I… I just thought I should call you that out of respect… that’s what Mother told me to do to strangers! Especially ones who have helped you!"

He released her hands, scratching the back of his head with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks to your help, Theo here already recovered from his fever!" Tira placed her hand on his shoulder. "It was worth it going all the way up there to get those herbs! I knew my medicine would be better than the quackery that nasty old woman made!" She huffed.

"Nasty old woman?" Sherry raised her eyebrows.

"Yes! The healer of this village! Can you believe she easily said that Theo's disease was incurable and that he would die before the next morning? How stupid did she think I was to believe that?!"

The elf continued her rant. The fiery way she said it, while her son stood beside her looking awfully uncomfortable, yet too afraid to say anything, it really reminded Sherry of her own adoptive mother. She too would be like that from time to time.

A tiny smile decorated her lips. _Guess mothers are the same everywhere, even when the mother is a young elf like her._

"So!" Tira clapped her hands once she finished letting out her steam. "Let's have that dinner I promised! Though I have to ask, where's your companion? I don't see her behind you."

A tinge of bitterness tainted Sherry’s smile.

"She's outside. She... doesn't want to come in."

“What?! Why n— oh, right…”

The elf’s enthusiasm deflated like a balloon that had been popped.

She quickly recovered however.

"That's right! You're camping outside the village, right? Then we'll just have our dinner there!"

"But your son—"

"Don't worry, Big Sister Sherry!" He patted his chest. "Like Mother said, I already recovered!"

And so, Sherry had no choice but to accept Tira's idea.

\--------

Once they were outside, they were greeted by the sight of a dark-skinned woman nonchalantly resting her back at the nearby tree.

“Ooh, look, Mother! That lady over there has those weird things on top of her head!”

“Shush, you’re being rude! I’ve told you before, haven’t I? You can’t just say something like that to a complete stranger!”

Myrilla wasn’t the first demon they saw. Before they got here, they had met a number of demon adventurers before on the road.

“Miss Myrilla! Miss Myrilla!” The boy ran towards the lady. “Good afternoon!" He bowed. "My name is Theo! It's nice to meet you!"

Myrilla's eyebrows raised themselves. Her gaze traveled to the rest of the group until it rested on Sherry.

“I see these are the people you mentioned.”

Sherry nodded. “Over here is Tira Elfiel, and over there is Theo Elfiel, her adopted son.”

“Adopted… son?”

The demoness looked back at the young boy, raising her eyebrows even further. Her glance then moved at the elf, producing a frown on her lips.

“Greetings, Miss Myrilla.” Tira bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

\------------

The group then made their way out of the village, earning more stares from the villagers whom they happened to pass. The shared tent Sherry and Myrilla stayed at were located just around fifteen minutes of walk from where the village was, on a cliff overlooking said village.

That night, they had quite the sumptuous feast. Tira offered roasted wild boar as the menu for the occasion, which Sherry readily accepted, being a big lover of meat dishes. Myrilla, on the other hand, who didn’t eat meat, had to make due with a simple vegetable soup, to the elf’s fervent apology. She might not be a strong warrior like the two of them, but if it’s hunting a simple boar, she could do it just fine.

As they sat around the campfire, Theo bombarded the two travelers with all sorts of questions, though mainly jubilant ones, like wanting to know what's the strongest monster they had fought or what's the most dangerous land they had ever been. It was all too clear that the boy was fascinated by adventurers in general.

"So, I assume you want to be an adventurer once you're older," Myrilla interrupted.

"Yes! I want to become a great adventurer like you guys! And then, I'll get rich and famous and marry Mother!"

As if they were a pair of synchronized clocks, Myrilla exchanged questioning looks with Sherry.

“Oh, don’t be silly, dear.” Tira giggled as she placed a hand on her boy’s shoulder. “You’re going to find a girl you like and then you’re going to marry her. You can’t marry me, your own mother.”

“Why not?” He turned his puppy eyes towards her. “I like you the most, Mother! I want to marry you and no one else!”

“Aww, I’m so happy to hear that! Come here and get a hug from Mommy!”

Both Myrilla and Sherry could only watch as Theo leaped into the elf’s embrace, followed by the latter squeezing his cheeks and patting his head.

The former sighed, before standing up and excusing herself for some fresh air. Sherry, however, remained there.

_...It sure is nice having a mother…_

Once again, her thoughts returned to home, how Renee would hug her so tightly she scarcely managed to breathe. To her shame, she tried doing the same with Myrilla in her sleep, hugging her while muttering “Mommy” into her bosom. Even though Myrilla herself said she didn't mind, Sherry hated herself for it. Why must she act like she was still a five year old girl who can't do anything without her mother?

Sherry smiled bitterly. If _it were Hugo, he wouldn't act like this. Even though he's younger than me, he acts much more mature than a kid his age._

_Oh Hugo, am I ever going to be good enough for you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have three advance chapters on my Patreon. Two Sherry chapters and one Hugo.
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/forestdweller


End file.
